Prayer and Personal Character - Essay Example

Prayer, more than anything else, is a sign of humility, a sign of submissions to a higher power and a confession of the fact that one is in need of help from an outside source. In other words, prayer is a way to realise that one is not in total control of their life and that there is a higher power. As insignificant as this may seem, the fact is that prayer changes one’s attitude towards life and especially towards other people and objects in life. Prayer makes one realise that life is about humility and therefore it affects the way they regard themselves and others.

It creates a different view of the world and brings in a person to a point where they have to realise that they need to live in peace with other people. This can be seen in the most famous Christian prayer found in Luke 11:2–4 as well as other verses in the New Testament. Jesus gave this prayer as a model around which every Christian should model their prayer. Most other religions surround their prayer around this kind of a model which has three dimensions. Recognition of self inadequacy Prayer is the ultimate recognition of just how inadequate a person is on their own, it is a confession of the fact that one needs outside help and not just any outside help but outside help form a higher power.

This leads to recognition of a higher power which means that the individual will surrender themselves to this higher power. Lack of prayer definitely leads to a deflation of this important aspect of a person. Recognition of need to have a good relationship with others As in the model discussed above, it is clear that one needs to be forgiven of their wrong doing. Jesus said, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who wrong us.” This is very significant because Jesus did not just ask for forgiveness but actually indicated that that forgiving others is a major part of oneself asking for forgiveness.

It is an indication that for us to really understand what it takes for others to forgive us, we must ourselves forgive others. This is one important aspect of prayer, it creates a scenario where a person becomes well rounded, recognising their part in the society, their need to relate well with others as well as their need to relate well with their God. Affects the way I act Because of the above explained aspects of prayer, it affects the way an individual acts and lives their lives. Understanding the need to be forgiven reminds the person of the need to reduce the instances where she or he will need to be forgiven.

Understanding the need to forgive other people leads to the individual creating the least quarrels with those around her. Prayer therefore is a process of building character by realising that the world is to be shared with everybody else. Prayer is the antidote for the innate selfish character of a human being which only serves self (Coburn 59). A prayerful person is therefore not able to be selfish and self centred but understands that the world is to be shared with everybody else. They realise the importance of treating others with respect and with love.

One also realises the importance of forgiving the others, for they have to forgive others to expect to be forgiven by others as well as by God. Prayer therefore not only changes the way we look at the world but also the way we act. It affects the very character of an