Do You Consider Prayer and Meditation to be the Same?

1. 84

   Mmargie1966posted 11 years ago

   Do You Consider Prayer and Meditation to be the Same?
   
   I believe prayer is when YOU speak to GOD, and meditation is when GOD speaks to YOU.  What do you believe?
   
   

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2. 55

   shivanchirakkal10posted 11 years ago

   Hi Mmargie,
   Prayer is  request, worship, or as you said may be speak to god, it does not required more concentration. Meditation is sit in deep concentration, control your mind and think to an object say god.You can do meditation by concentrating in health visualization, color image etc,
   Prayer and meditation have resembled character but I think both are different.

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3. 0

   msorenssonposted 11 years ago

   Prayer is when you speak..meditation is when you listen..it is what comprises a dialogue..

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4. 71

   lone77starposted 11 years ago

   I believe prayer and meditation can take on different actions when one is practicing and attempting to communicate.
   
   But, when prayer is done properly, it is full of humility (and listening). When meditation is done properly, it is full of certainty (and creation). In other words, the two meld together to become one action.
   
   I had never looked at this before now. Thank you for the question for helping me clarify my own experiences.

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      teaches12345posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would agree with Lone77star, good analogy on the subject.

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5. 57

   Insane Mundaneposted 11 years ago

   Both of those things allow you to separate yourself from the outside, 3D, physical world via your mind.

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6. 70

   Sarah Christinaposted 11 years ago

   I believe they are closely related to one another. Like others have answered before me, prayer is more of a request or speaking your thoughts, while meditation is opening yourself up to God and listening. Meditation and prayer can operate independently from one another, or they can meet together as one.

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      teaches12345posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Agree here, Sarah.  They are both forms of listening to God, reaching out to God and then reflecting.

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7. 61

   Civil War Bobposted 11 years ago

   I think you've pretty much got it, Margie.  Prayer is definitely our doing the asking.  Meditation is when you stop to think about something, whether God is speaking to you or not.  Reading Scripture that affects you should lead to thinking about what's been said and what's to be done with it.

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8. 61

   Tawl Pawlposted 11 years ago

   Prayer is when all your focus is on God, when you are in communion with him. Meditation is when you clear your mind of thoughts, or think about and reflect on life. In my opinion the two are two completely different things. In fact I would go as far as saying that meditation is counter-productive to prayer. If you are taking time being still and quieting your heart and mind, you may as well use that time to be in comunion with God.

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9. 84

   Dallas Matierposted 11 years ago

   The intent is probably similar, though the focus is different. Prayer is an externally focused thing, while meditation is internal. In both cases, the intention will probably be a feeling of a need for guidance - but, when you pray, you're focusing your attention on something external to yourself (an appeal to a higher power - God, or whatever), and when you meditate, you're turning your attention inward, and essentially relying on self-reflection.
   
   That's the opinion of someone who isn't particularly religious, anyway.

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10. 85

    SidKempposted 11 years ago

    I both pray and meditate. I think that your view is a good start. I could add a few thoughts. Neither prayer nor meditation requires believing in God, for one thing, so, more generally, prayer is asking and meditation is being open to receiving.
    
    But there are other meanings of prayer as well. There are prayers of praise, for instance.
    
    And some traditions do use meditation and chanting to acquire things - even material things. Though that is not where I focus my efforts.

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    1. 72

       Darrell Robertsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       You bring out some good points God is not required to pray or meditate.

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11. 72

    jainismusposted 11 years ago

    I think no. In prayer we pray to God for ourselves and others, while  meditation is to know our inner self.

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12. 74

    Rosana Modugnoposted 11 years ago

    I believe prayer is actually directed to a specific entity (God), where as mediation is an inward prayer within yourself.

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13. 60

    AnnaMJposted 11 years ago

    I believe that prayer is direct communication with God, and that meditation is when we open our mind and spirit to communication from positive forces in the universe.  (Such as angels, departed loved ones, gaurdians, Jesus and Mother God.) Meditation brings about peace and cleansing, as well as inner fortitude.  Prayer is talking to God and asking, receiving and interperting his voice.

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14. 60

    shruti sheshadriposted 11 years ago

    Prayer is done when you are asking for something , looking for it elsewhere.
    Meditation is the state in which you realize the answer lies within yourself and you have the ability to seek it.

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15. 60

    rajath paiposted 11 years ago

    Prayer and meditation are not the same. I can speak for meditation as I am Indian and not to be stereotypical but meditation and its importance was very clearly stressed to me in a yoga class I took a few years ago. Meditation is the allowance of time purely for yourself - body and soul - to, simply put, let yourself be.
    Whereas prayer for me is the request made to someone other than yourself, some higher entity wherever your faith resides, at times for help or for strength or whatever the heart, mind or body desires.
    In short, meditation is what you do for the peace of your body and soul and prayer for the happiness and most of the time, longevity of your life and also that of those around you.

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    arbitrarycurlsposted 11 years ago

    I think they're different. Prayer is where you can let your requests be made known, but also hear from God in a two-way communication. Meditation is purely hearing. You have set in your mind on what it is you want God to answer and you focus on hearing about that. In a way meditation is more intense because it's not something you just jump into as you do with prayer.

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    mcbelposted 11 years ago

    I view prayer as a conversation with a separate, intangible or past being. Meditation has always seemed to be reaching within oneself to find a greater meaning or answer, rather than outward with prayer. Meditation can be done religiously, but I believe that this means they are using help from whoever they believe to be their god to find the answer within themselves. IMHO, prayer = asking questions outwardly, meditation = looking for answers inwardly.

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