Prayer versus meditation.
It's a wide debate.
Is the prayer speaking to the divine while meditation is seeking an experience with the divine? That's how the Meditation Society of America defines the difference.
Is prayer participation, while meditation is anticipation?
Everyone comes to this debate from a different place - depending on his or her spiritual background, whether you are pagan or Orthodox Christian.
Some people feel they can pray, but they can't still their mind enough to meditate.
Some people meditate more often than they pray.
Patheos tackled this grand debate in February - from a pagan perspective.
And what of the concept of centering prayer? Some say that's a cross between prayer and meditation.
What has been your experience with the differences between prayer and meditation from your spiritual background?
Cynthia P. Barnett | Sep 12, 2012 | 3:03pm
As a Christian Scientist, I sometimes use the two terms interchangeably, as in the Biblical phrase, “Let the meditation [prayer] of my heart be acceptable to you, O God.” But there are so many different definitions of these two terms out there, I’ll speak only for myself.
You could say I meditate to get into the right frame of mind for prayer: a humble, receptive listening frame of mind, more than a talking frame of mind. Certainly this frame of mind reduces fear and stress, as others mention. But for me it does much more. It leads to action. Prayer enables me to hear the answer of what to do next. Prayer does more than calm me, it often reveals specific ideas and even healing truths that bring restoration and recovery to the situation at hand.
Years ago this kind of prayer, offered at first in panic, revealed the exact steps of a dance I had to choreograph in a half hour’s deadline, whereas the choreography process without prayer usually took me more than three hours. This quiet listening prayer also healed me of sharp and alarming stomach pains when I felt the inspiration that all was well with me—because my Father-Mother cared and had everything about me under control. There have been countless other experiences like these over the decades, big and little, for my family and me.
I’m grateful for both prayer and meditation. I’m glad so many are turning to these wonderful thought based tools, however they define them.
Melody Gordon | Sep 13, 2012 | 8:01am
To me meditation is an introspective of sending good thoughts and vibrations out in the universe. Prayer is also intropective but is a communal activity also. When one prayers be it singularly or communal it is usually to a higher being directly. The purpose of prayer is to increase not only your awareness of God in your life but also the role that God has in your life.
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