The Difference Between Saying and Praying

In most religions and spiritual paths there is a practice of reciting memorized prayers, invocations, litanies and chants. When I was a little girl in Sunday School at the United Methodist Church I took pride in having memorized the Apostle's Creed before any of my classmates. I recited it loudly and proudly in church every Sunday.

These days, I still find power in the speaking, singing and chanting of sacred words, and know that their power is multiplied when uttered in unison with others. I know, too, that their power is enhanced with each recitation; that the chant I wrote five years ago has more power now, because it has been used so many times now, by so many voices.

There are also sacred words that we utter privately, in prayer, invocation, incantation, or to create sacred space. Many tarot readers and energy healers have specific prayers that they say before they begin their work.

As a mentor of professional tarotists, readers, healers and psychics, I often field questions from students who feel they aren't making the psychic connections as easily and reliably as they feel they should. Anyone who has been in this situation knows how frustrating that lack of connection can be!

Very often, the problem comes down to a simple root cause. I ask my student how they prepare for a session. The student will rapidly recite the prayer that prepares them for reading with the vigor of my child self in church, saying the Creed.

What generally ensues is a lesson in the ways we can use our words to connect with our will and our focus to move energy around us and through us.

It's the difference between simply saying “I am love” or using that phrase as you actively pull the energy of love from earth and heaven, run it through your body and send it out of your heart chakra into the world.

It's all well and good to affirm that you are, indeed, love, and it is a helpful affirmation. That alone, however, won't sustain you in an emotional crisis, because it's intellectual, not energetic.

The same is true for any affirmation, any invocation, incantation, healing energy work, chant, prayer of protection or preparation for psychic work.

The words we utter are sacred and powerful, but they need our active energy, focus and intention to bring them to life.

The next time you utter sacred words, use meditative breathing and mental focus to make those words more than something you say; let them become something you do.

The added power this brings to your prayer will most certainly make a difference.