Why Prayer Works

Prayer is a common theme in many classic works related to motivation and self-help. Granted, at the time of their writing, our culture was more religious, but even newer works recommend prayer-like rituals that are considered non-denominational such mantras and affirmations to help program yourself for success. These systems state that people who regularly perform these rituals, tend to be more successful than those that don't.

When I thought about my own situation: how I prayed and why, it made sense to me. I realized that the three things I was taught to include in my prayers each night, prepared me for success. These three things are:

1. Be thankful for what you have.
2. Ask for forgiveness for your sins/mistakes.
3. Ask for what you feel you deserve.

Spending a few minutes thinking about these three items each night can have powerful effects on you, regardless of your religion (and even if you're not religious). Let's look at each one in closer detail.

Taking a moment to stop and be thankful for the things you have in life can have a positive affect on your confidence, self-worth and attitude. We live in a society where we're constantly bombarded with reminders of the things we don't have in life: advertisements for expensive cars & restaurants, pills to help you lose those "unwanted pounds" and "business opportunities" to help you live a life you can only dream of. It seems like each commercial break provides us with several opportunities to feel inadequate. So taking the time at the end of each day to be thankful for what we do have in life, can erase some of the "programming" that is forced upon us each day by advertisers.