A friend of mine recently told me that she was experiencing a serious, life-changing health condition.
While we were discussing this, I asked them if they would like to work on meditation or attend a meditation retreat with me, as they had previously attended a mindfulness and meditation course I had hosted. I did.
They answered, “I pray in the morning. I consider it a form of meditation.” I left it with “If it brings you peace, that’s great.”
Since then, I’ve been thinking about how prayer and meditation are similar and different.
In my experience, most prayers are somewhat different from meditation. Prayer usually involves looking outward to God or other supernatural forces. Meditation typically involves looking inward, often focusing on the breath or another object of focus.
When prayer involves attachment to past events or anticipated futures, it differs from typical meditation, which brings one into the present moment without such attachment.
However, when prayer is performed as a mantra or otherwise brings one into the present moment and evokes peace, joy, tranquility, etc., it overlaps with meditation.
The “fruits of the spirit” in Christianity include love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As long as we experience and cultivate these, whether we experience them through prayer or meditation, we will become better inside and out.
Ron Lee, Brentwood 37027
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This article was originally published in Nashville Tennessee: Prayer and Meditation: Learn how these practices differ and overlap
