Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi said, “There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” Each person finds their own way to pray, just as every blooming rose unfolds according to its particular situation, one perhaps blessed with more sun, another sheltered from the wind, and so on. In the kaleidoscope of manifestation, variation from one seeker to another is to be expected. But by constancy, we deepen. As a Sufi once observed, we learn by repetition, and the more we perform an action, the more accomplished we become, whether it is a case of playing a musical instrument, of comforting a crying child, or of dropping our self-obsession for a moment and opening our heart toward our ideal of perfection.

Prayer can of course mean any action undertaken with an appropriate attunement — the way we do our laundry or the way we receive a guest in our home can certainly be offered as a prayer to the Divine – but the wise have also given forms or methods which help us to shape our consciousness. Whether we benefit from them, or merely fall into mechanical repetition depends entirely on our attitude.

One aspect of a helpful attitude, an indispensable aspect, is confidence. If we pray, but doubt, then our prayers become a burden to us instead of a refreshment that lifts us up, an obligation we must fulfil and not an opportunity to find a momentary refuge of sustenance and peace. In other words, if we have doubt, then our prayers will leave a shadow of resentment on our heart; if we trust, the prayers will help us to glimpse something of Reality, which is their true purpose.

And the need for confidence points to another essential attitude toward prayer, that we should be constantly reaching upward, yearning for that which is higher and finer than what we have already experienced. The prayer Salat addresses all the Masters, Saints and Prophets in this way: ‘Thou, whose heart constantly reacheth upward.’ Insofar as we feel inspired by one Messenger or another, we should try to reflect that quality. And we see it beautifully expressed in the ecstatic joy of Juan de la Cruz, who, after a long agony of separation, had managed one dark night to climb the ‘secret ladder’ when his ‘house’ was at rest, finding at last the embrace of the Beloved Whom he sought.

The river is constantly flowing; we cannot step in the same stream twice. And our prayers are also in motion – each time different, but, with the right attitude, each time closer to the One.