Prayers...

I receive quotes from many friends and acquaintances and this one popped in today….

“Always ask to give you what you deserve, not what you desire...
Your desires may be a few, but you deserve a lot!!” – Anon

Immediately after I read this, the first thing (actually, the second thing I guess) that occurred to me was that what one prays for speaks volumes about what kind of a person one is…!

What do you normally pray for?

-All your desires to be fulfilled?

-Your near and dear one’s desires to be fulfilled?

-Happiness in particular?

-Money in particular?

-Health in particular?

-Power/Fame in particular?

-Long Life?

-The well-being of the World at large?

-A ‘great’ job?

-Intellect?

-Character?

-Devotion to God Himself?

-Peace of mind?

-Faith in life/self?

-A perfect partner?

-Death? (I did not want to initially put this on the list….but, well, it is a possibility)

-A combination of the above?

-Anything that He knows to be good for you? or

-Is there’s so much to ask for that you never known where to start ;) or

....do you ask for nothing at all?

And what if you are an atheist? What do you ‘ask’ for if at all you do?

I suppose that (for the believers at least) with growth in character and spirituality, what one prays for will undergo changes that are striking. And come to think of it, it may work the other way round as well - consciously thinking about and changing what one prays for may contribute to one’s spiritual growth…! What do you think?