Can you shed some light on the value of prayer?
Prayer, unfortunately, is often misunderstood as a form of blind faith in a God that we do not know. In Hinduism, prayer is considered as an invocation. The scriptures point out that potentially we are divine. We are infinite, but have conditioned ourselves to believe that we limited beings. Each one is born with great potential, but we are not taught how to develop it. In fact, our upbringing only focuses on what we cannot do, not what we can do. From childhood we are warned, “Don’t go near the swimming pool, you will drown!”
Our abilities and powers are limited, bit desires unlimited. Until we fulfill them to an extent, we cannot find peace. If we are unable to do something inspite of putting in efforts, we seek the help of elders- mother, father, etc. Or we turn to a Higher Power. When that Attunement takes place, the mind gets connected and the Higher flows through us to achieve our desires. This is the principle of invocation. This is prayer.
(Excerpt from Doubts Dispelled- QnA with Swami Swaroopananda)