What is the meaning of prayer?

Prayer is a form of self talk for me. I remind my self, " Hey, are you going in the right path, ? if not drift back." It's a kind of review for me. Nothing more and nothing less.

I believe in prayer but I have my own way to pray which doesn't match with most of the others. I pray to God before I leave the bed in the morning and just before sleeping at night that too after getting into the bed. It's very occasional that at home I stand in front of the place where images of God are kept and pray. I thank God, I request Him for something or the other and the interesting part is I can simply vent  my frustrations to Him.   

Thanking the God for all he bestowed on us is the ideal way of Praying. And venting your frustrations is also good. But, there should not be "Ifs and BUts."

what i want to drive home the point is, " God, If you put an end to my frustrations...I take a vow to come to your temple in Kedarnath and offer you a crown made of Gold."

For me a prayer is to keep me away from sins for the day and I never take more than five seconds for saying that to almighty.

I am a person who feels suffocated when some condition is forced upon me so there is no question of imposing ifs and buts on God. Its plain and simple venting or else it becomes difficult to bear the pressure. Sometimes something good takes place and it soothes me but sometimes nothing turns up positive but helps me to accept it in an easier way because I know there is God, to whom I can talk to about everything from positive to negative ones.    

That is required. A Prayer loses its meaning and purpose if conditions are imposed. Its nothing short of offering a bribe to the God.

suni51 wrote:

For me a prayer is to keep me away from sins for the day and I never take more than five seconds for saying that to almighty.

That sounds strange to me.. so you just deposit you sins on him and push off do you?  

I am always talking to him every moment of the day. Constantly telling him how much I love him.. how much I need him.. etc..  

Prayer is as  I understand a two way conversation.. not one way traffic.  Each to his own though.. I was just curious. 

I regard prayer as a means to express my gratitude for all that he gave me. Once in a day, I pay my gratitude to God. Number of times is immaterial to me. Because God knows what you are. That's why reminders every other minute is not required.

If you are counting the number of times it is not prayer it is statistics..  I am talking of being one with  God.. being in constant communion with God..  You do count how many times you express your love to your children/spouse?  Its is the same with God. 

That's the reason why i said number is meaningless to me. God dwells always in one's heart with doors open.

We don't have to give him reminders.,. just speak to him all day .. as there is no end to conversations of love. 

That is understood.Why knocking the door when they are opened ?

For me prayer happens at different moments of life – in the beginning of a day, in the beginning of some important tasks and in the end of the day. Every time it is a silent submission, self-assurance or a thanksgiving. Self communicates with Self silently. He who prays and he who hears is one and the same; no third person. For me God is my Self.  Who knows me better, other than my Self?

 Prayer is a self talk. It is a call to yourself to mobilize  all your skills and talents to achieve a status that the unknown power behind those blue curtains expects from you.

A prayer can be something very simple as said by an innocent child or something with very deep and profound meaning. It is really hard to say what exactly it is, but it means a lot to many people. I personally cannot really express what it means for me but I found a lovely poem called "A  Wing and a Prayer" of which two stanzas I liked the best:

Under the wing of the angel, we feel protected

Through powers to God, we feel connected

Peace is said to be offered on the wings of a dove,

Prayers can bring peace along with hope, faith and love.

Prayer takes different meaning for different situations. It is a plea when one is desperate, it is a thanksgiving when one achieves, it is hope when one is trying, it is a bargain when one is uncertain, it is a contract when one is taking a risk and it is a homecoming when one's time has come.

vijay wrote:

Prayer takes different meaning for different situations. It is a plea when one is desperate, it is a thanksgiving when one achieves, it is hope when one is trying, it is a bargain when one is uncertain, it is a contract when one is taking a risk and it is a homecoming when one's time has come.

That is the best description of what prayer really is so far I have come across!

Thank you @ Kalyani.. After writing I was also surprised at how could I express in such words. Perhaps these were my own experiences coming out.

vijay wrote:

Prayer takes different meaning for different situations. It is a plea when one is desperate, it is a thanksgiving when one achieves, it is hope when one is trying, it is a bargain when one is uncertain, it is a contract when one is taking a risk and it is a homecoming when one's time has come.

Prayer is a submission before the creator expressing gratitude. Once  things like bargaining, demanding, contract etc are included in Prayer,  the word Prayer loses it's sanctity.

The beauty of prayer is that nobody can teach others how to pray or what to pray. It just happens. It comes from within; and the communion takes place in a transcendental level. The famous short story “The Three Hermits” by Leo Tolstoy is a classic example that reminds me of the sanctity of prayer, where the bishop who tried to teach the hermits how to pray finally realized that prayer cannot be taught, but should come from the heart.