UNITED IN PRAYER

Heflich reflects on the value of prayer in this nonfiction book.

“Praying is the one human activity that has been practiced universally by all peoples for thousands of years, states the author in this book’s opening lines. Yet, Heflich argues, despite its ubiquity throughout human history and across religious affiliations, much prayer in modern society is practiced in isolation or recited through rote memorization of verses that are disconnected from our daily lives. For the author, prayer is not simply a “skill” that requires practice and thoughtful preparation, or merely “something we do,” but rather “is an awareness of our inner thoughts.” At only 20 total pages, including frontmatter and endnotes, this concise book is a remarkably thorough introduction to the importance of prayer. Though many of its citations and examples of famous prayers come from Catholic sources (ranging from the 13th-century Dominican friar Meister Eckhart to the 20th century’s mystic Trappist monk Thomas Merton), the book deliberately includes diverse perspectives on prayer that reference, among others, the Dalai Lama, Muslim scholar Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali, and Jewish philosopher and rabbi Moses Maimonides. A central theme of the book is its titular claim that prayer is a unifying force that bridges religious divides (prayers “from every faith and creed are remarkably the same,” per Heflich), and unites us with the Divine. Drawing on contemporary scientific theories of multidimensional universes, the book also speculates on the concept of Heaven and divinity. God, the author posits, is the source of energy that created life, and if “everything is energy, including us,” then we are intrinsically connected to God. Prayer, in this context, helps us realize and reflect on our interconnectivity with the universe.

The book supplements its metaphysical ruminations with practical answers to some fundamental questions of prayer-skeptics (“To Whom are We Praying?”; “Does Prayer Work?”). Perhaps most insistently, it encourages readers to shift their approach to prayer and focus on “real action” rather than passively waiting for God to act first. While personally believing that prayers can be answered through divine intervention, the most meaningful prayers, the author contends, are not those that ask “God to solve our problems,” but those that prompt us “to look inside of ourselves to find God there.” Heflich, a businessman and author of multiple self-help books on leadership and healthy lifestyles, brings a relentless optimism to his writing and is careful not to offend readers by favoring one particular belief system over another. While readers of some faith traditions may not agree with the book’s conceptualization of God, its uplifting and welcoming tone keeps a laser focus on the commonalities that unite world religions. This is an admirable aim, but scholars may note that the book’s idealized interpretations erase important differences and historical contexts (while all broad appeals to the Divine, the Hail Mary and Catholic Rosary are distinct from Islam’s salat al-jum’ah Friday prayer or the mantras found in Hindu scripture). Unity is a worthy pursuit, but some readers may look askance at efforts to homogenize religious expression through ecumenical platitudes. These criticisms notwithstanding, this is a solid introduction to prayer and the nature of God and packs a treasure trove of insights into less than two dozen pages.

A thoughtful introduction to prayer across world religions that challenges (without belittling) readers.