Inspirational prayers

Prayers (written, spoken or sung) composed or constructed for one purpose by an author or community, can themselves inspire others to seek the same qualities, behaviours or state sought in the prayer - e.g. peace, service, generosity, compassion, consolation, inspiration and commitment. Readers/hearers of these prayers (many of the prayers which inspire others are constructed in very personal contexts), are inspired to respond with, or say to God, “me too!” They are drawn on to better/greater things or belief by the words, values, emotions and/or aspirations contained in the prayer. Inspirational prayer brings about metanoia: a change of heart in the hearer.

What makes a prayer ‘inspirational’?

“If prayer were intended only to inform God of our desires and deficiencies, it would be unnecessary. Its true purpose is to raise the level of the supplicants by helping them develop true perceptions of life so that they can become worthy of God's blessing.” (Nosson Scherman,
Prayer, a Timeless Need)

Prayers by others become inspirational when the self-discovery of the authors, or their perceptions of life become so clear through reflection and experience, that in expressing them they capture the essence of what many others are also seeking and so others can also say “yes!” to their discoveries of how or what one should be. Many of the great inspirational prayers and aspirations come from mystics and saints who spent many years reflecting and contemplating before being able to express simply but clearly an insight into the human condition or relationship(s) with God.

Inspirational prayers, then:

are often composed in the context of an intense life, or spiritual, experience
may be the culmination of many years of thought, reflection and prayer
Express simply and with great clarity some of the complex mysteries of life
Capture the hearts and minds of ordinary people because of their insight, capacity to express complexity simply, or, in the case of music, to touch human emotions.
can provoke intense emotional responses by their content or the context in which they are heard or presented.

The context of the experience of the prayer can also be inspirational: for example, prayer in beautiful settings or prayer with and among people bowed down by oppression or pain or sorrow can inspire the hearer to want to act or to respond in a variety of ways. What appears to be a quite mundane prayer can be made inspirational when used or presented in an inspirational setting.