Affirmative Prayer

Prayer is foundational to everything we do in Unity and an essential part of our identity as a spiritual community.  Sometimes newcomers to Unity are surprised that we don’t pray to ask God for favors or specific results, which leads many to ask, Why do we pray?

We pray to lift our awareness to the presence of God within and all around us.

Affirmative prayer reflects the certainty that we are each being led to our highest good, despite any temporary appearances.

Prayer is how we know, feel and experience our Oneness, our divinity.  At Unity of Greater Hartford, we begin and end our services, classes, and meetings with prayer and in gratitude.  We don’t pray to change or affect God, we pray to change ourselves, to shift our awareness away from the busyness, noise and concerns of our day-to-day lives and rest in the awareness of God that is perfect peace.

Through regular, consistent prayer practice, we are able to live this peace in our daily lives, knowing that no matter what situations we encounter, we are peaceful in the face of turmoil or conflict, confident instead of doubtful, loving in the presence of hatred or intolerance, and prosperous even when circumstances suggest lack or impermanence.

Affirmative prayer is the method we use to remain centered in this peace.  While we believe that there is no wrong way to pray, we recommend Unity’s five-step process as a guide to deepen our awareness of our spiritual nature and then to live from that awareness.  This process — relaxation, concentration, meditation, realization and gratitude — makes it possible for us to reach the Silence, which is the experience of communing with pure God energy, and then direct that energy through affirmations that lift and grow our consciousness.  This method, practiced consistently, can be utterly transformative.  Many in Unity can attest to the life-altering effects of affirming prayer!

We realize that sometimes it’s hard to affirm the Truth in the midst of turmoil or uncertainty.  Our spiritual community is blessed by the service of prayer chaplains who hold prayerful consciousness with and for Unity of Greater Hartford and its congregants.  Prayer chaplains are also available after each service for individual congregants who wish to receive confidential, one-on-one prayer for any concern or celebration.  There is never a charge for their service, and it is their honor and joy to share the gift of affirmative prayer with all those who seek them out.

Rosemary Ellen Guiley, the author of Prayer Works, states that affirmative prayer “sets into motion the forces that enable us to manifest what we pray for.”

Prayer is our comfort and our celebration, and it’s our joy to share our prayerful consciousness with everyone who walks through our doors.  No matter what prayer means to you – whether you bow your head and say a blessing of Namaste, quiet your mind to listen to your still, small voice, or lovingly hold others in your heart and mind — Unity welcomes you to join us in the peace that passes all understanding.