“Self-realization is the knowing – in body, mind, and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God’s omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing.”
– Swami Paramahamsa Yogananda
 
Kabir – The couplet
जप तप समझन साधन, सुमिरन को माहि ।
कहे कबीर बिचार कोई सुमिरन सैम कुछ नाहि ||

Transliterated:
Jap Tap Samjan Sadhan, Sab Sumiran Ko Maahi |
Kahe Kabir Bichar Koi Sumiran Sam Kuchh Nahi ||

Translation:
Chanting, austerities, restraint, all are ways to pray |
Says Kabir, realize the Self, and the object of all prayer is realized||

My understanding:
When I was first introduced to prayer, I understood God as that invisible all-powerful sky dweller who could see all I did, hear my thoughts and read my mind, granting me the wishes I deserved and punishing me with pain for my wrongs.

As I got further along my musings and interactions with prayer, I found chanting. Chanting seemed to initially put me to sleep real well – within the first few minutes of beginning chanting any time. Better than even my most difficult text books. From there I moved to meditation, austerities and the practice of restraint. All of these seemed to raise questions galore, but provided no real answers. The more I tried, the deeper in confusion I found myself.

At some point it felt pointless enough that I decided to step away from it all. And that was when I had my “eureka” moment. All the while, my questions had been directed to the world outside of me, based on the input received from my external senses. But without really understanding myself, I had neither properly tuned my senses nor taught myself to truly read the real meaning of their input. Once I understood this, I then trained myself to stop the questions so that I could really hear myself speak, perhaps for the first time. Once I heard that, it became evident that the external senses, without tuning, are slaves to the enemies of the Self, intent on misusing and destroying everything useful this body is capable of.

And there is the real heart of it all. Find the Self, recognize its voice, and prayer will be both natural and true. And you will have realized the true meaning of existence.