Translation from German by Robert Hutwohl^[1]

          Question: What is the purpose and benefit of prayer?

          Answer: The awakening and elevation of that spiritual self-consciousness which is the revelation of the Godhead in man.

          If you go into a Christian church and hear the prayers that are held there very often, many a thinking person will be amazed at what is required of God or what is advised to him, and the question arises:

          What petty notions these people must have of the God of the universe if they think that he allows himself to be persuaded and influenced by them; for even if there were a personal, foreign God with human qualities, he would probably know himself what he has to do and need not consult the clergy or have his actions dictated to him by the believers. A whole list of wishes is often presented to the deity to be fulfilled, while the petitioners sit back and do not think about helping themselves. After all, it is much more convenient to expect someone else to fulfill one’s duties than to fulfill these duties oneself. In this case, “praying” is an expression of selfishness and might more properly be called “begging.”

Note:

^[1] Theosophical Correspondence. Predictions and prophecies; Prayer; Month stones and amulets. [Theosophische Korrespondenz. Weissagungen und Prophezeiungen; Das Gebet; Monatssteine und Amulette. Franz Hartmann, M.D. Neue Lotusblüten 2, no. 3-4] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}