Power of Prayer

One of the most common things you will hear me say in the most challenging times of life, and in the sweetest, is ‘time to pray’.

Prayer is often imagined as words spoken upward — a plea, a request, a whispered hope carried to the heavens. Yet in the old ways, in the ways of the Earth and of the plants, prayer is not a one-way conversation. It is a living dialogue between spirit, heart, and the web of life that holds us.

To pray is to remember our place in the web of life.

It is an act of connection rather than performance — not about what we say, but about the quality of presence we bring. In shamanic traditions, prayer is not confined to religion or temple walls. It is the song of the soul that rises naturally when we are in right relationship with ourselves, the land, and the unseen world.

When we enter into prayer, we shift our awareness from the noise of the mind to the rhythm of the spirit. This can happen through stillness, through movement, through tears or joy, through the scent of a crushed herb or the smoke of sacred plants. The plants themselves are prayerful beings — they live in constant communication with the elements, exchanging each breath with us, their roots in the dark soil, their leaves stretching toward light.

Prayer, then, is listening. It is the moment before speech when we open our inner ear to hear what the wind, the ancestors, or our own heart might be saying. In this space, words become less important. The prayer might be silence. It might be gratitude. It might be a deep breath drawn with full awareness that we are part of something vast, intelligent, and loving.

In shamanic practice, we use prayer to set intention — to invite healing, to ask permission, to honour spirit. We pray before we harvest plants, before we journey, before we heal. The act itself is sacred reciprocity: giving thanks for what we receive, recognising that every exchange — whether with a person, a plant, or a moment of guidance — is part of a living relationship.

To pray is also to align our energy with love. True prayer is not born from fear or lack, but from the remembrance that we are never separate. The more we pray, the more the boundary softens between the human and the holy, between the material and the mystery.

When the world feels heavy, prayer offers a path back to balance. It need not be ornate — a whispered “thank you,” a hand on the heart, a quiet walk in the woods can be enough. The Earth hears us. Spirit hears us. And perhaps most importantly, through prayer we begin to hear ourselves.

Prayer is the bridge between seen and unseen, it is both offering and answer, an ancient medicine that reminds us who we are.

Ready to deepen your spiritual practice with the Green Beings and Grandmother Earth? Join our Shamanic Herbalism Apprenticeship.