God is as much justice as He is love and, in regard to persons who approach Him for favours, He is mainly a judge. He functions through the law of Karma, according to which man’s merits and demerits are responsible for his enjoyments and sufferings.

But a true devotee, who puts entire reliance on the Supreme Being, can seek refuge in Him in a distressing situation. He does so not in a spirit of petitioning for advantages but of a total surrender in expectation of an upliftment, which neither his own powers nor merits can accomplish. In such a prayer there is also an attitude of submission, which consists in a willingness to abide by His will and wisdom, without any trace of that egotistic attitude of judging by the results. If he gets the Divine aid, he is thankful; if he fails to get it for reasons unknown to him, he says without the slightest dejection or scepticism: ‘May His will be done!’ In such an attitude there is no question of attributing success to chance or of becoming sceptical in case of failure. In either case, the attitude will be one of ‘Your will be done’.

In genuine prayer cent per cent acceptance of the reality, power and beneficence of the Being one addresses must be there in the mind of the votary who should be fully en rapport with that Being, undeviated by the slightest trace of doubt or scepticism. It is not the piteous nature of the appeal made by the suppliant but his robust and unflinching faith and surrender that helps him in his prayer.