Personal God: The Cornerstone of Prayer and Faith
The absence of a clear conception of what is meant by “God” as a personal being deeply affects the quality and content of prayer practice. If a person does not have firm ideas about whom they are addressing in their prayer, their inner religious experience remains vague and abstract, reduced to the mere sensation of an impersonal realm that can be called “divine.” In turn, it is precisely the belief in God as a personal being that provides a genuine sense of support, confidence, and connection—reflected in sincere prayer and a full religious life.Thus, as noted in one source, the fundamental difference between belief and disbelief lies in whether we unequivocally and with complete certainty believe in the existence of a personal God or not. The author writes: “They will tell me: even if all this is true, still the inner religious experience, as I have attempted to describe it, at best allows us to feel, perceive only some indefinite, impersonal sphere of existence—something that can be called ‘divine,’ ‘sanctity,’ ‘other,’ or ‘higher realm’—but it does not provide clear and solid knowledge of the existence of that completely definite reality which we call God in the sense of a personal God. And yet, the main, radical difference between belief and disbelief boils down to whether we unequivocally and with complete certainty believe in the existence of a personal God or not. Without belief in God as a personal being, there is no prayer, no religious life, and no joyful sense of security in our life under the protection of a loving, all-good, and almighty ‘Heavenly Father.’” (source: link txt)Thus, when people pray to something they are not sure of, their prayer turns into a formality—a ritual recitation of words not supported by a deep experience of personal communication with God. This can lead to a lack of inner confidence and sincerity, ultimately resulting in the loss of the vital support that religious faith can provide when God is recognized as a loving, close Father. Moreover, a lack of clarity in understanding the object of faith may leave a person in a state of doubt; if the object of prayer does not hold a real, personal, and specific essence for them, then the entire religious life risks being reduced to merely an intellectual affirmation of the idea of God rather than genuine spiritual communion.The absence of a clear understanding of the concept of God, therefore, deprives the practice of faith of its foundational content: true, living communication with a personal God upon which the joy, confidence, and wholeness of religious life are built.