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Prayer: it’s more than just asking
Most of us know about prayers of intercession — prayers asking God for something. We have prayer books full of such prayers, yet the secret all mystics know is the prayer of silence.
There is nothing wrong with asking but the point of prayer is not to give God your shopping list of desires. God knows what you need. That was the point Jesus was making when he advised us to seek first the kingdom.
Prayer starts with attuning to the divine. Attuning is an activity that takes us out of our normal world and into the presence of the divine.
Sacred chanting is a method of attuning with the divine. If you’ve ever heard Buddhists monks chanting ‘Om’ or Christian monks using Gregorian chant you know what I mean. If you don’t, try an internet search using ‘sacred chants’ to explore the world of chanting.
Indigenous people all over the world use sacred chanting, often accompanied by drumming. This is simply a way of opening up the communication channels to the divine on an appropriate frequency. If you are a churchgoer, this is why the service often starts with singing.