Is Reiki Prayer?

Article by Angie Webster

Now and then I hear a bit of a debate about whether prayer and Reiki are the same thing. I can understand how the question would arise.

Reiki is the Universal Life Force Energy and it is also an energy healing technique that works with this Energy through intention.

Prayer is a word that refers to the many ways that we have of setting our intention to connect, feel and work with the Universal Life Force, that which many of us call God. Some of us have a very definite idea of what prayer can and cannot be, and others feel that prayer can be used in most every aspect of our lives.

Sometimes people need to see a clear distinction between the two, mostly because of their own religious or social understanding of prayer. But are they really that different?

Consider that many pray with each step that they take, asking that each step bless the Earth and all who walk upon her. Or maybe they pray with each task they perform throughout the day, asking that it be of service to any and all that may need it. Maybe they pray as they chant a mantra, say a rosary or sit before their altar in quiet meditation. Their prayer might be as they walk in nature, feeling their connection flowing through and between them and all life. Or as they hold their love or gaze upon their sleeping child. For some, it may be all of these.

When you have a larger more inclusive view of prayer, practicing Reiki does indeed count as prayer or it at least includes prayer. Many practitioners say a prayer or something that resembles a prayer, asking for the healing and the greatest and highest good of their client and for all, as they start a session.

Many simply call this setting an intention. That’s really all prayer is. It is opening your heart and your mind to the intention you have, to the wish that you are asking to bring about. We all do this every day, throughout the day, even if we have no spiritual beliefs. Every time we decide we are going to do something, we have set an intention. When we ask for something, or hold a belief about something or someone, we are setting intentions in our minds that that is how they will be.

Intention is a very powerful thing. It is how we work with the Creative Force in the Universe. It is asking and allowing so that we create a channel. This is how prayer works and it is how Reiki works, too.

So, perhaps Reiki can be considered a type of prayer by those who have a broad definition of what prayer means. It certainly isn’t only prayer, just as prayer isn’t only Reiki. But for those who see prayer in many of the things we do in life, and see that intention is a prayer, Reiki becomes a beautiful kind of prayer.

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Angie Webster made a significant contribution to the Reiki community, with a particular focus on Animal Reiki, which she had a deep affection for. As a knowledgeable Reiki Master Teacher and Author, she conducted online courses on energy healing, herbalism, flower essences, and personal growth.
She is the author of “Animal Reiki: How it Heals, Teaches & Reconnects Us with Nature” and “Reiki from A to Z”. Currently, Angie has decided to retire from her professional life to devote more time to her health, family, and the little joys of life.