3 types of Visualizations

I am referring here to types of visualized praying one sees all over the world.

There is the traditional type of praying where you are looking up to God like he is your king and asking him to grant you favors.

There is the next less traditional way where God is your friend and compatriot standing in front of you and you are talking with God as your good friend.

There is another form that usually only very advanced monks and nuns of all religions use where they visualize God becoming one with them. This is usually done to bring a blessing to all nearby. So, that one's body becomes interchangable with God while this visualization and praying is going on for the betterment of all beings nearby and all beings on earth and beyond.

Rather than saying God it is actually more useful to say the word Diety in all three contexts.

Because the third one is used mostly in very advanced Buddhist practices where Diety is a more useful statement than God.

Though God is not formalized conceptually in Buddhism there is still a hierarchy of Buddhas that stretches from earth to the solar system to the Galaxy and finally (in Tibetan Buddhism) to Vajrasattva and Nyema) the highest Buddhas still dealing with the physical universe. A Christian might see them as Father and Mother God of the Physical Universe.

Note:

Vajrasattva: literally means "Diamond Vow" or "Lightning Vow".

It is the basis of Vajrayana Buddhism.

Vajrasattva made a vow to not go beyond the physical universe to the formless realms until all beings in the physical universe became enlightened and ended their suffering and came to Bliss.

This also is the essence of the Diamond or Lightning Path of Vajrayana Buddhism as well.

It is a path of "Instant enlightenment".

It is also sort of a Zen like Path in this sense also.

One has to break through the egg shell of thinking like a human being into a more Galactic or encompassing the whole universe point of view like Vajrasattva to be able to perceive in a Vajrayana way of enlightenment which then leads eventually to the enlightenment of all beings in the physical universe.