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prayer1

  (prâr) pronunciation
n.
    1. A reverent petition made to God, a god, or another object of worship.
    2. The act of making a reverent petition to God, a god, or another object of worship.
  1. An act of communion with God, a god, or another object of worship, such as in devotion, confession, praise, or thanksgiving: One evening a week, the family would join together in prayer.
  2. A specially worded form used to address God, a god, or another object of worship.
  3. prayers A religious observance in which praying predominates: morning prayers.
    1. A fervent request: Her prayer for rain was granted at last.
    2. The thing requested: His safe arrival was their only prayer.
  4. The slightest chance or hope: In a storm the mountain climbers won't have a prayer.
  5. Law.
    1. The request of a complainant, as stated in a complaint or in equity, that the court grant the aid or relief solicited.
    2. The section of the complaint or bill that contains this request.

[Middle English preiere, from Old French, from Medieval Latin precāria, from feminine of Latin precārius, obtained by entreaty, from precārī, to entreat. See pray.]


pray·er2 (prā'ər) pronunciation
n.

One who prays.


 
 
Thesaurus: prayer1

noun

  1. The act of praying: invocation, supplication. See religion.
  2. A formula of words used in praying: collect2, litany, orison, rogation (often used in plural). See religion.
  3. An earnest or urgent request: appeal, entreaty, imploration, plea, supplication. See ask/answer.
  4. An application to a higher authority, as for sanction or a decision: appeal, petition. See ask/answer, law.
prayer2

noun

    One who humbly entreats: beggar, suitor, suppliant, supplicant. See request.

 

Silent or spoken petition made to God or a god. Prayer has been practiced in all religions throughout history. Its characteristic postures (bowing the head, kneeling, prostration) and position of the hands (raised, outstretched, clasped) signify an attitude of submission and devotion. Prayer may involve confessions of sin, requests, thanks, praise, offerings of sacrifice, or promises of future acts of devotion. In addition to spontaneous private prayer, most religions have fixed formulas of prayer (e.g., the Lord's Prayer), often recited in group worship. The four prophetic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism) prescribe a daily set form of individual prayer, such as the Shema, to be recited twice a day by every male Jew, and the Islamic salat, performed five times a day.

For more information on prayer, visit Britannica.com.

 

Any kind of communication believed to be addressed to a deity.

 

Prayer in the Christian sense of the acknowledgement of God as the source of all goodness is not found in Buddhism since it does not believe in a creator-God. In general terms, it is meditation rather than prayer that is recommended as the main spiritual practice of Buddhism. However, there are in Buddhism many religious practices which parallel those in theistic traditions, particularly at more popular levels of practice. Aspirational and petitional prayer is common, the latter particularly in Mahāyāna Buddhism where it is directed towards Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The recital of texts and mantras is also an ancient and widespread practice, as is the counting of rosaries.

 
This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The request contained in a bill in equity that the court will grant the process, aid, or relief that the complainant desires.

In addition, the term prayer is applied to that segment of the bill that contains this request.

 

Prayer is a name given to the primary means for humans to make contact with the divine. In Western religion, especially, it is the means of contact between God and the individual believer. Prayer generally consists of one or more of the following elements: adoration and praise, thanksgiving, confession of sin, intercession for others, and supplication.

The belief that God intervenes to grant the petitions of fervent prayers, especially in the matter of healing the sick, has long been a central aspect of Christian theology, although in modern times more emphasis has been laid on submission to divine will than on desire for special favors. Such intervention is seen as the cause of most miracles and raises questions of the persistence of supernaturalism. Faith remains an essential component of successful prayer.

Samuel Jackson, in his biographical sketch of Jung-Stilling (J. Heinrich Jung), records that he attained the means for his education by a succession of miracles in answer to fervent prayer. J. K. Lavater's life abounded in similar incidents. Augustus Franke of Halle erected a vast orphanage and yearly fed and educated thousands of children by the power of prayer, he said.

Christopher Blumhardt (1805-1880) of Württemberg, Germany, was not only famous for his prayer cures but also for his philanthropy, the means of which were procured by answer to prayer. Hundreds of persons reported to have been compelled by a power they could not resist to send presents of clothes or food to Blumhardt.

The Curé d'Ars, Jean Baptiste Vianney (1786-1859), furnishes a similar example of an extraordinary life of faith. He built three chapels and established a home for destitute children and another home for friendless women. Constant prayer, he said, was the source of his beneficence. When food, fuel, or money was wanted, he prayed for it and it came.

George Muller of Bristol, as related in his Life of Trust, being a Narrative of Some of the Lord's Dealings with George Muller (2 vols., 1837-41), depended on prayer for half a century for his own maintenance and that of his charitable institutions. He never asked anyone, or allowed anyone to be asked, directly or indirectly, for a penny. No subscriptions or collections were ever made. Hundreds of times there was no food in his house, yet he never took a loaf or any other article on credit even for a day. During the 30 years covered by his narrative, neither he nor the hundreds of children dependent on him for their daily food were ever without a regular meal. Secret prayer was his only resource, he claimed. The donors always described sudden and uncontrollable impulses to send him a definite sum at a certain date, the exact amount he was in want of.

F. W. H. Myers states in Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death (2 vols., 1903) that "the recorded appearances, intimations, and messages of the departing and the departed" prove that "between the spiritual and material worlds an avenue of communication does exist—that which we call the despatch and receipt of telepathic messages, or the utterance and the answer of prayer and supplication."

Traditional prayer in Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) that imply a direct relationship between the believer and a beneficent deity have always been severely challenged by the existence of significant evil. The idea of a loving and omnipotent God acting on behalf of human life was put to its most intense test by the Holocaust of World War II. If there is any simple efficacy to devout and heartfelt prayers to a deity, why did the inconceivably monstrous horrors of the Nazi persecutions and prison camps fail to be averted? Reflection on this question has provided a watershed in theological thinking. It led in the short term to the emergence of the "death of God" movement in theology and only as some distance and reappraisal of the Holocaust has occurred has a theological reconstruction of faith been possible for many.

Less affected by the Holocaust were those who had adopted the alternative perspective on prayer offered by the metaphysical movements of the nineteenth century. Christian Science and New Thought metaphysics jettisoned a personal deity in favor of an underlying divine principle or law undergirding the visible structures of the universe. Prayer is seen much more as atuning oneself with the underlying universal spirit, in which condition anything is believed possible, especially on a personal scale. Numerous reports indicate that prayer with faith and confidence in this metaphysical context has produced the desired results in both a religious and secular setting. One wing of New Thought has retained a religious prayerful context, while a secular wing has simply emphasized the creative powers of the mind in achieving fulfillment of desire.

It seems possible that there are factors in prayer that are applicable to both religious and secular frames of thought, that faith and confidence enhance psychic factors at present not clearly identified. Even such mundane attempts to influence events as the willing of the fall of dice in parapsychological research may hold clues to the mechanisms of prayer.

Again, it is interesting to note that in such ancient religions as Hinduism, the gods are said to be unable to avoid granting requests when the petitioner has practiced intense austerities. This idea suggests that spiritual disciplines may bring about psychophysical changes in the petitioner that influence events. Secondary aspects of traditional prayer that may also have relevance are the ritualistic forms of prayers and the need for constant repetition, which, like autosuggestion, may enhance subconscious powers. The concept of faithful prayer often gradually drifts into various attempts not just to petition the divine but to assist or coerce the deity's action.

Ultimately, however, divine will takes priority over the mundane desires of petitioners, and even in mystical Hinduism the highest wisdom is said to be transcendental awareness, which is beyond desires and fears in the mundane world and which accepts favorable or unfavorable destiny with equanimity, much as the petitioner in the Christian tradition concludes, "Thy will be done."

Sources:

Bounds, E. M. Power Through Prayer. London, 1912. Reprint, Chicago: Moody Press, 1979.

Brown, William A. The Life of Prayer in a World of Science. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1927.

Carrol, F. The Prayer of the Early Christians. London: Burns & Oates, 1930.

Fillmore, Charles, and Cora Fillmore. Teach Us to Pray. New York: Seabury Press, 1976.

Greene, Barbara, and W. Gollancz. God of a Hundred Names. London: Gollancz, 1962.

Humbard, Rex. Prayer With Power. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, n.d.

James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. London, 1902. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1963.

Loehr, Franklin. The Power of Prayer on Plants. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1959.

Patton, William P. Prayer and Its Answers. New York, 1885.

Petuchowski, Jacob J., ed. Understanding Jewish Prayer. New York: Ktav Publications, 1972.

Sherman, Harold. How to Use the Power of Prayer. New York: C. & R. Anthony, 1959.

Stanton, Horace. Telepathy of the Celestial World. New York, 1913.

Steiner, Rudolf. The Lord's Prayer. London: Anthroposophic Press, n.d.

Theresa, St. The Interior Castle. London: Baker, 1921.

Yatiswarananda, Swami. Universal Prayers. 6th ed. Hollywood, Calif.: Vedanta Press, 1963.

 
Word Tutor: prayer
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A set of words addressed to a deity.

pronunciation Trouble and perplexity drive us to prayer, and prayer driveth away trouble and perplexity. — Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), German humanist and theological reformer.

 
Quotes About: Prayer

Quotes:

"The Lord's prayer contains the sum total of religion and morals." - Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley

"O Lord! thou knowest how busy I must be this day: if I forget thee, do not thou forget me." - Sir Jacob Astley

"To pray is to pay attention to something or someone other than oneself. Whenever a man so concentrates his attention -- on a landscape, a poem, a geometrical problem, an idol, or the True God -- that he completely forgets his own ego and desires, he is praying. The primary task of the schoolteacher is to teach children, in a secular context, the technique of prayer." - W. H. Auden

"Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you." - St. Augustine

"Spiritual favors are not always to be looked for, and not always to be relied on." - Amelia E. Barr

"The man who says his evening prayer is a captain posting his sentinels. He can sleep." - Charles Baudelaire

See more famous quotes about Prayer

 
Wikipedia: prayer
Mary Magdalene in prayer.
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Mary Magdalene in prayer.

Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate, commonly with a sequence of words, with a deity or spirit for the purpose of worshiping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins, or to express one's thoughts and emotions. The words of the prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person's words.

Forms of prayer

Muslims at prayer
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Muslims at prayer

The great spiritual traditions offer a wide variety of devotional acts. There are morning and evening prayers, graces said over meals, and reverent physical gestures. Some Christians bow their heads and fold their hands. Native Americans dance. Some Sufis whirl. Hindus chant. Orthodox Jews sway their bodies back and forth. Quakers keep silent. Among these methodologies are a variety of approaches to understanding prayer:

  • The belief that the finite can actually communicate with the infinite;
  • The belief that the infinite is interested in communicating with the finite;
  • The belief that the prayer is listened to and may or may not get a response;
  • The belief that prayer is intended to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, rather than to influence the recipient;
  • The belief that prayer is intended to train a person to focus on the recipient through philosophy and intellectual contemplation;
  • The belief that prayer is intended to enable a person to gain a direct experience of the recipient;
  • The belief that prayer is intended to affect the very fabric of reality itself;
  • The belief that the recipient expects or appreciates prayer

The act of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago[1]. Some anthropologists believe that the earliest intelligent modern humans practiced something that we would recognize today as prayer.

The act of prayer

Buddhist prayer in Thailand.
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Buddhist prayer in Thailand.

Praying has many different forms. Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Prayer can be incorporated into a daily "thought life," in which one is in constant communication with a God. Some people pray throughout all that is happening during the day and seek guidance as the day progresses. There can be many different answers to prayer, just as there are many ways to interpret an answer to a question, if there in fact comes an answer. Some may experience audible, physical, or mental epiphanies. If indeed an answer comes, the time and place it comes is considered random. Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: anointing with oil; ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction (i.e. towards Mecca or the East); making the sign of the cross. One less noticeable act related to prayer is fasting.

Praying Hands by Albrecht Dürer showing the hand position of a medieval commendation ceremony.
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Praying Hands by Albrecht Dürer showing the hand position of a medieval commendation ceremony.

A variety of body postures may be assumed, often with specific meaning (mainly respect or adoration) associated with them: standing; sitting; kneeling; prostrate on the floor; eyes opened; eyes closed; hands folded or clasped; hands upraised; holding hands with others; a laying on of hands and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously as they are prayed. They may be said, chanted, or sung. They may be with musical accompaniment or not. There may be a time of outward silence while prayers are offered mentally. Often, there are prayers to fit specific occasions, such as the blessing of a meal, the birth or death of a loved one, other significant events in the life of a believer, or days of the year that have special religious significance. Details corresponding to specific traditions are outlined below.

Prayer in Abrahamic religions

Prayer in the Bible

In the common Bible of the Abrahamic religions, various forms of prayer appear; the most common forms being petition, thanksgiving and worship. In many ways petition is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the "social approach" to prayer. In this view, a person appeals to God in prayer, and asks for his or her needs to be fulfilled; God listens to prayer, and chooses to answer directly, indirectly or not at all. This is one of the primary approaches to prayer, but by no means the only one, found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and in rabbinic literature such as the Talmud.

Jewish prayer

Main article: Jewish services

Jews pray three times a day, or more on special days, such as the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers. Jewish prayer is usually described as having two aspects: kavanah (intention) and keva (the ritualistic, structured elements).

The most important Jewish prayers are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") and the Amidah ("the standing prayer").

Jews consider the best form of prayer is to pray together, for example you would need 10 people (minyan) to pray in synagogue. They believe the more people, the stronger the connection.

Christian prayer

Further information: Prayer in Christianity
Further information: Christian Worship
18th c. Byzantine-style bronze panagia from Jerusalem, showing the Virgin Mary in the orans prayer posture.
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18th c. Byzantine-style bronze panagia from Jerusalem, showing the Virgin Mary in the orans prayer posture.

Christian prayers are very varied. They can be completely spontaneous, or read entirely from a text, like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Probably the most common and universal prayer among Christians is the Lord's Prayer which is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray.

Christians pray to God (without specifying a person of the Trinity); or to the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit (or some combination of them). Some Christians (e.g., Catholics, Orthodox) will also ask the righteous in heaven and "in Christ," such as Virgin Mary or other saints to intercede by praying on their behalf (intercession of saints). Other formulaic closures include "through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever," and "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

It is customary among Protestants to end prayers with "In Jesus' Name, Amen" or "In the name of Christ, Amen." However, the most commonly used closure in Christianity is simply "Amen" (from a Hebrew adverb used as a statement of affirmation or agreement, usually translated as so be it).

There is also the form of prayer called hesychast which is a repetitious type of prayer for the purpose of meditation. In the Western or Latin Rite of Catholic Church, probably the most common is the Rosary; In the Eastern Church (the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church and Orthodox Church), the Jesus Prayer.

Prayers said by Christians are described in the article on Prayer in Christianity.

Prevalence

Some modalities of alternative medicine employ prayer. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, found that in 2002, 43% of Americans pray for their own health, 24% pray for others health, and 10% participate in a prayer group for their own health.

Christian Science prayer

Christian Science teaches that prayer is a spiritualization of thought or an understanding of God and of the nature of the underlying spiritual creation. Adherents believe that this can result in healing, by bringing spiritual reality (the "Kingdom of Heaven" in Biblical terms) into clearer focus in the human scene. The world as it appears to the senses is regarded as a distorted version of the world of spiritual ideas: the latter is the only true reality. Prayer can heal the distortion. Christian Scientists believe that prayer does not change the spiritual creation but gives a clearer view of it, and the result appears in the human scene as healing: the human picture adjusts to coincide more nearly with the divine reality. Prayer works through love: the recognition of God's creation as spiritual, intact and inherently lovable.[2]

Islamic prayer

Muslims praying during the Hajj at Masjid al-Haram, Mecca.
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Muslims praying during the Hajj at Masjid al-Haram, Mecca.
Main article: Salat

Muslims pray a brief ritualistic prayer called salat or salah in Arabic, facing the Kaaba in Mecca, five times a day. The "call for prayer" (adhan or azaan), where the muezzin calls for all the followers to stand together for the prayer . There are also many standard duas or supplications, also in Arabic, to be recited at various times, e.g. for one's parents, after salah, before eating. Muslims may also say dua in their own words and languages for any issue they wish to communicate with God in the hope that God will answer their prayers.

See also: Dua

Bahá'í prayer

Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and `Abdu'l-Bahá have revealed many prayers for general use, and some for specific occasions, including for unity, detachment, spiritual upliftment, and healing among others. Bahá'ís are also required to recite each day one of three obligatory prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. The believers have been enjoined to face in the direction of the Qiblih when reciting their Obligatory Prayer. The longest obligatory prayer may be recited at any time during the day; another, of medium length, is recited once in the morning, once at midday, and once in the evening; and the shortest can be recited anytime between noon and sunset. This is the text of the short prayer: I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Bahá'ís also read from and meditate on the scriptures every morning and evening.

Neopagan prayers

Many modern Neopagans pray to various gods. The most commonly worshiped and prayed to gods are those of Pre-Christian Europe, such as Celtic, Norse or Graeco-Roman gods. Prayer can vary from sect to sect, and with some (such as Wicca) prayer may also be associated with ritual magick.

Prayer in Eastern religions

In contrast with Western religion, Eastern religion for the most part discards worship and places devotional emphasis on the practice of meditation alongside scriptural study.

Buddhism

In certain Buddhist sects, prayer accompanies meditation. Buddhism for the most part sees prayer as a secondary, supportive practice to meditation and scriptural study. Gautama Buddha claimed that human beings possess the capacity and potential to be liberated, or enlightened, through contemplation, leading to insight. Prayer is seen mainly as a powerful psycho-physical practice that can enhance meditation.

  • In the earliest Buddhist tradition, the Theravada, and in the later Mahayana tradition of Zen (or Chán), prayer plays only an ancillary role. It is largely a ritual expression of wishes for success in the practice and in helping all beings. However it can also be a way of expressing respect and appreciation to the individual person of the Buddha, who is said to still exist though in a higher dimension.
  • The Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes an instructive and devotional relationship to a guru; this may involve devotional practices similar to prayer. It also posits the existence of various deities. But how practitioners relate to them will depend upon the 'level' at which they are practicing. At one level, one may pray to a deity for protection or assistance, taking a more subordinate role. At another level, one may invoke the deity, on a more equal footing. And at a higher level one may deliberately cultivate the idea that one has 'become' the deity, whilst remaining aware that its ultimate nature is shunyata.
  • Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes the recitation of prayer-like mantras by devotees. On one level it is said that reciting these mantras can ensure rebirth into a spiritual 'pure land' after death, where one may work further towards one's enlightenment with greater ease. On another, the practice is a form of meditation aimed at achieving realization.

But beyond all these practices the Buddha emphasized the primacy of individual practice and experience. He said that supplication to gods or deities was not necessary. Nevertheless, today many lay people in East Asian countries pray to the Buddha in ways that resemble Western prayer - asking for intervention and offering devotion.

Hindu prayer

Taken during a Hindu prayer ceremony on the eve of Diwali.
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Taken during a Hindu prayer ceremony on the eve of Diwali.
Main article: Prayer in Hinduism

Hinduism has incorporated many kinds of prayer (Sanskrit: prārthanā), from fire-based rituals to philosophical musings. While chanting involves 'by dictum' recitation of timeless verses, dhyanam involves deep meditation (however short or long) on the preferred deity/God. Again the object to which prayers are offered could be a persons referred as devtas, trinity or incarnation of either devtas or trinity or simply plain formless meditation as practiced by the ancient sages. All of these are directed to fulfilling personal needs or deep spiritual enlightenment. Ritual invocation was part and parcel of the Vedic religion and as such permeated their sacred texts. Indeed, the highest sacred texts of the Hindus, the Vedas, are a large collection of mantras and prayer rituals. Classical Hinduism came to focus on extolling a single supreme force, Brahman, that is made manifest in several lower forms as the familiar gods of the Hindu pantheon. Hindus in India have numerous devotional movements. Hindus may pray to the highest absolute God Brahman, or more commonly to Its three manifestations namely creator god called Brahma, preserver god called Vishnu and detroyer god (so that the creation cycle can start afresh) Shiva, and at the next level to Vishnu's avatars (earthly appearances) Rama and Krishna or to many other male or female deities.Typically, Hindus pray with their hands (the palms) joined together. The hand gesture is similar to the popular Indian greeting namaste.

Prayer in Jainism

Although Jains believe that no spirit or divine being can assist them on their path, they do hold some influence, and on special occasions, Jains will pray for right knowledge to the twenty-four Tirthankaras (saintly teachers) or sometimes to Hindu deities such as Ganesha.

Approaches to prayer

Direct petitions to God

From Biblical times to today, the most common form of prayer is to directly appeal to God to grant one's requests. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the social approach to prayer.[3] In this view, a person directly confronts God in prayer, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled. God listens to the prayer, and may or may not choose to answer in the way one asks of Him. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and in rabbinic literature such as the Talmud.

The educational approach

In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. Among Jews, this has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, Joseph Albo, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Joseph B. Soloveitchik. This view is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII); note that Scherman goes on to also affirm the Kabbalistic view (see below).

The Kabbalistic view of prayer

Adherents of Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) base their prayers on those found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer text. However, they add to these prayers a number of kavanot, mystical statements of intention. Adherents of kabbalah reject both the rationalist and social approach to prayer. Instead, their approach ascribes a higher meaning to the act of prayer; Prayer affects the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. For these Kabbalists, every prayer, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word of every prayer, has a precise meaning and a precise effect.

In Kabbalah and related mystical belief systems, adherents claim intimate knowledge about the way in which the divine relates to us and the physical universe in which we live. For people with this view, prayers can literally affect the mystical forces of the universe and repair the fabric of creation.

Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the Chassidei Ashkenaz (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the Arizal's Kabbalist tradition, Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon and Jacob Emden.

The rationalist approach

In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by the Jewish scholar and philosopher Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists; it became popular in Jewish, Christian and Islamic intellectual circles, but never became the most popular understanding of prayer among the laity in any of these faiths. In all three of these faiths today, a significant minority of people still hold to this approach.

The experiential approach

In this approach, the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to gain a direct experience of the recipient of the prayer (or as close to direct as a specific theology permits). This approach is very significant in Christianity and widespread in Judaism (although less popular theologically). In Eastern Orthodoxy, this approach is known as hesychasm. It is also widespread in Sufi Islam, and in some forms of mysticism. It has some similarities with the rationalist approach, since it can also involve contemplation, although the contemplation is not generally viewed as being as rational or intellectual. It also has some similarities with the Kabbalistic view, but it lacks the Kabbalistic emphasis on the importance of individual words and letters.

Experimental evaluation of prayer

In 1872, Francis Galton conducted a famous statistical experiment to determine whether or not prayer had a physical effect on the external environment. Galton hypothesized that if prayer was effective, members of the British Royal family would live longer, given that thousands prayed for their wellbeing every Sunday. He therefore compared longevity in the British Royal family with that of the general population, and found no difference.[4] While the experiment was probably intended to satirize, and suffered from a number of confounders, it set the precedent for a number of different studies, the results of which are contradictory.

A number of studies have suggested that patients who are being prayed for recover more quickly or more frequently. One such study, with a double-blind design and about 500 subjects per group, suggested that intercessory prayer by born again Christians had a statistically significant positive effect on a coronary care unit population.[5] Another such study was reported by Harris et al.[6] Critics claim Byrd's 1988 study was not fully double-blinded, and that in the Harris study, patients actually had a longer hospital stay in the prayer group, if one discounts the patients in both groups who left before prayers began,[7] although the Harris study did demonstrate the prayed for patients on average received lower course scores (indicating better recovery). One of the largest randomized, blind clinical trials was a remote retroactive intercessory prayer study conducted in Israel by Leibovici. This study used 3393 patient records from 1990-96, and blindly assigned some of these to an intercessory prayer group. The prayer group had shorter hospital stays and duration of fever.[8]

Several studies of prayer effectiveness have yielded null results.[9] A 2001 double-blind study of the Mayo Clinic found no significant difference in the recovery rates between people who were (unbeknownst to them) assigned to a group that prayed for them and those who were not.[10] Similarly, the MANTRA study conducted by Duke University found no differences in outcome of cardiac procedures as a result of prayer.[11] In another similar study published in the American Heart Journal in 2006[12], Christian intercessory prayer when reading a scripted prayer was found to have no effect on the recovery of heart surgery patients; however, the study found patients who had knowledge of receiving prayer had slightly higher instances of complications than those who did not know if they were being prayed for or those who did not receive prayer.[13][14] One condition that may affect the efficacy of intercessory prayer is whether the person praying has a personal connection to the person prayed for. A 2005 study found strong evidence that healers in a variety of modalities were able to remotely influence the MRI-measurable brain activity in partners who were physically and electrically isolated.[15]

Many accept that prayer can aid in recovery, not due to divine influence but due to psychological and physical benefits. It has also been suggested that if a person knows that he or she is being prayed for it can be uplifting and increase morale, thus aiding recovery. (See Subject-expectancy effect.) Many studies have suggested that prayer can reduce physical stress, regardless of the god or gods a person prays to, and this may be true for many worldly reasons. According to a study by Centra State Hospital, "the psychological benefits of prayer may help reduce stress and anxiety, promote a more positive outlook, and strengthen the will to live."[16] Other practices such as Yoga, Tai Chi, and Meditation may also have a positive impact on physical and psychological health.

Others feel that the concept of conducting prayer experiments reflects a misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer. The previously mentioned 2006 study published in the American Heart Journal indicated that some of the intercessors who took part in it complained about the scripted nature of the prayers that were imposed to them[13], saying that this is not the way they usually conduct prayer:

Prior to the start of this study, intercessors reported that they usually receive information about the patient’s age, gender and progress reports on their medical condition; converse with family members or the patient (not by fax from a third party); use individualized prayers of their own choosing; and pray for a variable time period based on patient or family request.

Deuteronomy 6:16 states, "You shall not test the Lord thy God"[17], reflecting the notion of some that prayer cannot, or should not, be tested.

Historical polytheistic prayer

In ancient religions of Greeks and Romans (Ancient Greek religion, Roman religion), ceremonial prayer was highly formulaic and ritualized. The Iguvine Tables contain a supplication that can be translated, "If anything was said improperly, if anything was done improperly, let it be as if it were done correctly."

The formalism and formulaic nature of these prayers led them to be written down in language that may have only been partially understood by the writer, and our texts of these prayers may in fact be garbled. Prayers in Etruscan were used in the Roman world by augurs and other oracles long after Etruscan became a dead language. The Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare are two specimens of partially preserved prayers that seem to have been unintelligible to their scribes, and whose language is full of archaisms and difficult passages.

Roman prayers and sacrifices were often envisioned as legal bargains between deity and worshipper. The Roman formula was do ut des: "I give, so that you may give in return." Cato the Elder's treatise on agriculture contains many examples of preserved traditional prayers; in one, a farmer addresses the unknown deity of a possibly sacred grove, and sacrifices a pig in order to placate the god or goddess of the place and beseech his or her permission to cut down some trees from the grove.

Etymology

Pray entered Middle English as preyen, prayen,and preien around 1290, recorded in The early South-English Legendary I. 112/200: And preide is fader wel ȝerne, in the sense of "to ask earnestly." The next recorded use in 1300 is simply "to pray." It came from the Old French preier, "to request" (first seen in La Séquence de Ste. Eulalie, ca. 880) In modern French prier, "to pray," the stem-vowel is leveled under that of the stem-stressed forms, il prie, etc. The origin of the word before this time is less certain. Compare the Italian Pregare "to ask" or more rarely "pray for something" and Spanish preguntar "ask." One possibility is the Late Latin precare (as seen in Priscian), classical Latin precari "to entreat, pray" from Latin precari, from precor, from prec-, prex "request, entreaty, prayer." Precor was used by Virgil, Livy, Cicero, and Ovid in the accusative. Dative forms are also found in Livy and Aurelius Propertius. With pro in the ablative, it is found in Plinius Valerianus’s physic, and Aurelius Augustinus’s Epistulae. It also could be used for a thing. From classical times, it was used in both religious and secular senses. Prex is recorded as far back as T. Maccius Plautus (254 B.C. – ?). Other senses of precor include "to wish well or ill to any one," "to hail, salute," or "address one with a wish." The Latin orare "to speak" later took over the role of precari to mean "pray."

The Spanish form preguntar was first recorded in El Cantar de Mio Çid (ca. 1150) and possibly comes from Vulgar Latin praecontare, an alteration of the Classical Latin percontari, perconto, percontor "interrogate" although the Spanish verb for "pray" today is (among Catholics) rezar, which previously meant "to say" from the Latin recitare. Among Spanish-speaking Protestants, the verb orar is used instead, and a prayer is called oración. The Portuguese word pregar "to preach," or less commonly, "to exhort," is also mentioned at times, although it is from the Latin praedicare, "to cry in public, proclaim," hence "to declare, state, say," in medieval Latin "to preach," and in Logic "to assert," from præ "forth" + dicare "to make known, proclaim." Compare the Spanish predicar. More closely related is the Portuguese perguntar, "to ask" and by extension "ask for." Pray is akin to Old English gefr[AE]ge "hearsay, report," fricgan, frignan, frinan to ask, inquire, Old High German fraga question, fragen "to ask" (in modern German, "pray" is beten, "question" frage), Old Norse frett "question," fregna "to inquire, find out," Gothic fraihman "to find out by inquiry," Tocharian A prak- "to ask," Sanskrit roots, pracch- prask-, pras "interrogation," and prcchati "he asks"

See also

A man praying at a Japanese Shintō shrine.
Enlarge
A man praying at a Japanese Shintō shrine.

References and footnotes

  1. ^ Stephens, Ferris J. (1950). Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Princeton, 391-2. 
  2. ^ Is there no intercessory prayer?. Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
  3. ^ Greenberg, Moshe. Biblical Prose Prayer: As a Window to the Popular Religion of Ancient Israel. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1983 http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft8b69p1w7/]
  4. ^ Galton F. Statistical inquiries into the efficacy of prayer. Fortnightly Review 1872;68:125-35. Online version.
  5. ^ Byrd RC. Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population. South Med J 1988;81:826-9. PMID 3393937.
  6. ^ Harris WS, Gowda M, Kolb JW, Strychacz CP, Vacek JL, Jones PG, Forker A, O'Keefe JH, McCallister BD. A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit. Arch Intern Med 1999;159:2273-8. PMID 10547166.
  7. ^ Tessman I and Tessman J "Efficacy of Prayer: A Critical Examination of Claims," Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2000,
  8. ^ Leibovici L. Effects of remote, retroactive intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients with bloodstream infection: randomized controlled trial. BMJ 2001;323:1450-1. PMID 11751349.
  9. ^ O'Laoire S. An experimental study of the effects of distant, intercessory prayer on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Altern Ther Health Med 1997;3:38-53. PMID 9375429.
  10. ^ Aviles JM, Whelan SE, Hernke DA, Williams BA, Kenny KE, O'Fallon WM, Kopecky SL. Intercessory prayer and cardiovascular disease progression in a coronary care unit population: a randomized controlled trial. Mayo Clin Proc 2001;76:1192-8. PMID 11761499.
  11. ^ Krucoff MW, Crater SW, Gallup D, Blankenship JC, Cuffe M, Guarneri M, Krieger RA, Kshettry VR, Morris K, Oz M, Pichard A, Sketch MH Jr, Koenig HG, Mark D, Lee KL. Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care: the Monitoring and Actualisation of Noetic Trainings (MANTRA) II randomised study. Lancet 2005;366:211-7. PMID 16023511.
  12. ^ Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: A multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer [1]
  13. ^ a b Benson H, Dusek JA et al. "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: a multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer." American Heart Journal. 2006 April; 151(4): p. 762-4.
  14. ^ The Deity in the DataWhat the latest prayer study tells us about God.[2]
  15. ^ Achterberg, Jeanne et al Evidence for Correlations Between Distant Intentionality and Brain Function in Recipients: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2005, 11(6): 965-971.
  16. ^ Mind and Spirit. from the Health Library section of CentraState Healthcare System. Accessed May 18, 2006.
  17. ^ Deuteronomy 6:16[3]

External links

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Translations: Translations for: Prayer

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - bøn, chance

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    ikke have en chance
  • prayer book    bønnebog
  • prayer meeting    bønnemøde
  • prayer shawl    bedesjal

2.
n. - den bedende

Nederlands (Dutch)
gebed, bede, verzoek, iemand die bid

Français (French)
1.
n. - (Relig) prière, (fig) souhait

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    ne pas avoir la moindre chance
  • prayer book    livre de prières
  • prayer meeting    service religieux non-conformiste
  • prayer shawl    châle de prière, taleth

2.
n. - fidèle, prieur

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Gebet

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    (inf) überhaupt keine Chance etwas erfolgreich zu tun
  • prayer book    Gebetbuch
  • prayer meeting    Gebetsversammlung
  • prayer shawl    Tallith, Gebetsmantel

2.
n. - Beter

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - προσευχή, παράκληση

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    δεν έχω καμία πιθανότητα επιτυχίας
  • prayer book    (θρησκ.) προσευχητάρι, ευχολόγιο
  • prayer meeting    (σύναξη για) συμπροσευχή
  • prayer shawl    ταλίθ (εβραϊκό χαλί προσευχής)

Italiano (Italian)
preghiera, devozione

idioms:

  • haven't got a prayer    non avere speranza
  • prayer book    libro di preghiere
  • prayer meeting    incontro di devozione, riunione di preghiera
  • prayer shawl    manto da preghiera

Português (Portuguese)
n. - oração (f), súplica (f)

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    não ter a mínima possibilidade de sucesso
  • prayer book    livro de orações
  • prayer meeting    reunião de oração
  • prayer shawl    vestimenta dos judeus ortodoxos

Русский (Russian)
молитва, мольба

idioms:

  • haven't got a prayer    нет ни малейшего шанса
  • prayer book    молитвенник
  • prayer meeting    молитвенное собрание
  • prayer shawl    талес, ритуальная одежда в иудаизме

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - oración, plegaria, rezo

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    no tener quien rece por uno
  • prayer book    devocionario, misal
  • prayer meeting    reunión para rezar
  • prayer shawl    taled, manto ritual de los judíos

2.
n. - persona que reza

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bön, bedjande, chans (fam.)

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
1. 祈祷, 祷告, 祈祷文, 祈祷式, 恳求, 祈愿

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    无人祝福, 没有希望
  • prayer book    祈祷书
  • prayer meeting    祈祷会
  • prayer shawl    祈祷面纱, 有穗饰长方形方巾

2. 祈祷者, 恳求者

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 祈禱, 禱告, 祈禱文, 祈禱式, 懇求, 祈願

idioms:

  • not have a prayer    無人祝福, 沒有希望
  • prayer book    祈禱書
  • prayer meeting    祈禱會
  • prayer shawl    祈禱面紗, 有穗飾長方形方巾

2.
n. - 祈禱者, 懇求者

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 빌기, 기도

2.
n. - 기도하는 사람

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 祈り, 祈祷, 祈りのことば, 嘆願, 祈る人

idioms:

  • Lord's Prayer    主の祈り, 主祷文
  • prayer book    祈とう書
  • prayer meeting    祈祷会, 水曜日の礼拝式
  • prayer shawl    タリス

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صلاة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תפילה‬
n. - ‮מתפלל‬


 
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