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Do not fill this in! {{short description|Invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity}} {{Other uses}} {{Redirect2|Pray|Praying||Pray (disambiguation)|and|Praying (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|The Prayer|the Jesus Prayer|Jesus Prayer}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 200 | image1 = MOLITVA.JPG| | caption1 = Christians praying in diverse postures, including [[orans]] and [[Hand clasping|clasped hands]] | image2 = Muslims praying in a Masque in Bangladesh.jpg | caption2 = Muslim men [[prostration|prostrating]] during prayer in a [[mosque]] | total_width = 300 }} {{Prayer}} '''Prayer''' is an [[invocation]] or act that seeks to activate a [[rapport]] with an object of worship through deliberate [[communication]]. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of [[supplication]] or [[intercession]] directed towards a [[deity]] or a deified [[ancestor worship|ancestor]]. More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of [[Gratitude|thanksgiving]] or [[Christian worship|praise]], and in [[comparative religion]] is closely associated with more abstract forms of [[meditation]] and with [[Incantation|charms or spells]].<ref>F.B. Jevons, ''An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Religion'' (1908), [https://books.google.com/books?id=HgddDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 p. 73]</ref> Prayer can take a variety of forms: it can be part of a set [[liturgy]] or [[ritual]], and it can be performed alone or in groups. Prayer may take the form of a [[hymn]], [[incantation]], formal [[creed]]al statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. The act of prayer is attested in written sources as early as five thousand years ago. Today, most major [[religion]]s involve prayer in one way or another; some ritualize the act, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be practised spontaneously by anyone at any time. Scientific studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on the healing of sick or injured people. The [[efficacy of prayer]] in [[faith healing]] has been evaluated in numerous studies, with contradictory results. ==Etymology== The English term ''prayer'' is from {{Lang-la-x-medieval|precaria|lit=petition, prayer}}.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Harper|first1=Douglas|title=pray (v.)|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pray|website=etymonline.com|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=30 December 2014}} Via Old French ''prier'', nominalised use of the Latin adjective ''precaria'' "something obtained by entreating, something given as a favour", from ''precari'' "to ask for, entreat".</ref> The [[Vulgate]] Latin is {{lang|la|[[:wikt:oratio|oratio]]}}, which translates Greek [[:wikt:προσευχή|προσευχή]]<ref>Biblical synonyms or alternatives for προσευχή: εὐχή, δέησις, ἔντευξις, εὐχαριστία, αἴτημα, ἱκετηρία. Richard C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, s.v. [https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/trench/section.cfm?sectionID=51 εὐχή].</ref> in turn the [[Septuagint]] translation of [[Biblical Hebrew]] {{lang|he|[[:wikt:תפילה|תְּפִלָּה]]}} ''tĕphillah''.<ref>''Strong's Concordance'' [https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H8605&t=KJV H8605].</ref> ==Act of prayer== Various spiritual traditions offer a wide variety of devotional acts. There are morning and evening prayers, [[Grace (prayer)|graces said over meals]], and reverent physical gestures. Some Christians bow their heads and fold their hands. Some [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] regard dancing as a form of prayer.<ref>{{citation |last= Littlebird |first= Sarracina |title= Sacred Movement: Dance as Prayer in the Pueblo Cultures of the American Southwest |publisher= Barnard College Department of Dance |year= 2008 |url= http://dance.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/sarracina_littlebird.pdf |access-date= 11 October 2011 |archive-date= 26 January 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120126212840/http://dance.barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/sarracina_littlebird.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref> Some [[Sufism|Sufis]] [[Sufi whirling|whirl]].<ref>{{citation |title= The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi – Sufism and Dervishes |url= http://www.whirlingdervishes.org/whirlingdervishes.htm |work= WhirlingDervishes.org |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104195830/http://www.whirlingdervishes.org/whirlingdervishes.htm |archive-date= 2014-11-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hindus chant mantras.<ref>{{citation |last= Omkarananda |first= Swami |title= How to Pray |publisher= Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas |date= n.d. |url= http://www.omkarananda-ashram.org/Publications/how_to_pray.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104195625/http://www.omkarananda-ashram.org/Publications/how_to_pray.htm |archive-date= 2014-11-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> Jewish prayer may involve [[Shuckling|swaying]] back and forth and bowing.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Judaism: Jewish Rituals and Practices – Jewish Worship and Prayer |work= ReligionFacts.com |publisher= ReligionFacts |author= Anonymous |date= 2013-07-03 |url= http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/practices/worship_prayer.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104200647/http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/practices/worship_prayer.htm |archive-date= 2014-11-04 |url-status=live }}. This practice is known, in [[Yiddish]], as ''shuckling''.</ref> [[Muslim]] prayer involves bowing, kneeling and [[prostration]]. [[Quaker]]s keep silent.<ref>{{cite web|last=Avery|first=Chel|title=Quaker Worship|publisher=Quaker Information Center|url=http://www.quakerinfo.org/quakerism/worship.html|access-date=2008-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728090606/http://www.quakerinfo.org/quakerism/worship.html|archive-date=2011-07-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some pray according to standardized rituals and liturgies, while others prefer [[extemporaneous]] prayers. Still others combine the two. === Typologies and modalities === Christian circles often look to [[Friedrich Heiler]] (1892-1967), whose systematic ''Typology of Prayer'' lists six types of prayer: primitive, ritual, Greek cultural, philosophical, mystical, and prophetic.<ref>{{cite book|author=Erickson, Millard J.|title= Christian theology|publisher= Baker Book House|location= Grand Rapids|year= 1998|isbn= 978-0-8010-2182-4}}</ref> Some forms of prayer require a prior ritualistic form of cleansing or purification, such as in [[ghusl]] and [[wudhu]].<ref>The New Encyclopedia of Islam. p. 20, Cyril Glassé (2003)</ref> Prayer may occur privately and individually (sometimes called '''affective prayer'''<ref> {{cite book |last1 = Rolheiser |first1 = Ronald |author-link1 = Ronald Rolheiser |date = 4 November 2013 |chapter = Practicing Affective Prayer |title = Prayer: Our Deepest Longing |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4eHrAQAAQBAJ |publication-place = Cincinnati, Ohio |publisher = Franciscan Media |isbn = 9781616366575 |access-date = 17 September 2023 |quote = Private or 'affective' prayer has many forms — meditation, centering prayer, praying the rosary, and devotional prayers of all kinds. But affective prayer has a single aim:to draw us and our loved ones into deeper intimacy with Christ. }} </ref>), or 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. This is actually regarded as a requirement in several Christian denominations,<ref name=catholic>{{Catholic |last= Wynne |first= John |volume= 12 |title= Prayer |url= http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12345b.htm |no-icon= 1 |prescript= }}</ref> although enforcement is not possible nor desirable. 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.<ref name=catholic/> Some may experience audible, physical, or mental epiphanies. If indeed an answer comes, the time and place it comes is considered{{cn|date=September 2023}} random. Some traditions distinguish between '''contemplative''' and '''meditative''' prayer.<ref> {{cite book |last1 = Keating |first1 = Thomas |author-link1 = Thomas Keating |date = 1 January 2002 |orig-date = 1986 |chapter = The History of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian Tradition |title = Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pINxHWGTa6EC |edition = reprint |publication-place = New York |publisher = A&C Black |page = 21 |isbn = 9780826414205 |access-date = 17 September 2023 |quote = As the Sixteenth Century progressed, mental prayer came to be divided into discursive meditation if thoughts predominated; affective prayer if the emphasis was on acts of the will; and contemplation if graces infused by God were predominant. Discursive meditation, affective prayer, and contemplation were no longer different acts found in a single period of prayer, but distinct forms of prayer, each with its own proper aim, method and purpose. }} </ref> Outward acts that may accompany prayer include [[anointing with oil]];<ref>See, for example, {{bibleverse||James|5:14|NIV}}</ref> ringing a bell;<ref>{{cite web|last= Scheckel|first= Roger J.|title= The Angelus| publisher = The Marian Catechists|date= January 2004 |url= http://www.mariancatechist.com/html/spiritualdevelopment/prayer/sanctifyingyourdaywiththeangelus.htm |access-date=2008-10-06 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080623093915/http://www.mariancatechist.com/html/spiritualdevelopment/prayer/sanctifyingyourdaywiththeangelus.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2008-06-23}}</ref> burning [[incense]] or paper;<ref>{{cite web|title=Buddhist Art|publisher=Pacific Asia Museum|year= 2003|url= http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/buddhism/html/essay4.htm |access-date=2008-10-06|url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080704073342/http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/buddhism/html/essay4.htm |archive-date=2008-07-04}}</ref> lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction (e.g., towards [[Mecca]]<ref name=Emerick>{{cite book|last= Emerick|first= Yahiya|author-link= Yahiya Emerick|title= The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam|publisher= Alpha Books|year= 2002 |location= Indianapolis, IN|pages=[https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu00emer/page/127 127–28]|url= https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu00emer/page/127|isbn= 978-0-02-864233-8|url-access= registration}}</ref> or [[Ad orientem | the East]]<ref> See for example [[Origen]] ''On Prayer'', cited in {{cite book |last1 = Lang |first1 = Uwe Michael |date = 1 January 2009 |chapter = Direction of Prayer, Liturgy, and Church Architecture in the Early Church: Facing East: The Christian Direction of Prayer |title = Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=568JDgAAQBAJ |publication-place = San Francisco |publisher = Ignatius Press |isbn = 9781681496085 |access-date = 17 September 2023 |quote = 'It should be immediately clear that the direction of the rising sun obviously indicates that we ought to pray inclining in that direction, an act which symbolizes the soul looking towards where ''the true light'' rises.' }} </ref>); and making the [[sign of the cross]]. One less noticeable act related to prayer is [[fasting]]. 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; [[Hand clasping|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 or may not have a musical accompaniment. 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. ==Origins and early history== {{further|Animism|Apotropaic magic|Curse|Curse tablet|Do ut des|Incantation|Indo-European religion|Oath|Origin of religion|Polytheism||Prehistoric religion|Religions of the ancient Near East|Sacrifice|Shamanism|Shinto}} [[File:Praying Germanic man 1890.jpg|thumb|A kneeling position with raised hands expressed "supplication" in classical antiquity. The word for "prayer" and for "supplication" is identical in ancient languages (''oratio'', προσευχή, תְּפִלָּה etc.), with no terminological distinction between supplications addressed to human as opposed to divine powers. Statuette known as "Praying German" or "supplicating barbarian". It is not known if this figure was originally set in a context of religious prayer or of military surrender.<ref>Image from [https://archive.org/details/artscraftsofourt00brow "The arts and crafts of our Teutonic forefathers"] by G.B. Brown (1910), where it is glossed as "Bronze figure of a German, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris". "the existence of other bronze barbarians in similar attitudes of prayer and subjection suggests that the composition was a popular one" (Melissa Barden Dowling, Clemency and cruelty in the Roman world, 2006, p. 151)</ref>]] Anthropologically, the concept of prayer is closely related to that of [[Submission|surrender]] and [[supplication]]. The traditional posture of prayer in medieval Europe is kneeling or supine with clasped hands, in antiquity more typically with raised hands. The early Christian prayer posture was standing, looking up to heaven, with outspread arms and bare head. This is the pre-Christian, pagan prayer posture (except for the bare head, which was prescribed for males in I Corinthians 11:4, in Roman paganism, the head had to be covered in prayer). Certain Cretan and Cypriote figures of the Late Bronze Age, with arms raised, have been interpreted as worshippers. Their posture is similar to the "flight" posture, a crouching posture with raised hands related to the universal [[list of gestures|"hands up" gesture]] of surrender. The kneeling posture with clasped hands appears to have been introduced only with the beginning high medieval period, presumably adopted from a gesture of feudal homage.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Russell | first1 = Claire | last2 = Russell | first2 = W.M.S. | year = 1989 | title = Cultural Evolution of Behaviour | journal = Netherlands Journal of Zoology | volume = 40 | issue = 4| pages = 745–62 | doi = 10.1163/156854290X00190 }}</ref> Although prayer in its literal sense is not used in [[animism]], communication with the spirit world is vital to the animist way of life. This is usually accomplished through a [[shaman]] who, through a [[trance]], gains access to the spirit world and then shows the spirits' thoughts to the people. Other ways to receive messages from the spirits include using [[astrology]] or contemplating [[Fortune telling|fortune tellers]] and healers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omf.org/omf/cambodia/about_cambodia/animism_profile|publisher=OMF|title=Animism Profile in Cambodia|access-date=2008-04-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912124231/http://www.omf.org/omf/cambodia/about_cambodia/animism_profile|archive-date=2007-09-12}}</ref> Some of the oldest extant literature, such as the [[Kesh temple hymn]] (c. 26th century BC), is liturgy addressed to deities and thus technically "prayer". The Egyptian [[Pyramid Texts]] of about the same period similarly contain [[Spell (ritual)|spell]]s or [[incantation]]s addressed to the gods. In the loosest sense, in the form of [[magical thinking]] combined with [[animism]], prayer has been argued as representing a [[human cultural universal]], which would have been present since the emergence of [[behavioral modernity]], by [[anthropology|anthropologists]] such as Sir [[Edward Burnett Tylor]] and Sir [[James George Frazer]].<ref>{{Cite book|author1=Zaleski, Carol |author2=Zaleski, Philip |title=Prayer: A History|publisher=Mariner Books|location=Boston|year=2006|pages=24–25|isbn=978-0-618-77360-2}}</ref> Reliable records are available for the [[polytheism|polytheistic]] religions of the [[Iron Age]], most notably [[Ancient Greek religion]], which strongly influenced [[religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]]. These religious traditions were direct developments of the earlier [[Prehistoric religion#Bronze Age Europe|Bronze Age religions]]. Ceremonial prayer was highly formulaic and [[ritual]]ized.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rayor|first=Diane|title=The Homeric Hymns|publisher=University of California Press|url=http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9232/9232.intro.php|access-date=2009-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017095410/http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9232/9232.intro.php|archive-date=2008-10-17|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Religio Romana|publisher=Nova Roma|url=http://www.novaroma.org/religio_romana/posture.html|access-date=2009-01-14}}</ref> In ancient polytheism, [[ancestor worship]] is indistinguishable from theistic worship (see also [[euhemerism]]). Vestiges of ancestor worship persist, to a greater or lesser extent, in modern religious traditions throughout the world, most notably in Japanese [[Shinto]], [[Vietnamese folk religion]], and [[Chinese ancestor worship|Chinese folk religion]]. The practices involved in [[Shinto]] prayer are heavily influenced by Buddhism; [[Japanese Buddhism]] has also been strongly influenced by Shinto in turn. Shinto prayers quite frequently consist of wishes or favors asked of the ''[[kami]]'', rather than lengthy praises or devotions. The practice of [[votive offering]] is universal and is attested at least since the Bronze Age. In Shinto, this takes the form of a small wooden tablet, called an ''[[ema (Shintō)|ema]]''. Prayers in [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] were used in the Roman world by [[augur]]s and other [[oracle]]s 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 [[archaism]]s and difficult passages.<ref>[[Frederic de Forest Allen]], ''Remnants of Early Latin'' (Boston: Ginn & Heath 1880 and Ginn & Co 1907).</ref> Roman prayers and [[sacrifice]]s were envisioned as [[religious law|legal]] bargains between deity and worshipper. The Roman principle was expressed as ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#do ut des|do ut des]]'': "I give, so that you may give." [[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.<ref>e.g.: [[Cato the Elder|Cato]]'s Mars Prayer, found in ''[[De Agri Cultura]]'' (141), English translation at: {{citation |url= http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/iedocctr/ie-texts/Mars-prayer.html |contribution= Cato's Mars Prayer |title= Indo-European Texts: Old Latin |editor1= Jonathan Slocum |editor2= Carol Justus |date= 13 May 2014 |publisher= [[Linguistics Research Center at UT Austin]] |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060903231425/http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/iedocctr/ie-texts/Mars-prayer.html |archive-date= 3 September 2006 }}</ref> [[File:Ring48.jpg|upright|thumb|The [[valkyrie]] [[Sigrdrífa]] says a [[Norse paganism|pagan Norse]] prayer in ''[[Sigrdrífumál]]''; illustration by [[Arthur Rackham]]]] [[Celtic polytheism|Celtic]], [[Germanic paganism|Germanic]] and [[Slavic paganism|Slavic]] religions are recorded much later, and much more fragmentarily, than the religions of classical antiquity. They nevertheless show substantial parallels to the better-attested religions of the Iron Age. In the case of Germanic religion, the practice of prayer is reliably attested, but no actual liturgy is recorded from the early (Roman era) period. An Old Norse prayer is on record in the form of a dramatization in [[skaldic poetry]]. This prayer is recorded in stanzas{{nbsp}}2 and{{nbsp}}3 of the poem ''[[Sigrdrífumál]]'', compiled in the 13th century ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' from earlier traditional sources, where the [[valkyrie]] [[Sigrdrífa]] prays to the gods and the [[Jörð|earth]] after being woken by the hero [[Sigurd]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe25.htm|title=The Poetic Edda: Sigrdrifumol}}</ref> A prayer to [[Odin]] is mentioned in chapter{{nbsp}}2 of the ''[[Völsunga saga]]'' where King [[Rerir]] prays for a child. In stanza{{nbsp}}9 of the poem ''[[Oddrúnargrátr]]'', a prayer is made to "kind [[Vættir|wights]], Frigg and [[Freyja]], and many gods,<ref>" although since the poem is often considered one of the youngest poems in the Poetic Edda, the passage has been the matter of some debate." [[Stephan Grundy|Grundy, Stephan]] (1998). "Freyja and Frigg" as collected in Billington, Sandra. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=IoW9yhkrFJoC The Concept of the Goddess]'', p. 60. [[Routledge]] {{ISBN|0-415-19789-9}}</ref> In chapter 21 of ''[[Jómsvíkinga saga]]'', wishing to turn the tide of the [[Battle of Hjörungavágr]], [[Haakon Sigurdsson]] eventually finds his prayers answered by the goddesses [[Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa]].<ref name=HOLLANDER100>Hollander, Lee (trans.) (1955). ''The saga of the Jómsvíkings'', p. 100. [[University of Texas Press]] {{ISBN|0-292-77623-3}}</ref> [[Folk religion]] in the medieval period produced [[syncretism]]s between pre-Christian and Christian traditions. An example is the 11th-century [[Anglo-Saxon]] charm ''[[Æcerbot]]'' for the fertility of crops and land, or the medical ''[[Wið færstice]]''.<ref>[[R. K. Gordon|Gordon, R. K.]] (1962). ''Anglo-Saxon Poetry''. Everyman's Library #794. M. Dent & Sons{{page needed|date=January 2020}}</ref> The 8th-century [[Wessobrunn Prayer]] has been proposed as a Christianized pagan prayer and compared to the pagan ''[[Völuspá]]''<ref name=LAMBDIN227>Lambdin, Laura C and Robert T. (2000). ''Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature'', p. 227. Greenwood Publishing Group {{ISBN|0-313-30054-2}}</ref> and the [[Merseburg Incantations]], the latter recorded in the 9th or 10th century but of much older traditional origins.<ref name=WELLS51>Wells, C.J." (1985). ''German, a Linguistic History to 1945: A Linguistic History to 1945'', p. 51. [[Oxford University Press]] {{ISBN|0-19-815795-9}}</ref> In [[Australian Aboriginal mythology]], prayers to the "Great Wit" are performed by the "clever men" and "clever women", or ''kadji''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} These [[Australian Aborigines|Aboriginal]] shamans use [[maban]] or mabain, the material that is believed to give them their powers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Elkin|first=Adolphus P.|title=Aboriginal Men of High Degree: Initiation and Sorcery in the World's Oldest Tradition|publisher=Inner Traditions – Bear & Company|year=1973|isbn=978-0-89281-421-3}}</ref> The [[Puebloan peoples|Pueblo]] Indians are known to have used [[prayer stick]]s, that is, sticks with feathers attached as supplicatory offerings. The [[Hopi]] Indians used prayer sticks as well, but they attached to it a small bag of sacred meal.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Prayer stick|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition}}</ref> ==Approaches to prayer== ===Direct petitions=== There are different forms of prayer. One of them is to directly appeal to a deity to grant one's requests.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Kurian|first1=George Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dk4G-52QT-8C&q=The+most+common+form+of+prayer&pg=PA137|title=The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature|last2=III|first2=James D. Smith|date=2010-04-16|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7283-7|language=en}}</ref> Some have termed this as the social approach to prayer.<ref>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/]</ref> [[Atheist]] arguments against prayer are mostly directed against [[Supplication|petitionary prayer]] in particular. [[Daniel Dennett]] argued that petitionary prayer might have the undesirable psychological effect of relieving a person of the need to take active measures.<ref>{{cite book|first=Daniel C.|last=Dennett|author-link=Daniel Dennett|chapter=Thank Goodness!|title=The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever|title-link=The Portable Atheist|editor-last=Hitchens|editor-first=Christopher|editor-link=Christopher Hitchens|year=2007|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn= 978-0-306-81608-6|oclc=156811900|quote=Surely it does the world no harm if those who can honestly do so pray for me! No, I'm not at all sure about that. For one thing, if they {{em|really}} wanted to do something useful, they could devote their prayer time and energy to some pressing project that they can do something about.}}</ref> This potential drawback manifests in extreme forms in such cases as [[Christian Scientists]] who rely on prayers instead of seeking medical treatment for family members for easily curable conditions which later result in death.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/06/us/in-child-deaths-a-test-for-christian-science.html?pagewanted=all |title= In Child Deaths, a Test for Christian Science |first= David |last= Margolick |date= 6 August 1990 |newspaper= The New York Times |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104202219/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/06/us/in-child-deaths-a-test-for-christian-science.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date= 2014-11-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Christopher Hitchens]] (2012) argued that praying to a god which is omnipotent and all-knowing would be presumptuous. For example, he interprets [[Ambrose Bierce]]'s definition of prayer by stating that "the man who prays is the one who thinks that god has arranged matters all wrong, but who also thinks that he can instruct god how to put them right."<ref name="Hitchens 2012 n.p">{{cite book |title= Mortality |last= Hitchens |first= Christopher |author-link= Christopher Hitchens |year= 2012 |publisher= Twelve |place= New York |isbn= 978-1-4555-0275-2 |oclc= 776526158 |title-link= Mortality (book) }}{{page needed|date=November 2014}}</ref> ===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). Among Christian theologians, [[Edward McKendree Bounds|E.M. Bounds]] stated the educational purpose of prayer in every chapter of his book, ''The Necessity of Prayer''. Prayer books such as the [[Book of Common Prayer]] are both a result of this approach and an exhortation to keep it.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bounds|first=Edward McKendree|title=The Necessity of Prayer|publisher=AGES Software|year=1907|isbn=978-0-8010-0659-3}}</ref> ===Rationalist approach=== In this view, the ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation ([[meditation]]). This approach was taken by the Jewish scholar and philosopher [[Maimonides]]<ref>Guide to the Perplexed 3:51{{Nonspecific|date=January 2020}}</ref> and the other medieval rationalists.<ref>''[[Sefer ha-Ikkarim]]'' 4:18</ref> 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. In a rationalist approach, praying encompasses three aspects. First, '[[logos]]', as the "idea" of the sender, secondly '[[rhema]]ta' as the words to express the idea, and thirdly 'rhemata' and 'logos', to where the idea is sent (e.g. to God, [[Allah]]). Thus praying is not a conversation with God, or Jesus but a one-way direction to the divine.<ref>Reeves R. (JUNE 11, 2015) [https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/june-web-only/no-prayer-isnt-really-conversation.html "No, Prayer Isn’t Really a Conversation"] ''Christianity Today''. Accessed 9 April 2023.</ref> Among the [[Abrahamic religions]], [[Islam]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]] and [[Hasidic Judaism]] are likely most adhering to this concept, also because it does not allow secondary mythologies, and has taken its spiritual roots from [[Hellenistic philosophy]], particularly from [[Aristotle]].<ref>ULFAT AZIZ-US-SAMAD (2003). Islam & Christianity. ''islambasics''. Accessed 9 April 2023.</ref> Similarly in [[Hinduism]], the different divinities are manifestations of one God with associated prayers. However, many Indians – particularly Hindus – believe that God can be manifest in people, including in people of lower castes, such as [[Sadhu]]s.<ref>[https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/beliefs-about-god-in-india/ "RELIGION IN INDIA: TOLERANCE AND SEGREGATION"] ''Pew Research Center''. Accessed 9 April 2023.</ref> ===Experiential approach=== [[File:Theophile Lybaert - Old Flanders.jpeg|thumb|''Old woman praying'' by [[Théophile Lybaert]]]] 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. Christian and Roman Catholic traditions also include an experiential approach to prayer within the practice of ''[[lectio divina]]''. Historically a [[Benedictine]] practice, ''lectio divina'' involves the following steps: a short scripture passage is read aloud; the passage is meditated upon using the mind to place the listener within a relationship or dialogue with the text; recitation of a prayer; and concludes with [[Lectio Divina#Contemplatio ("contemplation")|contemplation]]. The [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] describes prayer and meditation as follows:<ref>{{cite book |title=The Catechism of the Catholic Church |publisher=Vatican |at=¶ 2708 |url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p4s1c3a1.htm |access-date=6 January 2021}}</ref> <blockquote>Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in [[lectio divina]] or the [[rosary]]. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.</blockquote> The experience of God within [[Apophatic theology|Christian mysticism]] has been contrasted with the concept of experiential religion or [[Religious experience|mystical experience]] because of a long history or authors living and writing about experience with the divine in a manner that identifies God as unknowable and ineffable, the language of such ideas could be characterized paradoxically as "experiential", as well as without the phenomena of experience.<ref>''The Darkness of God: Negativity in Christian Mysticism'' by Denys Turner 1998 Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|0-521-64561-1}}</ref> The notion of "religious experience" can be traced back to [[William James]], who used a term called "religious experience" in his book, ''[[The Varieties of Religious Experience]]''.{{sfn|Hori|1999|p=47}}{{Citation not found}} The origins of the use of this term can be dated further back. In the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, several historical figures put forth very influential views that religion and its beliefs can be grounded in experience itself. While [[Immanuel Kant|Kant]] held that [[Moral obligation|moral experience]] justified [[religious belief]]s, [[John Wesley]] in addition to stressing individual moral exertion thought that the religious experiences in the [[Methodist movement]] (paralleling the [[Romantic Movement]]) were foundational to religious commitment as a way of life.<ref>Issues in Science and Religion, [[Ian Barbour]], [[Prentice-Hall]], 1966, pp. 68, 79</ref> According to [[Catholic theology|catholic doctrine]], Methodists lack a ritualistic and rational approach to praying but rely on individualistic and moralistic forms of worship in direct conversation with God. This approach is rejected by most [[Orthodox religion]]s.<ref>[https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9359 "Gestures of Worship: Relearning Our Ritual Language"] ''catholicculture''. Accessed 9 April 2023.</ref> [[Wayne Proudfoot]] traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" to the German theologian [[Friedrich Schleiermacher]] (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The notion of "religious experience" was used by Schleiermacher and [[Albrecht Ritschl|Albert Ritschl]] to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique, and defend the view that human (moral and religious) experience justifies [[religious belief]]s. Such religious empiricism would be later seen as highly problematic and was – during the period in-between world wars – famously rejected by [[Karl Barth]].<ref>[[Issues in Science and Religion]], [[Ian Barbour]], [[Prentice-Hall]], 1966, pp. 114, 116–19</ref> In the 20th century, religious as well as moral experience as justification for religious beliefs still holds sway. Some influential modern scholars holding this [[Liberal Christianity|liberal theological]] view are [[Charles E. Raven|Charles Raven]] and the Oxford physicist/theologian [[Charles Coulson]].<ref>[[Issues in Science and Religion]], [[Ian Barbour]], [[Prentice-Hall]], 1966, pp. 126–27</ref> The notion of "religious experience" was adopted by many scholars of religion, of whom William James was the most influential.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sharf |first1=Robert H. |title=The rhetoric of experience and the study of religion |journal=Journal of Consciousness Studies |date=2000 |volume=7 |pages=267–287}}</ref>{{efn|James also gives descriptions of conversion experiences. The Christian model of dramatic conversions, based on the role-model of Paul's conversion, may also have served as a model for Western interpretations and expectations regarding "enlightenment", similar to Protestant influences on Theravada Buddhism, as described by Carrithers: "It rests upon the notion of the primacy of religious experiences, preferably spectacular ones, as the origin and legitimation of religious action. But this presupposition has a natural home, not in Buddhism, but in Christian and especially Protestant Christian movements which prescribe a radical conversion."{{sfn|Carrithers|1983|p=18}}{{Citation not found}} See Sekida for an example of this influence of William James and Christian conversion stories, mentioning Luther{{sfn|Sekida|1985|pp=196–97}}{{Citation not found}} and St. Paul.{{sfn|Sekida|1985|p=251}} See also McMahan for the influence of Christian thought on Buddhism.{{sfn|McMahan|2008}}{{Citation not found}}}} The notion of "experience" has been criticised.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sharf |first1=Robert |title=Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience |journal=Numen |date=1995 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=228–283 |doi=10.1163/1568527952598549 |hdl=2027.42/43810 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/nu/42/3/article-p228_2.xml |access-date=28 March 2022|hdl-access=free }}</ref>{{sfn|Mohr|2000|pp=282–86}}{{Citation not found}}{{sfn|Low|2006|p=12}}{{Citation not found}} Robert Sharf points out that "experience" is a typical Western term, which has found its way into Asian religiosity via western influences.{{sfn|Sharf|1995}}{{efn|Robert Sharf: "[T]he role of experience in the history of Buddhism has been greatly exaggerated in contemporary scholarship. Both historical and ethnographic evidence suggests that the privileging of experience may well be traced to certain twentieth-century reform movements, notably those that urge a return to ''[[zazen]]'' or ''[[vipassana]]'' meditation, and these reforms were profoundly influenced by religious developments in the west [...] While some adepts may indeed experience "altered states" in the course of their training, critical analysis shows that such states do not constitute the reference point for the elaborate Buddhist discourse pertaining to the "path".}} The notion of "experience" introduces a false notion of duality between "experiencer" and "experienced", whereas the essence of kensho is the realisation of the "non-duality" of observer and observed.{{sfn|Hori|1994|p=30}}{{Citation not found}}{{sfn|Samy|1998|p=82}}{{Citation not found}} "Pure experience" does not exist; all experience is mediated by intellectual and cognitive activity.{{sfn|Mohr|2000|p=282}}{{Citation not found}}{{sfn|Samy|1998|pp=80–82}}{{Citation not found}} The specific teachings and practices of a specific tradition may even determine what "experience" someone has, which means that this "experience" is not the ''proof'' of the teaching, but a ''result'' of the teaching.{{sfn|Samy|1998|p=80}}{{Citation not found}} A pure consciousness without concepts, reached by "cleaning the doors of perception",{{efn|[[William Blake]]: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thru' narrow chinks of his cavern."<ref>{{cite web |title=A Point Of View: The doors of perception |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22648328#:~:text=William%20Blake%20wrote%20that%20%22if,Machen%20expressed%20the%20same%20thought. |website=BBC News |access-date=28 March 2022 |date=26 May 2013}}</ref>}} would be an overwhelming chaos of sensory input without coherence.{{sfn|Mohr|2000|p=284}}{{Citation not found}} ==Abrahamic religions== ===Hebrew Bible=== {{Main|Prayer in the Hebrew Bible}} [[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 136.png|thumb|right|''David Prays for Deliverance'', 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]]]] In the Hebrew Bible prayer is an evolving means of interacting with [[God]], most frequently through a spontaneous, individual, unorganized form of petitioning and/or thanking. Standardized prayer such as is done today is non-existent, although beginning in [[Deuteronomy]], the Bible lays the groundwork for organized prayer, including basic liturgical guidelines, and by the Bible's later books, prayer has evolved to a more standardized form, although still radically different from the [[Tefillah|form practiced]] by modern [[Jews]]. Individual prayer is described by the Tanakh two ways. The first of these is when prayer is described as occurring, and a result is achieved, but no further information regarding a person's prayer is given. In these instances, such as with [[Isaac]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen.%2025:21&version=NIV |title=Gen. 25: 21 |publisher=Biblegateway.com |access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref> [[Moses]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2011:2&version=NIV |title=Num. 11:2 |publisher=Biblegateway.com |access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref> [[Samuel]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel+8:6&version=NIV |title=1 Samuel 8:6 |publisher=Biblegateway.com |access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref> and [[Job (Biblical figure)|Job]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+42:10&version=NIV |title=Job. 42:10 |publisher=Biblegateway.com |access-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref> the act of praying is a method of changing a situation for the better. The second way in which prayer is depicted is through fully fleshed out episodes of prayer, where a person's prayer is related in full. Many famous biblical personalities have such a prayer, including every major character from [[Hannah (Bible)|Hannah]] to [[Hezekiah]].<ref>Jewish Encyclopedia, "Prayer," http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=496&letter=P</ref> ===New Testament=== {{Main|Prayer in the New Testament}} In the New Testament prayer is presented as a positive command.<ref>{{bibleverse||Colossians|4:2}}; {{bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|5:17}}</ref> The [[People of God]] are challenged to include [[Christian prayer]] in their everyday life, even in the busy struggles of marriage<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|7:5}}</ref> as it brings people closer to [[God in Christianity|God]]. [[Jesus]] encouraged his [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]] to pray in secret in their private rooms, using the [[Lord's Prayer]], as a humble response to the prayer of the [[Pharisees]], whose practices in prayer were regarded as impious by the New Testament writers.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|6:6}}</ref> For [[evangelism|evangelists]] and other [[Christian sect]]s, prayer is shown to be God's appointed method by which we obtain what He has to bestow.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|7:7–11}}; {{bibleverse||Matthew|9:24–29}}; {{bibleverse||Luke|11:13}}</ref> Further, the [[Book of James]] says that the lack of [[blessing]]s in life results from a failure to pray.<ref>{{bibleverse||James|4:2}}</ref> Jesus healed through prayer and expected his followers to do so also.<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|16:17–18}}; {{bibleverse||Matthew|10:8}}</ref> The apostle Paul wrote to the churches of Thessalonica to "Pray continually."<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Thessalonians|5:17}}</ref> ===Judaism=== {{Main|Jewish prayer}} [[File:Jewish Canadian soldiers during WWII.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Captain Samuel Cass, a [[rabbi]], conducting the first prayer service celebrated on German territory by Jewish personnel of the [[First Canadian Army]] near [[Kleve|Cleve]], Germany, 18 March 1945]] Observant Jews pray three times a day, [[Shacharit]], [[Mincha]], and [[Ma'ariv]] with lengthier prayers on special days, such as the [[Shabbat]] and [[Jewish holidays]] including [[Musaf]] and the reading of the [[Torah]]. The [[siddur]] is the prayerbook used by Jews all over the world, 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"). Communal prayer is preferred over solitary prayer, and a quorum of ten adult males (a ''[[minyan]]'') is considered by [[Orthodox Judaism]] a prerequisite for several communal prayers. [[File:Muro de las Lamentaciones, Jerusalén, 2017.gif|thumb|[[Orthodox Jewish]] men praying in [[Jerusalem]]'s [[Western Wall]]]] There are also many other ritualistic prayers a Jew performs during their day, such as washing before eating bread, washing after one wakes up in the morning, and doing grace after meals. ====Rationalist approach==== In this view, the ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by [[Maimonides]] and the other medieval rationalists. One example of this approach to prayer is noted by Rabbi Steven Weil, who was appointed the Orthodox Union's Executive-Vice President in 2009. He notes that the word "prayer" is a derivative of the Latin "precari", which means "to beg". The Hebrew equivalent "tefilah", however, along with its root "pelel" or its reflexive "l'hitpallel", means the act of self-analysis or self-evaluation.<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.ou.org/torah/article/why_tefilah_doesn |title= Why Tefilah Doesn't Mean Prayer: Redefining our Relationship with G-d |first= Steven |last= Weil<!-- deleted page: |author-link= Steven Weil -->|date= September 14, 2010 |type= video presentation |work= ou.org |publisher= [[Orthodox Union]] }}</ref> This approach is sometimes described as the person praying having a dialogue or conversation with God.<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/862508/jewish/Talking-With-Gd.htm |first= Naftali |last= Silberberg |date= n.d. |title= Jewish Practice " Mitzvahs & Traditions " Prayer " Insights – Talking With G‑d |work= [[Chabad.org]] }}</ref> ====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. This has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, [[Yehuda Halevy]], [[Joseph Albo]], [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]], and [[Joseph Dov 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). ====Kabbalistic approach==== [[Kabbalah]] uses a series of ''[[Kavanah|kavanot]]'', directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalists ascribe a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/114937/jewish/The-Kabbalah.htm The Kabbalah of Prayer] on Chabad.org</ref> Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the [[Chassidei Ashkenaz]] (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the [[Isaac Luria|Arizal's]] Kabbalist tradition, [[Moshe Chaim Luzzatto|Ramchal]], most of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hassidism]], the [[Vilna Gaon]], and [[Jacob Emden]]. ===Christianity=== {{Main|Christian prayer|Christian worship}} {{quote box | quote = Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. | source = —known as "[[The Lord's Prayer]]"<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matthew|6:9–13|31}}</ref> | align = right | width = 25% }} [[File:Christ in Gethsemane.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jesus]] praying in [[Gethsemane]]. Depicted by [[Heinrich Hofmann (painter)|Heinrich Hofmann]]]] Christian prayers are quite varied. They can be completely spontaneous, or read entirely from a text, like the Anglican [[Book of Common Prayer]]. The most common prayer among Christians is the [[Lord's Prayer]], which according to the [[gospel]] accounts (e.g. [[s:Bible (American Standard)/Matthew#6:9|Matthew 6:9–13]]) is how [[Jesus]] taught his [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]] to pray.<ref name=Geldart108 >''Examining Religions: Christianity Foundation Edition'' by Anne Geldart 1999 {{ISBN|0-435-30324-4}} p. 108</ref> The Lord's Prayer is a model for prayers of adoration, confession and petition in Christianity.<ref name=Geldart108 /> In the second century ''[[Apostolic Tradition]]'', [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]] instructed Christians to pray at [[fixed prayer times|seven fixed prayer times]]: "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion."<ref name="Chadwick1993">{{cite book |author1=[[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|Henry Chadwick]] |title=The Early Church |date=1993 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-101-16042-8 |language=en|quote=Hippolytus in the ''Apostolic Tradition'' directed that Christians should pray seven times a day - on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight, and also, if at home, at the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. Prayers at the third, sixth, and ninth hours are similarly mentioned by Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and must have been very widely practised. These prayers were commonly associated with private Bible reading in the family.}}</ref><ref name="Lössl2010">{{cite book |last1=Lössl |first1=Josef |title=The Early Church: History and Memory |date=17 February 2010 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-0-567-16561-9 |page=135 |language=en|quote=Not only the content of early Christian prayer was rooted in Jewish tradition; its daily structure too initially followed a Jewish pattern, with prayer times in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. Later (in the course of the second century), this pattern combined with another one; namely prayer times in the evening, at midnight and in the morning. As a result seven 'hours of prayer' emerged, which later became the monastic 'hours' and are still treated as 'standard' prayer times in many churches today. They are roughly equivalent to midnight, 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Prayer positions included prostration, kneeling and standing. ... Crosses made of wood or stone, or painted on walls or laid out as mosaics, were also in use, at first not directly as objections of veneration but in order to 'orientate' the direction of prayer (i.e. towards the east, Latin ''oriens'').}}</ref> [[Breviary|Breviaries]] such as the [[Shehimo]] and [[Agpeya]] are used by [[Oriental Orthodox Christians]] to pray these [[canonical hours|seven canonical hours]] while facing in the [[direction of prayer|eastward direction of prayer]].<ref name="Kurian2020">{{cite web |last1=Kurian |first1=Jake |title="Seven Times a Day I Praise You" – The Shehimo Prayers |url=http://www.ds-wa.org/seven-times-a-day-i-praise-you-the-sheema-prayers.html |publisher=[[Malankara Orthodox Diocese of Southwest America|Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church]]|access-date=2 August 2020}}</ref><ref name="Amherst1906">{{cite book |author1=[[Mary Cecil, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney]] |title=A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day |date=1906 |publisher=Methuen |page=399 |language=en |quote=Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.}}</ref> In medieval England, prayers (particularly the ''[[Lord's Prayer|paternoster]]'') were frequently used as a measure of time in medical and culinary recipe books.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Taavitsainen | first1 = Irma | year = 2001 | title = Middle English Recipes: Genre Characteristics, Text Type Features and Underlying Traditions of Writing | journal = Journal of Historical Pragmatics | volume = 2 | pages = 85–113 [103] | doi = 10.1075/jhp.2.1.05taa }}</ref> Christians generally pray to God. Some Christians, such as Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox, and Methodists [[pray for the dead]];<ref name="Gould">{{cite book|last=Gould|first=James B.|title=Understanding Prayer for the Dead: Its Foundation in History and Logic|date=4 August 2016|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=9781620329887|pages=57–58|language=en|quote=The Roman Catholic and English Methodist churches both pray for the dead. Their consensus statement confirms that "over the centuries in the Catholic tradition praying for the dead has developed into a variety of practices, especially through the Mass. ...The Methodist church ... has prayers for the dead. ...Methodists who pray for the dead thereby commend them to the continuing mercy of God.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gould |first1=James B. |title=Understanding Prayer for the Dead: Its Foundation in History and Logic |date=2017 |publisher=The Lutterworth Press |isbn=978-0-7188-4599-5 |page=51 |language=en |quote=The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America remembers the faithful departed in the Prayers of the People every Sunday, including those who have recently died and those commemorated on the church calendar of saints.}}</ref> [[Roman Catholic]]s, will also ask the righteous in heaven and "in Christ," such as the [[Virgin Mary]] or other saints to intercede by praying on their behalf ([[intercession of saints]]). Formulaic closures in many Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Catholicism include "through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all the ages of ages," and "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."<ref name="King2006"/> It is customary among Christians to end prayers with "In [[Jesus]]' name, Amen" or more commonly, with the [[sign of the cross]] while saying the [[Trinitarian formula]].<ref name="King2006">{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Mike |title=Presence-Centered Youth Ministry: Guiding Students Into Spiritual Formation |date=29 August 2006 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-3383-2 |page=131 |language=en |quote=Luther instructed his followers to make the sign of the cross at both the beginning and end of the day as a beginning to daily prayers. In the Small Catechism, the section on morning and evening prayers, Luther says: "When you get out of bed, bless yourself with the holy cross and say, 'In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.'" This same instruction is given for bedtime.}}</ref><ref>See John 16:23, 26; John 14:13; John 15:16</ref> The most commonly used closure of prayer in Christianity is "[[Amen]]" (from a Hebrew adverb used as a statement of affirmation or agreement, usually translated as ''so be it''). In the [[Latin Church]] of the [[Catholic Church]], probably the most common is the [[Rosary]]; in the [[Eastern Christianity]] (including the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] of the Catholic Church and [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]), the [[Jesus Prayer]]. The Jesus Prayer is also often repeated as part of the [[Christian meditation|meditative]] [[hesychasm]] practice in [[Eastern Christianity]].<ref>Parry, Ken; David Melling (editors) (1999). ''The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity'' {{ISBN|0-631-23203-6}} p. 230</ref> Latin Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as [[acts of reparation]] which do not involve a petition for a living or deceased beneficiary, but aim to repair the sins of others, e.g. for the [[Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ|repair of the sin of blasphemy]] performed by others.<ref>{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Reparation |volume=12 |first=Thomas |last=Slater}}</ref> ====Pentecostalism==== In [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] congregations, prayer is often accompanied by speaking in an unknown tongue, a practice now known as [[glossolalia]].<ref>[[Oxford English Dictionary]], 2nd ed, 1989</ref> Practitioners of Pentecostal glossolalia may claim that the languages they speak in prayer are real foreign languages, and that the ability to speak those languages spontaneously is a gift of the [[Holy Spirit]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Library – Religion – Christianity – Pentecostalism |publisher= Australian Broadcasting Company |url= http://www.abc.net.au/religion/stories/s820631.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104194445/http://www.abc.net.au/religion/stories/s820631.htm |archive-date= 2014-11-04 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|2:1–13|31}}</ref><ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|10:45–47|31}}</ref> Some people outside of the movement, however, have offered dissenting views. [[George Barton Cutten]] suggested that glossolalia was a sign of mental illness.<ref>George Barton Cutten, ''Speaking with Tongues Historically and Psychologically Considered'', Yale University Press, 1927.</ref> [[Felicitas Goodman]] suggested that tongue speakers were under a form of hypnosis.<ref>Goodman, Felicitas D., ''Speaking in Tongues: A Cross-Cultural Study in Glossolalia''. University of Chicago Press, 1972.</ref> Others suggest that it is a learned behaviour.<ref>Hine, Virginia H.: 'Pentecostal Glossolalia toward a Functional Interpretation.' ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' 8, 2: (1969) 211–26: quote on p. 211</ref><ref>Samarin, William J., ''Tongues of Men and Angels: The Religious Language of Pentecostalism''. Macmillan, New York, 1972, quote on p. 73</ref> Some of these views have allegedly been refuted.<ref>Hine, Virginia H.: 'Pentecostal Glossolalia toward a Functional Interpretation.' ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' 8, 2: (1969) 211–26: quote on p. 213</ref><ref>Spanos, Nicholas P.; Hewitt, Erin C.: Glossolalia: 'A test of the 'trance' and psychopathology hypotheses.' ''Journal of Abnormal Psychology'': 1979 Aug Vol 88(4) 427–34.</ref> ====Christian Science==== [[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 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. 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.<ref>[[Mary Baker Eddy]], "Prayer," in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Boston, Trustees Under the Will of Mary Baker Eddy, 1934 [etc.] pp. 1–17</ref> Christian Scientists do not practice [[intercessory prayer]] as it is commonly understood, and they generally avoid combining prayer with medical treatment in the belief that the two practices tend to work against each other. Prayer works through [[love]]: the recognition of God's creation as spiritual, intact, and inherently lovable.<ref>{{cite web|title=Is there no intercessory prayer?|url=http://www.christianscience.org/QAIsthereintercesprayer.html|access-date=2007-10-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/19990830121655/http://www.christianscience.org/QAIsthereintercesprayer.html|archive-date=1999-08-30}} </ref> ===Islam=== {{Main|Salah|Dua}} [[File:Mosque.jpg|thumb|Muslims in prostration at the [[Umayyad Mosque]] in Syria]] The [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for prayer is ''[[salah]]''. The daily obligatory prayers collectively form the second of the [[Five Pillars of Islam|five pillars]] in [[Islam]], observed three<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aKenKtONX2MC&dq=muslims+pray+three+times+a+day&pg=PA238 | title=Islam and the Secular State | isbn=9780674033764 | last1=Na | first1=Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im | last2=Naʻīm | first2=ʻabd Allāh Aḥmad | date=30 June 2009 | publisher=Harvard University Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZIzC9N8-7Z0C&dq=some+muslims+pray+three+times+a+day&pg=PT23 | title=Muslims in America: A Short History | isbn=978-0-19-974567-8 | last1=Curtis Iv | first1=Edward E. | date=October 2009 | publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> or five times every day at [[Salah times|prescribed times]]. The command of ritual prayer repeatedly occurs in the [[Quran]]. The person performs the prayer while they are facing the [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca]]. There is the "call for prayer" (''[[Adhan|the adhan]]''), where the ''[[muezzin]]'' calls for all the followers to stand together for the prayer. The prayer consists of actions such as glorifying and praising God (such as mentioning 'Allāhu Akbar' (God is Great)) while standing, recitation of chapters of the Quran (such as the opening chapter of the book (''[[Al-Fatiha]]'')), [[Ruku|bowing down]] then praising God, [[prostration|prostrating]] (''[[sujud]]'') then again praising God. It ends with the words: "Peace be with you and God's mercy." During the prayer, a Muslim cannot talk or do anything else besides pray. Once the prayer is complete, one can offer personal prayers or supplications to God for their needs, known as ''[[dua]]''. There are many standard invocations in [[Arabic]] to be recited at various times (''e.g.'' after the prayer) and for various occasions (''e.g.'' for one's parents) with manners and etiquette such as 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.<ref name=" Emerick" /> Certain [[Shi'a]] sects pray the five daily prayers divided into three separate parts of the day, providing several Hadith as supporting evidence;<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UlaBw3MUGBEC&dq=shia+pray+3+times&pg=PA91 Muslim cultures today: a reference guide] By Kathryn M. Coughlin, p. 91</ref> although according to [[Shia Islam]], it is also permissible to pray at five times.<ref>[http://www.islamquest.net/en/archive/question/fa2334 Why do we the Shia pray at three times while the Quran tells us to pray at five times?] islamquest.net Retrieved 19 Oct 2018</ref> ===Mandaeism=== {{Main|Daily prayer in Mandaeism}} [[Daily prayer in Mandaeism]] called ''brakha'' consists of a set prayers that are recited three times per day.<ref name="Buckley2010">{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history|publisher=Gorgias Press|publication-place=Piscataway, N.J|year=2010|isbn=978-1-59333-621-9}}</ref> Mandaeans stand facing north while reciting daily prayers.<ref name="Buckley 2002">{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=New York|year=2002|isbn=0-19-515385-5|oclc=65198443}}</ref> Unlike in Islam and Coptic Orthodox Christianity, [[prostration]] is not practiced. [[Mandaean priest]]s recite [[rahma (Mandaeism)|rahma]] prayers<ref name="Drower 1959">{{Cite book|title=The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans|last=Drower|first=E. S.|publisher=E. J. Brill|year=1959|location=Leiden}}</ref><ref name="Liturgien">Lidzbarski, Mark. 1920. ''Mandäische Liturgien''. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF 17.1. Berlin.</ref> three times every day, while laypeople also recite the ''[[Rushma]]'' (signing prayer) and ''[[Asiet Malkia]]'' ("Healing of Kings") daily.<ref name="Buckley2010"/> The three prayer times in [[Mandaeism]] are:<ref name="Drower 1937">Drower, Ethel Stefana. 1937. ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran''. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.</ref><ref name="Drower 1959"/> *dawn (sunrise) *noontime (the "seventh hour") *evening (sunset) ===Baháʼí Faith=== {{Main|Prayer in the Baháʼí Faith}} [[Bahá'u'lláh]], the [[Báb]], and [[`Abdu'l-Bahá]] wrote many prayers for general use, and some for specific occasions, including for unity, detachment, spiritual upliftment, and healing among others. Followers of the [[Baháʼí Faith]] are also required to recite each day one of three [[Obligatory Baháʼí prayers|obligatory prayers]] composed 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. Baháʼís also read from and meditate on the scriptures every morning and evening.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=P.|year=1999|title=A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith|publisher=Oneworld Publications|location=Oxford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/274 274–75]|isbn=978-1-85168-184-6|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/274}}</ref> ===Baptism=== {{Main|John the Baptist}} Baptists (not to be confused with the Protestant Christian denomination of Baptists) and their prayers play a special role in Christianity, and represent the more theologic and rational approach to Christian praying. [[John the Baptist]] was a scholar of the original [[Old Testament|Hebrew scroll]]s and was likely exposed to [[hellenistic philosophy]]. Baptism is a Hebraic rite of purification that preceded John the Baptist. He is a subject mentioned in the [[Koran]] and is thus accepted in [[Islam]] and [[Orthodox religion]]s. Modern baptists also practice social representation (e.g. work, or altruistic activities) as a form of prayer. In essence, it can be said that Baptists are socialized Christians that themselves accept the [[Koran]] and the practice of Muslim prayers. Islam has preserved the tradition of baptizing in the form of ablution and ritual [[Ghusl]] for purification purposes.<ref>Souter A. (1919). [https://www.logos.com/product/41602/tertullians-treatises-concerning-prayer-concerning-baptism Tertullian’s Treatises: Concerning Prayer, Concerning Baptism] ''SPCK; Macmillan Co''. Retrieved 9 April 2023.</ref><ref>Muzammil H. Siddiqi (20 December 2022) [https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-the-scholar/muslim-creed/how-does-islam-view-baptism/ "How Does Islam View Baptism?"] ''aboutislam.net''. Accessed 9 April 2023.</ref> ==Eastern religions== {{further|Eastern religions|Meditation|Mantra}} In both [[Buddhism]] and [[Hinduism]], the repetition of [[mantra]]s is closely related to the practice of repetitive prayer in Western religion ([[rosary]], [[Jesus prayer]]) but Buddhists do not pray to a higher deity. Many of the most widespread Hindu and Buddhist mantras are in origin invocations of deities, e.g. [[Gayatri Mantra]] dedicated to [[Savitr]], [[Pavamana Mantra]] to [[Soma (drink)|Soma Pavamana]], and many of the Buddhist [[Dhāraṇī]] originate as recitations of lists of names or attributes of deities. Most of the shorter Buddhist mantras originate as the invocation of the name of a specific deity or ''[[bodhisattva]]'', such as ''[[Om mani padme hum]]'' being in origin the invocation of a ''bodhisattva'' called ''Maṇipadma''. However, from an early time these mantras were interpreted in the context of mystical [[sound symbolism]]. The most extreme example of this is the [[om]] syllable, which as early as in the [[Aitareya Brahmana]] was claimed as equivalent to the entire [[Vedas]] (collection of ritual hymns).<ref>Aitareya Brahmana 5.32, Arthur Berriedale Keith, ''The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda''. Harvard University Press, 1920, p. 256.</ref> ===Buddhism=== [[File:Incense-LE.jpg|thumb|Buddhists praying with incense at [[Wat Phra Kaew]], Thailand]] 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.<ref>{{cite book| last=Collins|first=Steven|title=Selfless Persons| url=https://archive.org/details/selflesspersonsi0000coll| url-access=registration|publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=1982|location=Cambridge|page=[https://archive.org/details/selflesspersonsi0000coll/page/6 6]|isbn=978-0-521-39726-1}}</ref>{{request quotation|date=June 2018}} The [[Upāya|skillful means]] (Sanskrit: ''upāya'') of the transfer of merit (Sanskrit: ''[[pariṇāmanā]]'') is an [[evocation]] and prayer. Moreover, indeterminate buddhas are available for intercession as they reside in awoken-fields (Sanskrit: ''buddha-kshetra''). The ''[[Trikaya|nirmānakāya]]'' of an awoken-field is what is generally known and understood as a [[mandala]]. The opening and closing of the ring (Sanskrit: ''maṇḍala'') is an active prayer. An active prayer is a mindful activity, an activity in which [[Mindfulness (Buddhism)|mindfulness]] is not just cultivated but ''is''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sangharakshita|first=Bhikshu|title=A Survey of Buddhism|publisher=Windhorse Publications|year=1993|location=Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom|pages=449–60|isbn=978-0-904766-65-3}}</ref> A common prayer is "May the merit of my practice, adorn Buddhas' Pure Lands, requite the fourfold kindness from above, and relieve the suffering of the three life-journeys below. Universally wishing sentient beings, Friends, foes, and [[Karma in Buddhism|karmic creditors]], all to activate the [[Bodhi]] mind, and all to be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss." (願以此功德 莊嚴佛淨土 上報四重恩 下濟三途苦 普願諸眾生 冤親諸債主 悉發菩提心 同生極樂國)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sutrasmantras.info/prayers.html|title=Buddhist Prayers}}</ref> The [[Generation Stage]] (Sanskrit: ''utpatti-krama'') of [[Vajrayana]] involves prayer elements.<ref>Keown, Damien (ed.) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). ''A Dictionary of Buddhism''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 100. {{ISBN|0-19-860560-9}}</ref> The [[Tibetan Buddhism]] tradition emphasizes an instructive and devotional relationship to a guru; this may involve devotional practices known as [[guru yoga]] which are congruent with prayer. It also appears that Tibetan Buddhism posits the existence of various deities, but the peak view of the tradition is that the deities or ''[[yidam]]'' are no more existent or real than the continuity (Sanskrit: ''santana''; refer [[mindstream]]) of the practitioner, environment and activity. But how practitioners engage ''yidam'' or [[tutelary deities]] will depend upon the level or more appropriately ''[[yana (Buddhism)|yana]]'' 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 ''[[śūnyatā]]''. The views of the more esoteric ''yana'' are impenetrable for those without direct experience and empowerment. [[Pure Land Buddhism]] emphasizes the recitation by devotees of prayer-like [[mantra]]s, a practice often called ''[[Nembutsu]]''.<ref name=smithnovak03>"The Flowering of Faith: Buddhism's Pure Land Tradition" (pp. 185–98) in {{cite book |title=Buddhism: A concise introduction |last=Smith |first=Huston |author-link=Huston Smith |author2=Philip Novak|author2-link=Philip Novak |year=2003 |publisher=HarperSanFrancisco |location=San Francisco |isbn= 978-0-06-050696-4 |url=https://www.google.com/search?q=Smith+novak+isbn%3A0060506962+&btnG=Search+Books }}</ref>{{rp|190}} On one level it is said that reciting these mantras can ensure rebirth into a ''[[Sambhogakāya]]'' land (Sanskrit: ''buddha-kshetra'') after bodily dissolution, a sheer ball spontaneously co-emergent to a Buddha's [[Bodhicitta|enlightened intention]]. According to [[Shinran]], the founder of the [[Pure Land Buddhism]] tradition that is most prevalent in the US,<ref name=smithnovak03/>{{rp|193}}<ref>Smith and Novak (2003) state that "Pure Land Buddhism has entered America almost exclusively from Japan, and the church Shinran founded is the largest Pure Land presence on this continent" (p. 193).</ref> "for the long haul nothing is as efficacious as the Nembutsu."<ref name=smithnovak03/>{{rp|197}}<ref>This quotation is Smith and Novak's paraphrase of Shinran's teaching.</ref> On another, the practice is a form of meditation aimed at achieving realization.<ref>Caldwell, Xenia (2016). "All About Importance of Prayers in Religion". {{ISBN|978-1-283-49986-6}}</ref> 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. ===Hinduism=== {{Main|Prayer in Hinduism}} [[File:Bangladesh Prayer.jpg|thumb|[[Shaktism|Shakta]] Hindus in [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh, pray to the goddess during ''[[Durga Puja]]''. October 2003.]] [[Hinduism]] has incorporated many kinds of prayer (Sanskrit: ''prārthanā''), from fire-based [[yajna|rituals]] to philosophical musings. While chanting involves 'by dictum' recitation of timeless verses or verses with timings and notations, ''[[Dhyāna in Hinduism|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. These prayers can be directed to fulfilling personal needs or [[moksha|liberation]], and also for the benefit of others. Ritual [[invocation]] was part and parcel of the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic religion]] and as such permeated their sacred texts. Indeed, the highest sacred texts of the Hindus, the [[Vedas]], are a large collection of [[mantra]]s 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]]{{Dubious|date=February 2009}}. Hindus in [[India]] have numerous devotional movements. Hindus may pray to the highest absolute God Brahman, or more commonly to its three manifestations, a creator god called [[Brahma (god)|Brahma]], a preserver god called [[Vishnu]] and a destroyer 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 in ''[[pranam]]''.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=a5732hIV03kC&dq=false&pg=PA44| title = Stephen Jacobs (2010), ''Hinduism Today: An Introduction'', Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 44| isbn = 9780826430656| last1 = Jacobs| first1 = Stephen| date = 24 June 2010| publisher = A&C Black}}</ref> The hand gesture is similar to the popular Indian greeting ''[[namaste]]''. ===Sikhism=== [[File:BhaiSahibJiArdas.jpg|thumb|A [[Sikh]] holy man, doing Sikh prayer ([[Ardās]])]] The ''[[Ardās]]'' (Punjabi: ਅਰਦਾਸ) is a [[Sikh]] prayer that is done before performing or after undertaking any significant task; after reciting the daily ''[[Banis]]'' (prayers); or completion of a service like the ''[[Paath]]'' (scripture reading/recitation), ''[[kirtan]]'' (hymn-singing) program or any other religious program. In Sikhism, these prayers are also said before and after eating. The prayer is a plea to God to support and help the devotee with whatever he or she is about to undertake or has done. The ''Ardas'' is usually always done standing up with folded hands. The beginning of the ''Ardas'' is strictly set by the tenth Sikh Guru, [[Guru Gobind Singh]]. When it comes to conclusion of this prayer, the devotee uses words like "[[Waheguru]] please bless me in the task that I am about to undertake" when starting a new task or "[[Akal Purakh]], having completed the hymn-singing, we ask for your continued blessings so that we can continue with your memory and remember you at all times", etc. The word "Ardās" is derived from Persian word 'Arazdashat', meaning a request, supplication, prayer, petition or an address to a superior authority. Ardās is a unique prayer based on the fact that it is one of the few well-known prayers in the Sikh religion that was not written in its entirety by the Gurus. The Ardās cannot be found within the pages of the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] because it is a continually changing devotional text that has evolved over time in order for it to encompass the feats, accomplishments, and feelings of all generations of Sikhs within its lines. Taking the various derivation of the word Ardās into account, the basic purpose of this prayer is an appeal to Waheguru for his protection and care, as well as being a plea for the welfare and prosperity of all mankind, and a means for the Sikhs to thank Waheguru for all that he has done.<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.sgpc.net/ardas/index.asp |title= Ardas |work= sgpc.net |publisher= [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060806235347/http://www.sgpc.net/ardas/index.asp |archive-date= 2006-08-06 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url= http://new.sgpc.net/ardas/# |title= Learn and recite the Holy Ardas |work= sgpc.net |publisher= [[Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee]] }}</ref> ==Iranian religions== === Zoroastrianism === {{Main|Zoroastrian prayer}} [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]] are not [[Fire worship|fire-worshippers]], as some Westerners wrongly believe. Zoroastrians believe that the elements are pure and that fire represents [[Ahura Mazda|God's]] light or wisdom.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC - Religions - Zoroastrian: Worship|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/zoroastrian/worship/worship.shtml#:~:text=Prayers%20are%20primarily%20invocational,%20calling,strongly%20emphasised%20in%20Zoroastrian%20rituals.|access-date=2021-01-02|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref> Zoroastrian worship practices have evolved from ancient times to the present day. Over time, Zoroastrians developed the concept of worshipping in temples, sometimes called [[fire temple]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zoroastrian Worship, Eternal Flame, Prayer|url=http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/worship/index.htm|access-date=2021-01-02|website=www.heritageinstitute.com}}</ref> ==New religious movements== [[Wicca]]n prayers can include meditation, rituals and incantations. Wiccans see prayers as a form of communication with the God and Goddess. Such communication may include prayers for ''[[esbat]]'' and ''[[sabbat]]'' celebrations, for dinner, for pre-dawn times or for one's own or others' safety, for healing or for the dead.<ref>The Wiccan Prayer Book: Daily, Mark Ventimiglia (2006).</ref> In [[Raëlism]] rites and practises vary from initiation ceremonies to sensual meditation. An initiation ceremony usually involves a Raelian putting water on the forehead of a new member. Such ceremonies take place on certain special days on the Raelian calendar.<ref>Palmer, Susan J., ''Aliens Adored''. Rutgers University Press, 2004</ref> Sensual meditation techniques include breathing exercises and various forms of erotic meditation.<ref>Raël, Sensual Meditation. Tagman Press, 2002.</ref> In [[Eckankar]], one of the basic forms of prayer includes singing the word "HU" (pronounced as "hue"), a holy name of God. ECKists may do this with eyes closed or open, aloud or silently. Practitioners may experience the divine ECK or Holy Spirit.<ref>Eckankar: Ancient Wisdom for Today. p. 20, 1995</ref> Practitioners of [[Theurgy#Esoteric Christianity|theurgy]] and [[Western esotericism]] may practice a form of ritual which uses both pre-sanctioned prayers and names of God, and prayers "from the heart" that, when combined, allow the participant to ascend spiritually, and in some instances, induce a trance in which God or other spiritual beings may be realized. Very much as in [[Hermetic Qabalah]] and orthodox Kabbalah, it is believed that prayer can influence both the physical and non-physical worlds. The use of ritualistic signs and names are believed to be archetypes in which the subconscious may take form as the [[Inner God]], or another spiritual being, and the "prayer from the heart" to be that spiritual force speaking through the participant. [[File:Stelae of Ankh-af-na-khonsu (cropped).jpg|thumb|Many Thelemites recite "Resh" (Liber Resh vel Helios, or "Liber CC") facing the direction of the ever-present sun as it rises in the East, triumphs in the (northern-hemisphere) South, sets in the West, and "hides" in the North. Image shows a close-up of the [[Stele of Revealing]].]] In [[Thelema]] (which includes both theist as well as atheist practitioners) adherents share a number of practices that are forms of individual prayer, including basic yoga; (asana and pranayama); various forms of ritual [[magick (Aleister Crowley)|magick]]; rituals of one's own devising (often based upon a syncretism of religions, or Western Esotericism, such as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and Star Ruby); and performance of Liber Resh vel Helios (aka Liber 200), which consists of four daily adorations to the sun (often consisting of four hand/body positions and recitation of a memorized song, normally spoken, addressing different godforms identified with the sun).<ref>DuQuette, Lon Milo. ''The Magick of Aleister Crowley: A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema'', p. 12. Weiser, 2003. {{ISBN|1-57863-299-4}}.</ref> While no dogma within Thelema expresses the purpose behind any individual aspirant who chooses to perform "Resh", note that the practice of "Resh" is not a simple petition toward the sun, nor a form of "worshiping" the celestial body that we call the Sun, but instead uses the positioning of that source of light, which enables life on our planet, as well as using mythological images of that solar force, so that the individual can perform the prayer, possibly furthering a self-identification with the sun, so "that repeated application of the Liber Resh adorations expands the consciousness of the individual by compelling him to take a different perspective, by inducing him to 'look at things from the point of view of the Sun' [...]".<ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.erwinhessle.com/writings/pvsun.php |title= The Point of View of the Sun |first= Erwin|last= Hessle |publisher= Erwin Hessle |access-date = 2019-04-09 }} </ref> ==Prayer healing== {{main|Faith healing}} Prayer is often used as a means of [[faith healing]] in an attempt to use [[religious]] or [[spirituality|spiritual]] means to prevent illness, cure [[disease]], or improve health. Scientific studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on the healing of sick or injured people. [[meta-study|Meta-studies]] have been performed showing evidence only for no effect or a potentially small effect. For instance, a 2006 meta analysis on 14 studies concluded that there is "no discernable effect" while a 2007 systemic review of [[studies on intercessory prayer]] reported inconclusive results, noting that seven of 17 studies had "small, but significant, effect sizes" but the review noted that the most methodologically rigorous studies failed to produce significant findings.<ref>K. Masters, G. Spielmans, J. Goodson "Are there demonstrable effects of distant intercessory prayer? A meta-analytic review." ''[[Annals of Behavioral Medicine]]'' 2006 Aug 32(1):21–26. [1]</ref><ref>{{citation |first= David R. |last= Hodge |title= A Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature on Intercessory Prayer |journal= Research on Social Work Practice |date= March 2007 |volume= 17 |issue= 2 |pages= 174–87 |doi= 10.1177/1049731506296170 |s2cid= 43547918 |url= http://www.sagepub.com/vaughnstudy/articles/intervention/Hodge.pdf }}</ref> Some studies have indicated increased medical complications in groups receiving prayer over those without.<ref name="Saletan 2006">{{citation |url= http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2006/04/the_deity_in_the_data.single.html |title= The Deity in the Data: What the latest prayer study tells us about God |first= William |last= Saletan |author-link=William Saletan|date= April 2006 |journal= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] }}</ref><ref name="STEP 2006">{{cite journal |vauthors=Benson H, Dusek JA, Sherwood JB, etal |title= 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 |journal= [[American Heart Journal]] |volume= 151 |issue= 4 |pages= 934–42 |date= April 2006 |pmid= 16569567 |doi= 10.1016/j.ahj.2005.05.028}} *{{cite press release |date=2006-04-07 |title=Largest Study of Third-Party Prayer Suggests Such Prayer Not Effective In Reducing Complications Following Heart Surgery |website=[[John Templeton Foundation]] |url=http://www.templeton.org/pdfs/press_releases/060407STEP.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915195711/http://www.templeton.org/pdfs/press_releases/060407STEP.pdf |archive-date=2011-09-15}}</ref> The efficacy of petition in prayer for physical healing to a deity has been evaluated in numerous other studies, with contradictory results.<ref name="Galton">{{cite journal |last= Galton |first= Francis |author-link= Francis Galton |title= Statistical Inquiries into the Efficacy of Prayer |journal= Fortnightly Review |year= 1872 |issue= 68 |pages= 125–35}} As found in {{cite book |title= The Prayer-Gauge Debate |year= 1876 |place= Boston |publisher= Congregational Publishing Society |lccn= 39018081 |oclc= 1809220 |url= https://archive.org/details/prayergaugedebat00tynd }}</ref><ref name="SouthMedJ">{{cite journal | last1 = Byrd | first1 = R.C. | year = 1988 | title = Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population | url = http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/smj.pdf| journal = South Med J | volume = 81 | issue = 7| pages = 826–29 | pmid = 3393937 | doi=10.1097/00007611-198807000-00005| citeseerx = 10.1.1.621.290 | s2cid = 12892611 }}</ref><ref name="Harris">{{cite journal | last1 = Harris | first1 = W.S. | last2 = Gowda | first2 = M. | last3 = Kolb | first3 = J.W. | last4 = Strychacz | first4 = C.P. | last5 = Vacek | first5 = J.L. | last6 = Jones | first6 = P.G. | last7 = Forker | first7 = A. | last8 = O'Keefe | first8 = J.H. | last9 = McCallister | first9 = B.D. | year = 1999 | title = A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit. | journal = Arch Intern Med | volume = 159 | issue = 19| pages = 2273–78 | pmid = 10547166 | doi=10.1001/archinte.159.19.2273| doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="O'Laoire">{{cite journal | last1 = O'Laoire | first1 = S | year = 1997 | title = An experimental study of the effects of distant, intercessory prayer on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression | journal = Altern Ther Health Med | volume = 3 | issue = 6| pages = 38–53 | pmid = 9375429 }}</ref> There has been some criticism of the way the studies were conducted.<ref name="STEP 2006" /><ref name="Infidels">{{citation |last=Posner |first=Gary P. |title=God in the CCU? A critique of the San Francisco hospital study on intercessory prayer and healing |date=Spring 1990 |journal=[[Free Inquiry]]}}. [http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/gary_posner/godccu.html Online reprint] by [[Internet Infidels]] at Infidels.org. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230923082851/https://infidels.org/library/modern/gary-posner-godccu/ Archived] from the original on September 23, 2023.</ref> Some attempt to heal by prayer, mental practices, spiritual insights, or other techniques, claiming they can summon divine or supernatural intervention on behalf of the ill. Others advocate that ill people may achieve healing through prayer performed by themselves.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/pell-adamant-prayer-cures-cancer-20091221-l8fy.html|location=Melbourne|work=The Age|title=Pell adamant prayer cures cancer|date=2009-12-21}}</ref> According to the varied beliefs of those who practice it, faith healing may be said to afford gradual relief from pain<ref name="Jarego2022">{{cite journal |last1=Jarego |first1=M |last2=Ferreira-Valente |first2=A |last3=Queiroz-Garcia |first3=I |last4=Day |first4=MA |last5=Pais-Ribeiro |first5=J |last6=Costa |first6=RM |last7=Pimenta |first7=F |last8=Jensen |first8=MP |title=Are Prayer-Based Interventions Effective Pain Management Options? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |date=3 December 2022 |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=1780–1809 |doi=10.1007/s10943-022-01709-z |pmid=36462092|hdl=10400.12/8895 |s2cid=254179534 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> or sickness or to bring about a sudden "miracle cure", and it may be used in place of, or in tandem with, conventional medical techniques for alleviating or curing diseases. Faith healing has been criticized on the grounds that those who use it may delay seeking potentially curative conventional medical care. This is particularly problematic when parents use faith healing techniques on children. ===Efficacy of prayer healing=== {{main|Efficacy of prayer}} [[File:Healing "laying on of hands" ceremony in the Pentecostal Church of God. Lejunior, Harlan County, Kentucky. - NARA - 541337.jpg|thumb|To pray over an individual while [[laying on of hands|laying hands on them]] is a form of faith healing in Christianity.]] In 1872, [[Francis Galton]] conducted a famous [[statistics|statistical]] experiment to determine whether 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.<ref name="Galton"/> While the experiment was probably intended to satirize, and suffered from a number of [[Confounding variable|confounders]], it set the precedent for a number of different studies, the results of which are contradictory. Two studies claimed that patients who are being prayed for recover more quickly or more frequently although critics have claimed that the methodology of such studies are flawed, and the perceived effect disappears when controls are tightened.<ref>{{citation |url= http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/07/prayer_still_us.html |author= Anonymous |date= July 20, 2005 |title= Skeptico – Prayer still useless |work= skeptico.blogs.com |type= blog |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141104203127/http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/07/prayer_still_us.html |archive-date= 2014-11-04 |url-status=live }}</ref> One such study, with a [[double-blind]] design and about 500 subjects per group, was published in 1988; it suggested that intercessory prayer by born again Christians had a statistically significant positive effect on a coronary care unit population.<ref name="SouthMedJ"/> Critics contend that there were severe methodological problems with this study.<ref name="Infidels"/> Another such study was reported by Harris et al.<ref name="Harris"/> Critics also claim that the 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,<ref>Tessman I and Tessman J "Efficacy of Prayer: A Critical Examination of Claims," Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2000,</ref> 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 to 1996, and blindly assigned some of these to an intercessory prayer group. The prayer group had shorter hospital stays and duration of fever.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Leibovici | first1 = L | year = 2001 | title = Effects of remote, retroactive intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients with bloodstream infection: randomized controlled trial | journal = BMJ | volume = 323 | issue = 7327| pages = 1450–51 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.323.7327.1450 | pmid = 11751349 | pmc=61047}}</ref> Several studies of prayer effectiveness have yielded null results.<ref name="O'Laoire"/> 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.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Aviles | first1 = JM | last2 = Whelan | first2 = SE | last3 = Hernke | first3 = DA | last4 = Williams | first4 = BA | last5 = Kenny | first5 = KE | last6 = O'Fallon | first6 = WM | last7 = Kopecky | first7 = SL | year = 2001 | title = Intercessory prayer and cardiovascular disease progression in a coronary care unit population: a randomized controlled trial | journal = Mayo Clin Proc | volume = 76 | issue = 12| pages = 1192–98 | doi = 10.4065/76.12.1192 | pmid = 11761499 }}</ref> Similarly, the MANTRA study conducted by Duke University found no differences in outcome of cardiac procedures as a result of prayer.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Krucoff | first1 = MW | last2 = Crater | first2 = SW | last3 = Gallup | first3 = D | last4 = Blankenship | first4 = JC | last5 = Cuffe | first5 = M | last6 = Guarneri | first6 = M | last7 = Krieger | first7 = RA | last8 = Kshettry | first8 = VR | last9 = Morris | first9 = K | last10 = Oz | first10 = M | last11 = Pichard | first11 = A | last12 = Sketch | first12 = MH Jr | last13 = Koenig | first13 = HG | last14 = Mark | first14 = D | last15 = Lee | first15 = KL | year = 2005 | title = Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care: the Monitoring and Actualisation of Noetic Trainings (MANTRA) II randomised study | journal = Lancet | volume = 366 | issue = 9481| pages = 211–17 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66910-3 | pmid = 16023511 | s2cid = 18281837 }}</ref> In another similar study published in the ''[[American Heart Journal]]'' in 2006,<ref name="STEP 2006" /> 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.<ref name="Saletan 2006" /><ref name="STEP 2006" /> Another 2006 study suggested that prayer actually had a significant negative effect on the recovery of [[cardiac bypass]] patients, resulting in more frequent deaths and slower recovery time for those patient who received prayers.<ref name="STEP 2006"/> Many believe 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."<ref>[http://www.centrastate.com/body.cfm?id=520&action=detail&articlepath=/Atoz/dc/cen/canc/gen/mindspirit.html#7 Mind and Spirit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201075605/http://www.centrastate.com/body.cfm?id=520&action=detail&articlepath=%2FAtoz%2Fdc%2Fcen%2Fcanc%2Fgen%2Fmindspirit.html |date=2009-02-01 }}. ''from the Health Library section of'' [http://www.centrastate.com CentraState Healthcare System]. Accessed May 18, 2006.</ref> 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 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,<ref name="STEP 2006"/> saying that this is not the way they usually conduct prayer: {{Blockquote|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.}} One scientific movement attempts to track the physical effects of prayer through [[neuroscience]]. Leaders in this movement include [[Andrew B. Newberg|Andrew Newberg]], an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In Newberg's brain scans, monks, priests, nuns, [[Nun#Distinction between a nun and a religious sister|sisters]] and gurus alike have exceptionally focused attention and compassion sites. This is a result of the frontal lobe of the brain's engagement (Newberg, 2009). Newburg believes that anybody can connect to the supernatural with practice. Those without religious affiliations benefit from the connection to the metaphysical as well. Newberg also states that further evidence towards humans' need for metaphysical relationships is that as science had increased spirituality has not decreased. Newburg believes that at the end of the 18th century, when the scientific method began to consume{{page needed|date=September 2010}} the human mind, religion could have vanished. However, two hundred years later, the perception of spirituality, in many instances, appears to be gaining in strength (2009). Newberg's research also provides the connection between prayer and meditation and health. By understanding how the brain works during religious experiences and practices Newberg's research shows that the brain changes during these practices allowing an understanding of how religion affects psychological and physical health (2009). For example, brain activity during meditation indicates that people who frequently practice prayer or meditation experience lower blood-pressure, lower heart rates, decreased anxiety, and decreased depression.<ref>Newberg, Andrew. Interviewed by Barbra Bradley Hagerty. "Prayer May Re-Shape Your Brain". www.npr.org "All Things Considered." 20 May 2009. National Public Radio. Web. 30 June 2010. https://www.npr.org/2009/05/20/104310443/prayer-may-reshape-your-brain-and-your-reality</ref> Another paradigm of research returns to the [[Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab|Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research]] (1979-2007) which has provided an explanatory model for mind-matter interactions. [[Robert G. Jahn|Jahn]] and his colleagues explain the local and nonlocal effects of consciousness by an explanation of the normal pathways, through those intentions life prayer, can change the praying person's emotion and behavior, and anomalous pathways which can affect another one through the unconscious-[[Implicate and explicate order|implicit order]] trajectory via [[quantum nonlocality]] mechanism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goli |first=Farzad |title=Bioenergy economy: a methodological study on bioenergy-based therapies |year=2010 |isbn=978-1453538661 |pages=128–132|publisher=Xlibris Corporation LLC }}</ref> ===Efficacy of prayer for fertility=== One study found that prayer combined with [[IVF]] treatment nearly doubled the number of women who were successfully pregnant, and more than doubled the number of successful implantations.<ref>{{cite journal | first1 = KY | last1= Cha | first2 = DP | last2 = Wirth | title = Does prayer influence the success of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer? Report of a masked, randomized trial. | year = 2001 | journal = Journal of Reproductive Medicine | volume = 46 | issue= 9 | pages = 781–787 | pmid = 11584476}}</ref> But three years later it was revealed that the results of the study were fake.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2004/09/the-columbia-university-miracle-study-flawed-and-fraud/|title=The Columbia University Study flawed and fraud|work=[[Skeptical Inquirer]], September/October 2004|date=September 2004|access-date=2021-01-08}}</ref> ===Prevalence of prayer for health=== Some modalities of [[alternative medicine]] employ prayer. A survey released in May 2004<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camsurvey.htm |title=Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in the United States |access-date=2004-06-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041018194658/http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camsurvey.htm |archive-date=2004-10-18 }}</ref> 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. ==See also== {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * [[Affirmative prayer]] * [[Christian contemplation]] * [[Christian devotional literature]] * [[Continual prayer]] * [[Daily Prayer for Peace]] * [[Hoʻoponopono]] * [[Interior life (Catholic theology)]] * [[List of Jewish prayers and blessings|Jewish prayers and blessings]] * [[Jewish prayer]] * [[List of prayers]] * [[Magical thinking]] * [[Mani stone]] * [[Moment of silence]] * [[National Day of Prayer|National Day of Prayer (US)]] * [[Novena]] * [[Orans]] * [[Prayer beads]] * [[Prayer in LDS theology and practice]] * [[Prayer in the Catholic Church]] * [[Prayer in school]] * [[Prayer wheel]] * [[Prie-dieu]] * [[Rosary]] * [[Shuckling]] * [[Tibetan prayer flag]] {{div col end}} ==Further reading== *{{cite book|chapter=[[s:Sermons from the Latins/Sermon 43|Eleventh Sunday: The Necessity and Proper Method of Prayer]] |title=Sermons from the Latins|year=1902|publisher= Benziger Brothers|first=Robert|last=Bellarmine|author-link=Robert Bellarmine}} *{{cite book|chapter=[[s:The Art of Dying Well/Chapter 7|The Seventh Precept, Which Is on Prayer.]]|title=The Art of Dying Well|year=1847|publisher=Richardson and Son|first=Robert|last=Bellarmine|author-link=Robert Bellarmine|translator=John Dalton}} *{{cite book|chapter=[[s:A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion/Chap. III. Prayer|Chapter. III. Prayer]]|title=A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion|year=1912|publisher=Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss|first= Joseph|last=Deharbe|translator=John Fander}} *{{cite book|chapter=[[s:The paradise of the Christian soul/Chap. I. Colloquy between Christ and Man on the right use of Prayer.|Colloquy between Christ and Man on the right use of Prayer]]|title=The paradise of the Christian soul |year=1877|publisher=London: Burns & Oates|first=Jacob Merlo |last=Horstius}} *{{cite book|chapter=[[s:Preparation for death/XXX. OF PRAYER|Chapter XXX: Of Prayer]]|title=Preparation for Death|year=1868|publisher=Rivingtons|first=Alphonsus|last=Liguori|author-link=Alphonsus Liguori}} *{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Prayer |volume=12 |first=John Joseph |last=Wynne}} *{{cite book|chapter=[[s:The catechism of the Council of Trent/Part 4|Part 4: On Prayer]]|title=The catechism of the Council of Trent|year=1829|publisher=Lucas Brothers|translator=James Donovan}} ==Notes== {{Notelist}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=prayer}} <!-- LINKS TO PRAYER REQUEST SITES WILL BE REMOVED ON SIGHT. PLEASE DO NOT INSERT THEM. --> * {{commons category-inline|Prayer}} * {{wikiquote-inline}} {{Religion topics}} {{Spirituality-related topics}} {{Meditation}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Prayer}} [[Category:Prayer| ]] [[Category:Religious practices]] [[Category:Spirituality]] [[Category:Spiritual practice]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! 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