
Prayer is an effort to communicate with God, or to some deity or deities, or another form of spiritual entity, or otherwise, either to offer praise, to make a request, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions. There are a variety of approaches to understanding prayer: * The belief that the prayer is listened to, and may or may not get a response; * The belief that prayer is intended to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, rather than to influence the recipient; * The belief that prayer is intended to train a person to focus on the recipient through philosophy and intellectual contemplation; * The belief that prayer is intended to enable a person to gain a direct experience of the recipient; * The belief that prayer is intended to affect the very fabric of reality itself. The existence of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago. anthropology believe that the earliest intelligent modern humans practised something that we would recognize today as prayer. == The act of prayer == Praying has many different forms. *Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. *Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction (i.e. towards Mecca or the East); making the sign of the cross. *A variety of body postures may be assumed, often with specific meaning (mainly respect or adoration) associated with them: standing; sitting; kneeling; prostrate on the floor; eyes opened; eyes closed; hands folded or clasped; hands upraised; and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously as they are prayed. They may be said, chanted, or sung. They may be with musical accompaniment or not. There may be a time of outward silence while prayers are offered mentally. Often, there are prayers to fit specific occasions, such as the blessing of a meal, the birth or death of a loved one, other significant events in the life of a believer, or days of the year that have special religious significance. Details corresponding to specific traditions are outlined below. Walt Disney is quoted as saying: ::''"A prayer, it seems to me, implies a promise as well as a request, at the highest level. Prayer not only is supplication for strength and guidance, but also becomes an affirmation of life and thus a reverent praise of God."'' ==Prayer in ancient paganism== * The ever pragmatic Roman attitude is authentically rendered by the Latin phrase ''do ut des'', meaning 'I give so you may give' : the mortal worshipper is trying to 'trade' his attentions (as offerings, promisses) for divine help or forgiveness == Prayer in the Abrahamic religions == ===Prayer in the Bible === In the Bible various forms of prayer appear; the most common form is petition. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the "social approach" to prayer. In this view, a person directly confronts God in prayer, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled; God listens to prayer, and may or may not choose to answer. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and in rabbinic literature such as the Talmud. More detailed articles exist about prayer specifically in the Tanakh and in the New Testament. * Prayer in the Hebrew Bible * Prayer in the New Testament === Jewish prayer === Jews pray three times a day, or more on special days, such as the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers. The most important Jewish prayers are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") and the Amidah ("the standing prayer"). === Christian prayer === Jesus provided a model for prayer in The Lord's Prayer. Many Christian denominations also have their own local prayerbooks. Many Christians also devise their own, personal prayers. Prayers said by Christians are described in the article on Prayer in Christianity. === Islamic prayer === Muslims pray a brief ritualistic prayer service called Salah in Arabic language, facing Kaaba in Makka, five times a day. The "call for prayer" is called Adhan or ''Azaan''. There are also many standard duas or supplications, also in Arabic, to be recited at various times, e.g. for one's parents, after salah, before eating. Muslims may also say dua in their own words and languages for any issues they wish to communicate with Allah. === Bahá'í prayer === Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and `Abdu'l-Bahá have revealed many prayers for general use, and some for specific occasions, including for unity, detachment, spiritual upliftment, and healing among others. Bahá'í Faiths are also required to recite each day one of three obligatory prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. The believers have been enjoined to face in the direction of the Qiblih when reciting their Obligatory Prayer. The longest obligatory prayer may be recited at any time during the day; another, of medium length, is recited once in the morning, once at midday, and once in the evening; and the shortest is recited at noon. This is the text of the short prayer: ''I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.'' Bahá'ís also read from and meditate on the scriptures every morning and evening. == Prayer in other Eastern religions == === Hindu Prayer === Hinduism has incorporated many kinds of prayer, from fire-based rituals to philosophical musings. Prayer was part and parcel of the Vedic lifestyle, and as such permeated their books. Indeed, the highest sacred texts of the Hindus, the Vedas, are a large collection of mantras (sacred hymns of Hindus, later adopted by Buddhists) and prayer rituals extolling a single supreme force, Brahman, that is made manifest in several lower forms as the familiar gods of the Hindu pantheon. Hindus in India have numerous devotional movements. Hindus may pray to the highest absolute God Brahman, or more commonly to Its three manifestations namely creator god called Brahma (god), preserver god called Vishnu and detroyer god (so that the creation cycle can start afresh) Shiva, and at the next level to Vishnu's avatars (earthly appearances) Rama and Krishna or to many other male or female deities such as Laksmi (goddess of wealth) or Saraswati (goddess of knowledge). See the article on Prayer in Hinduism for more details. === Buddhism === [[Image:Budhist_prayer-KayEss-1.jpeg|thumb|Buddhist prayer in Thailand]] Buddhism for the most part discards worship, and places devotional emphasis on the practice of meditation alongside scriptural study. Although God and deities are recognized as present, Gautama Buddha claims it is mankind who by their own free will possess the greatest capacity and potential to liberate themselves and are urged to do so without exterior assistance. Therefore, prayer is not as central to devotion as in its neighbouring Asiatic faiths. In some later Mahayana related practices, especially Pure Land Buddhism, there is an emphasis on prayer-like mantras that are recited by devotees. === Prayer in Jainism === Although Jainisms believe that no spirit or divine being can assist them on their path, they do hold some influence, and on special occasions, Jains will pray and meditate for right knowledge to the twenty-four ''Tirthankaras'' (saintly teachers). == Philosophical paradoxes of prayer == There are a number of philosophical paradoxes involving prayer to an omnipotent God, namely: * If a person deserves the recipient of the prayer to give him the thing he prays for, why doesn't he receive it, even without prayer? And if a person is not deserving of it, then even if that person does pray and request it, should it be given just because of his prayer? * Why should it be necessary to pray with speech? Doesn't the recipient know the thoughts of all people? * If the recipient is omniscient (all-knowing) then doesn't that mean that they would know what we are going to ask for, even before we pray? * How can a human being hope to change the mind of the recipient of the prayer? Why should human prayers affect those decisions? * Do human beings actually have the ability to praise an omniscient and omnipotent entity? Praising is difficult to do without describing, yet how can a finite human being know anything about the entity's ultimate nature? This question was the subject of heated debate among many religious philosophers; one such debate took place in the 14th century between Gregory Palamas and Barlaam of Calabria. *The prerequisite of asking for a favour is faith in the recipient of the prayer. But asking to change an aspect of creation seems to be expressing a dissatisfaction with the way things are - and hence not trusting the "plan" Many of these questions have been discussed in Jewish, Christian and Muslim writings from the medieval period onward. The 900s to 1200s saw some of the most fertile discussion on these questions, during the period of Neo-Platonic and Neo-Aristotelian philosophy. Discussion of these problems never ceased entirely, but they did fall mostly from the public view for several centuries, until The Enlightenment reignited philosophical inquiry into theological issues. All of these questions have been discussed in many Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious texts. There was much intellectual cross-fertilization between Jews, Christians and Muslims during parts of the middle-ages, and so there is much convergence among some of the rationalist philosophers of that era. Many of these texts offer proposed resolutions to some or all of these paradoxes. === The educational approach === In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. Among Jews, this has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, 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). Among Christian theologians...(please add examples here) Among Muslim theologians....(please add examples here). === The Kabbalistic view of prayer === Traditional kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) embraces the social approach, in which prayer is viewed as a dialogue. It further refines the approach by presenting exact kavanot, directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog to increases its chances of being answered favorably. Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the Hassidei Ashkenaz, the Zohar, the Kabbalist school of though created by the Ari, the Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon, and rabbis such as Yaakov Emden and Kalonimus Shapira. Many people involved with kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) outside of traditional Jewish training follow an approach that often rejects rationalist reinterpreations of prayer outright, but also rejects the social approach, in which prayer is viewed as a dialogue. Instead, this approach ascribes 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. For these Kabbalists, every prayer, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word of every prayer, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. In Kabbalah and related mystical belief systems, adherents claim intimate knowledge about the way in which the divine relates to us and the physical universe in which we live. For people with this view, prayers can literally affect the mystical forces of the universe and repair the fabric of creation. In the 1800s some European Christians were influenced by Kabbalah...(please add information here) === The rationalist approach === In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists; it became popular in Jewish, Christian and Islamic intellectual circles, but never became the most popular understanding of prayer among the laity in any of these faiths. In all three of these faiths today a significant minority of people still hold to this approach. === The experiential approach === In this approach, the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to gain a direct experience of the recipient of the prayer (or as close to direct as a specific theology permits). This approach is very significant in Christianity and widespread in Judaism (although less popular theologically). In Eastern Orthodoxy, this approach is known as hesychasm. It is also widespread in Sufi Islam, and in some forms of mysticism. It has some similarities with the rationalist approach, since it can also involve contemplation, although the contemplation is not generally viewed as being as rational or intellectual. It also has some similarities with the Kabbalistic view, but it lacks the Kabbalistic emphasis on the importance of individual words and letters. == Claims of evidence for the effectiveness of prayer == Prayer is known to reduce stress and increase longevity in the praying person. The following applies only to prayer on behalf of others (intercessory prayer). A famous statistics experiment whether prayer was effective was conducted by Francis Galton. Galton hypothetized 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 longetivity of the British Royal family with that of the general population, and found no difference. While the experiment was probably intended to satirize, and suffered from a number of confounders, it set the precedent for a number of different studies. Most confirmed his findings, while some studies concluded that prayer can have health benefits (e.g. Byrd RC, see below). Some modalities of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) employ prayer, and a number of studies have claimed that patients who are being prayed for recover more quickly or more frequently. One such study (Byrd RC, 1988), with a Double-blind design, showed with a p-value of 0.0001 that intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian god had a positive effect on a coronary care unit population. Sicher et al found statistically significant benefits to a group being prayed for ten years later (Sicher, Targ, Moore, Smith, 1998). Another confirmation was reported by William Harris (Harris et al, 1999). Critics claim that Byrd's 1988 study was not fully double-blinded, and that in Harris's 1999 study, patients actually had a longer hospital stay on average if prayed for than if not prayed for, once one discounts the patients in both groups who left before prayers began. Critics also point to a number of studies where no similar effect was found (e.g. O'Laoire 1997). Typically, the scientific establishment ignores studies of the occult and esoteric, but in 1999, media reports on prayer studies prompted a comprehensive review of such studies in ''The Lancet''. The result: "Even in the best studies, the evidence of an association between religion, spirituality, and health is weak and inconsistent." 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 (five people praying once a week for 26 weeks), and those who were not. In 2003, a second MANTRA study by Duke University contradicted the first MANTRA study's findings that intercessory prayer improved recovery rates in heart patients. A [http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camsurvey.htm survey released in May 2004] by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, found that in 2002, 43 percent of Americans pray for their own health, 24% pray for others health, and 10% participate in a prayer group for their own health. For those who believe in something that can and does answer prayer, such studies do not prove nor disprove their notion that praying can result in miraculous healing. Many religious believers hold that it "cannot be tested" and such a study cannot be conducted without the recipient of prayer "being blind" to the study, which would be against their divine nature. == Historical polytheistic prayer == In Graeco-Roman paganism, ceremonial prayer was highly formulaic and ritualized. The Iguvine Tables contain a supplication that can be translated, "If anything was said improperly, if anything was done improperly, let it be as if it were done correctly." The formalism and formulaic nature of these prayers led them to be written down in language that may have only been partially understood by the writer, and our texts of these prayers may in fact be garbled. Prayers in Etruscan language were used in the Roman world by augurs and other oracles long after Etruscan became a dead language. The Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare are two specimens of partially preserved prayers that seem to have been unintelligible to their scribes, and whose language is full of archaisms and difficult passages. Roman prayers and sacrifices were often envisioned as religious law bargains between deity and worshipper. The Roman formula was ''do ut des'': "I give, so that you may give in return." Cato the Elder's treatise on agriculture contains many examples of preserved traditional prayers; in one, a farmer addresses the unknown deity of a possibly sacred grove, and sacrifices a pig in order to placate the god or goddess of the place and beseech his or her permission to cut down some trees from the grove. == See also == *Glossolalia *List of prayers *public prayer *prayer in school *Supplication *moment of silence == References and footnotes == * Byrd RC. ''Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population.'' South Med J 1988;81:826-9. PMID 3393937 *Moshe Greenberg, ''Biblical Prose Prayer as a Window to the Popular Religion of Ancient Israel'' *Abraham Joshua Heschel, ''Man's Quest for God'' Scribner, NY, 1954 *Seth Kadish, ''Kavvana: Directing the Heart in Jewish Prayer'', Jason Aronson Inc., 1997 *Charles Hugo Doyle, Guidance in Spiritual Direction, The Newman Press, 1959 *Father Gabriel, Divine Intimacy, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1996, reprint edition. *Geoffrey K. Mondello, [http://www.johnofthecross.com/preface_to_the_philosophy_of_st._john_of_the_cross.htm The Search for Coherence] *1 See, for example, "''Unigenitus''", published by Pope Clement VI, 27 Jan., A.D. 1343. == External links == *[http://www.e-skeptic.de/040399.HTM Faith-Medicine Connection Challenged] *[http://www.spirithome.com/prayer.html Spirithome's prayer theology and practice resources] *[http://www.worldprayers.org/ World Prayers] *[http://www.mayo.edu/proceedings/2001/dec/7612a1.pdf Avilles et.al.: ''Intercessory prayer and cardiovascular disease progression in a coronary care unit population: a randomized trial'', Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2001, vol 76, pp. 1192 - 1198] *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3193902.stm Second MANTRA study finds that prayer has no medical benefit] *[http://www.eatingbythebook.com/connect/0007.html R.P. Sloan, E. Bagiella, T. Powell: Religion, spirituality, and medicine. Lancet 1999: 353, no 9153.] *[http://www.centeringprayer.com/ a particular meditative method of prayer often associated with Thomas Keating and Basil Pennington] *[http://www.jesuit.ie/ Sacred Space, from Irish Jesuits] *[http://www.24-7prayer.com/ 24-7 Prayer] *[http://www.religiousbook.net/Books/Complete_books/Jesus_prayer.html The Jesus Prayer] The technique emerged that consisted in pronouncing the name of Jesus in one’s anahata, using it as a mantra. Prayer
==General== What about what I might call the "contemplative approach"? Namely that the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to experience God... kind of like the "rational approach", but without presuming the contemplation to be so "intellectual". Or to make the person praying able to experience God (again, like the "educational", but less "intellectual" or "propositional")... Just trying to see where my own views fit in :) :Looks like I missed that totally. This is very significant in Christianity, fairly wide-spread in Judaism (but, it appears to me, viewed as less theologically imporant than the other views); this view must also be existent to some degree in Unitarian-Universalism. We should add this in! I would prefer a different title than "contemplative approach", because that name may give the impression of formal philosophical contemplation. What about a name like the "experiential approach", or something like that? User:RK ::In :Eastern Orthodoxy, this would be called :hesychasm, I believe. It was defended theologically by :Gregory Palamas at about three separate Hesychast Synods in Constantinople in the 1340's; it was attacked by :Barlaam of Calabria, who advocated a more intellectual approach to prayer. This sort of prayer is described in great detail in the :Philokalia, a compilation of what various Eastern Orthodox saints wrote about prayer. The Philokalia also talks a lot about the "prayer of the heart", or prayer without ceasing, which I think is related but slightly different. I suppose all of this might be called a subset of the "experiential approach". --User:Wesley :I unconsciously left this view out because, though this experience exists in Jewish prayer, it usually isn't considered a separate type of prayer (although, of course, it could be.) Rather, I have seen it presented as a consequence, or effect, of one of the other types of prayer. Of course, if such emotional communion is the goal, it becomes a separate category of prayer outright. To give an example, Hasidic Jews (and some non-Orthodox Jews as well) follow the Kabbalistic form of prayer; yet in doing so they also state that they strive to feel an emotional bond with God. To wit: :"In Hasidism, the kabbalistic type of kavvanot yields to a far more emotional involvement and attachment (devekut) to God. "The metamorphosis which took place in the meaning of kavvanot at the advent of Hasidism, and more explicitly after the Great Maggid [Dov Baer of Mezhirech], consists in this—that an originally intellectual effort of meditation and contemplation had become an intensely emotional and highly enthusiastic act". In Hasidism, prayer is a mystical encounter with the Divine, the heart leaping in ecstasy to its Source. Violent movements in prayer were not unusual; some of the hasidic groups even encouraged their followers to turn somersaults during their prayers." [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Prayer] Also, we should add stuff on prayer in religions other than Western monotheism... -- User:SJK :Absolutely. User:RK I removed a sentence saying that critics have complained about lack of control in the Mayo study. If those critics are different from the writer of that sentence, I would like to see a reference. [Whoever wrote this, please replace this bracketed comment with four consecutive ~. Thanks.] :Here is one rerference; there are more. Irwin Tessman and Jack Tessman in ""Efficacy of Prayer: A Critical Examination of Claims,"" Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2000 ::This article appeared before the Mayo study so it is irrelevant to the question --AxelBoldt The study had in fact a control group. Whether the people in the control group were in addition prayed for by family and friends is irrelevant, since the trial was randomized and you would expect to see the same amount of family-and-friend prayer in the control group as in the study group. The study showed only that the ''additional effect'' of the prayer group was nil. --AxelBoldt :You missed the point: how can one make any determination of the effect of prayer on a patient, if ALL the patients are being prayed for? (And in all likelihood, most of them are being prayer for by someone, even if this is not known.) In such a case, no control group is possible. Having additional people doing extra praying for some people only wouldn't make a difference - unless there was an additional and unreasonable hypothesis, such as that the prayers of friends and family outside the study don't count. In the study you describe, NO CONTROL existed. You had one group in which people were probably being prayed for a lot, plus five extra prayers, and a second group in which people were probably being prayer for a lot, without an extra five people. There is prayer in both groups! Hence, there was no control group to begin with; that is the essence of the criticism. (Unless the scientists running the study claimed that they somehow "knew" that no one was praying for these people. User:RK ::Where did you read this criticism? The study claims to show that the additional five people praying didn't make a difference, and they didn't. If you don't think that "more prayer is better", than those five people should at least have made a difference for those patients that nobody else was praying for; and you would expect about the same number of these in the treatment group and in the control group. But even for those it didn't make a difference. --AxelBoldt Thanks much for the needed addition on Bahai prayer! User:RK I removed the link to 'dua', because the article dua gives a common Indian surname. In the edit history of dua, a redirect to Duamutef is given, which is an ancient Egyptian god. If someone can make a good article about the Islamic dua, feel free to make a disambiguation page. User:Coffeemonster 14:44, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Removal: Matthew 21:22== Removed: : In Gospel of Matthew 21:22, Jesus is reported as saying "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." It is not explained how conflicting requests of believers are resolved. [Whoever wrote this, please replace this bracketed comment with four consecutive ~. Thanks.] ::All this says is that the editor doesn't understand a particular isolated verse about prayer. There are dozens of other passages about prayer, in the scriptures of all religions, that could easily appear to be inexplicable on the surface. Do we really want to list and categorize such passages, and then add commentaries to document how authorities from each religion explain each confusing passage from their scriptures? I'm not sure this sort of project would benefit the article. User:Wesley 13:18 9 Jun 2003 (UTC) :Well, the passage was added to the section containing the Christian understanding of prayer, so Jesus's opinion, supporting "request-style prayer", seems to be relevant. The criticising sentence is probably too much (and evident), so I'm happy with leaving it out. (However, it would certainly be interesting and relevant to learn how Christian authorities resolve the problem). The claim that this quote is isolated does not seem well grounded: it appears in a paragraph which describes how Jesus punished a bush for not carrying fruit by praying for its destruction. User:AxelBoldt 18:19 9 Jun 2003 (UTC) :: Ok, I'm happy to leave it in as it is now; the verse itself is relevant, and agree it doesn't seem to be taken out of context or anything of that sort. I'll keep my out for further commentary by Christian authorities... John Chrysostom just says that Jesus' goal was to increase his disciples' confidence in prayer, but doesn't directly address your question. http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF1-10/npnf1-10-73.htm#P6519_2001116. User:Wesley 16:44 10 Jun 2003 (UTC) ==Prayer in public and school== How about public prayer or prayer in school? Any comments or ideas? I just completed the new article moment of silence (contributions would be appreciated). User:Usedbook 16:23 11 Jun 2003 (UTC) :Those controversies perhaps ought to be mentioned here, although from the big perspective they may be somewhat parochial, given that they're only controversies because of the constitution of the United States. An article about the political debates over religion in schools in France, for example, would necessarily cast the debate in quite different terms; and I am wholly ignorant of whether it's been controversial other than in the USA and France, or under what terms the debate might be cast in those places. Some notice of civil religion probably ought to be taken as well. -- User:Ihcoyc 00:06 12 Jun 2003 (UTC) :: IHCOYC, those are good points. I don't know, but I would imagine that in many Muslim countries it's required or nearly so for everyone to face Mecca and at least assume the appropriate posture of prayer if one of the daily prayer times happens to fall during school hours. I could imagine this could be controversial in a country which is heavily Muslim but not entirely so. There are probably other places with an entirely different angle on the debate. User:Wesley : Hey, I am a new user. If you come to this page and wonder about its entirely new format, I have added Hinduism, the most representative of Eastern religion, into the mix. Also, I felt that inclusion of the Bible/Christian views on prayer as somehow separate from Christian prayer was unwarranted. Thus, taking the structure of the articlea and chronology of the religions' appearance into account, I rearranged the more general discussions to appear at the top and the religions to each be dealt with separately in order of their ages. I think, more so than even Judaism and Buddhism, Islam needs to be better represented, if only for its massive world population. It also has a very rigid and codified system of prayer, which would be interesting in contrast to the more widely differing sects within other religions. Also, in generalized statements about religion, I excised a statement or added other examples to balance what is sometimes unintentional bible-centralization. Example: "confession of sins" is a solely Christian concept, and while it may find analogies in other religions, it is certainly not one of the four primary forms of prayer when a world view is seen. I base this not only the number of other religions, but the number of adherents to different faiths. I also believe that the religion pages suffers from a similarly unbalanced viewpoint that unconsciously equates religion with Christianity. Understandably, the writer was not well-versed in other religions and thus, as in this prayer article, focused on what he/she knew. For this reason, we need to balance the equation with more contributors across the wikipaedic (dipthong!) board. --- User:Donaldsutherland ::Hi Donald, welcome. Good attitude. I've invited you to join the Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias project, message on your user talk page. I think you get it. Anyone else that understands what Donald means, you also may want to take a look at the project.User:Pedant 02:03, 2004 Oct 30 (UTC) == Hebrew Bible and Christianity == :We may not have this article say that the Hebrew Bible is Christian, and is separate from Judaiam. There is no historical basis for this position. Historically it is a fact that the Hebrew Bible developed first, from within the Israelite community. The Israelites then became the rabbinic Jews, and only later did Christians develop their addition to the Bible, the New Testament. Your editing of this article rewrites history. Therefore, the article should discuss these aspects of prayer in the same way: As prayer appeared in the Hebrew Bible, then as it changed in the New Testament. User:JeMa 15:22, Jan 9, 2004 (UTC) :: There is also the matter of prayer in the Septuagint as not found in the Hebrew language Bible based on the much later Masoretic texts; these prayers and versions of prayers were retained by the Church but rejected by the Jews, along with the other differences between those texts. User:Wesley 16:42, 5 May 2004 (UTC) == Soldier in Iraq == While whoever posted this seemed distraught, I removed this request for prayers regarding this person's famlly life as it isn't appropriate for this forum. [Whoever wrote this, please replace this bracketed comment with four consecutive ~. Thanks.] == Oldest Liturgy == The article says the Roman Catholic Mass is the oldest liturgy. What are the dates of its origin, and how do they compare with the Divine Liturgy of St. James? Our Mass (liturgy) article doesn't cover the older history of the Mass or its origins. User:Wesley 16:42, 5 May 2004 (UTC) == Medical Effects of Prayer == Why does the study "Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population" (http://home.wxs.nl/~faase009/D960916-prayer.html ) appear to be missing? Is it for some reason discredited, was it simply unknown to the authors, or is it somehow considered trivial? I intend to add a reference to the study if no objections are posted. User:18.242.6.95 16:56, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) * There are also many studies of prayer that suggest that remote intercessory prayer is ineffective and practically useless in enhancing the health of another person. I consider this entire entry POV without a section on the medical effects of prayer. User:Adraeus 20:51, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) == Controversy == Please don't assume I mean offense. My reason for addition of this tag is the article consistently references an undefined "God," which can be construed as POV by those who are unfamiliar with the application of "God" in objective contexts. For those of monotheistic religions who are watching and editing this article, understand that there are more gods than your "God" and the process of prayer should be attributed to most gods of most religions, not just one. I understand that using the phrase "a god or gods" wherever there is a mention of "God" might become tiresome to read but perhaps that means there is a problem with the way the article is written. I suggest rewording the text to eliminate the many instances of "God" and replace where needed with "a god or gods" to make this article more-NPOV. Only use "God" and "Allah" in the appropriate subsections. User:Adraeus 05:05, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) Islamic Prayer I object to the statement "Some of the early Christians whom Mohammed observed, and from whom he adapted elements of his religion, prayed in the posture for which Muslims are now famous." First of all, where is the fact proving this statement? Secondly, Islam is religion given to us from God, Allah, yehwe, whatever you want to call him (see Ahmed Deedat's books for more info). Therefore, it is only logical that Christians have the Old Testament as part of their Bible as Christianity can be seen as a continuation or correction of Judaism. Feel free to look at it in any way. Similarly, Islam is from the same God that gave us Judaism and Christianity. Why shouldn't there be similar aspects in the other religions? After all, if one looks closely at the 3 religions, one will find that all three religions forbid alcohol, promiscuity and others. I move the editor strike that sentence. --User:Marafa 08:29, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)
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Words begining with Prayer:
Prayer
Prayer
Prayer
Prayer(Skill)
Prayers
Prayers_of_Steel
Prayers_On_Fire
Prayers_on_Fire
Prayers_on_Fire
PrayerWheel
Prayer_(Runescape)
Prayer_Book_Rebellion
Prayer_Book_Rebellion
Prayer_Book_rebellion
Prayer_Book_rebellion
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Prayer
Prayer is an effort to communicate with God, or to some deity or deities, or another form of spiritual entity, or otherwise, either to offer praise, to make a request, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions. There are a variety of approaches to understanding prayer: * The belief that the prayer is listened to, and may or may not get a response; * The belief that prayer is intended to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, rather than to influence the recipient; * The belief that prayer is intended to train a person to focus on the recipient through philosophy and intellectual contemplation; * The belief that prayer is intended to enable a person to gain a direct experience of the recipient; * The belief that prayer is intended to affect the very fabric of reality itself. The existence of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago. anthropology believe that the earliest intelligent modern humans practised something that we would recognize today as prayer. == The act of prayer == Praying has many different forms. *Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. *Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction (i.e. towards Mecca or the East); making the sign of the cross. *A variety of body postures may be assumed, often with specific meaning (mainly respect or adoration) associated with them: standing; sitting; kneeling; prostrate on the floor; eyes opened; eyes closed; hands folded or clasped; hands upraised; and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously as they are prayed. They may be said, chanted, or sung. They may be with musical accompaniment or not. There may be a time of outward silence while prayers are offered mentally. Often, there are prayers to fit specific occasions, such as the blessing of a meal, the birth or death of a loved one, other significant events in the life of a believer, or days of the year that have special religious significance. Details corresponding to specific traditions are outlined below. Walt Disney is quoted as saying: ::''"A prayer, it seems to me, implies a promise as well as a request, at the highest level. Prayer not only is supplication for strength and guidance, but also becomes an affirmation of life and thus a reverent praise of God."'' ==Prayer in ancient paganism== * The ever pragmatic Roman attitude is authentically rendered by the Latin phrase ''do ut des'', meaning 'I give so you may give' : the mortal worshipper is trying to 'trade' his attentions (as offerings, promisses) for divine help or forgiveness == Prayer in the Abrahamic religions == ===Prayer in the Bible === In the Bible various forms of prayer appear; the most common form is petition. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the "social approach" to prayer. In this view, a person directly confronts God in prayer, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled; God listens to prayer, and may or may not choose to answer. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and in rabbinic literature such as the Talmud. More detailed articles exist about prayer specifically in the Tanakh and in the New Testament. * Prayer in the Hebrew Bible * Prayer in the New Testament === Jewish prayer === Jews pray three times a day, or more on special days, such as the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers. The most important Jewish prayers are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") and the Amidah ("the standing prayer"). === Christian prayer === Jesus provided a model for prayer in The Lord's Prayer. Many Christian denominations also have their own local prayerbooks. Many Christians also devise their own, personal prayers. Prayers said by Christians are described in the article on Prayer in Christianity. === Islamic prayer === Muslims pray a brief ritualistic prayer service called Salah in Arabic language, facing Kaaba in Makka, five times a day. The "call for prayer" is called Adhan or ''Azaan''. There are also many standard duas or supplications, also in Arabic, to be recited at various times, e.g. for one's parents, after salah, before eating. Muslims may also say dua in their own words and languages for any issues they wish to communicate with Allah. === Bahá'í prayer === Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and `Abdu'l-Bahá have revealed many prayers for general use, and some for specific occasions, including for unity, detachment, spiritual upliftment, and healing among others. Bahá'í Faiths are also required to recite each day one of three obligatory prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. The believers have been enjoined to face in the direction of the Qiblih when reciting their Obligatory Prayer. The longest obligatory prayer may be recited at any time during the day; another, of medium length, is recited once in the morning, once at midday, and once in the evening; and the shortest is recited at noon. This is the text of the short prayer: ''I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.'' Bahá'ís also read from and meditate on the scriptures every morning and evening. == Prayer in other Eastern religions == === Hindu Prayer === Hinduism has incorporated many kinds of prayer, from fire-based rituals to philosophical musings. Prayer was part and parcel of the Vedic lifestyle, and as such permeated their books. Indeed, the highest sacred texts of the Hindus, the Vedas, are a large collection of mantras (sacred hymns of Hindus, later adopted by Buddhists) and prayer rituals extolling a single supreme force, Brahman, that is made manifest in several lower forms as the familiar gods of the Hindu pantheon. Hindus in India have numerous devotional movements. Hindus may pray to the highest absolute God Brahman, or more commonly to Its three manifestations namely creator god called Brahma (god), preserver god called Vishnu and detroyer god (so that the creation cycle can start afresh) Shiva, and at the next level to Vishnu's avatars (earthly appearances) Rama and Krishna or to many other male or female deities such as Laksmi (goddess of wealth) or Saraswati (goddess of knowledge). See the article on Prayer in Hinduism for more details. === Buddhism === [[Image:Budhist_prayer-KayEss-1.jpeg|thumb|Buddhist prayer in Thailand]] Buddhism for the most part discards worship, and places devotional emphasis on the practice of meditation alongside scriptural study. Although God and deities are recognized as present, Gautama Buddha claims it is mankind who by their own free will possess the greatest capacity and potential to liberate themselves and are urged to do so without exterior assistance. Therefore, prayer is not as central to devotion as in its neighbouring Asiatic faiths. In some later Mahayana related practices, especially Pure Land Buddhism, there is an emphasis on prayer-like mantras that are recited by devotees. === Prayer in Jainism === Although Jainisms believe that no spirit or divine being can assist them on their path, they do hold some influence, and on special occasions, Jains will pray and meditate for right knowledge to the twenty-four ''Tirthankaras'' (saintly teachers). == Philosophical paradoxes of prayer == There are a number of philosophical paradoxes involving prayer to an omnipotent God, namely: * If a person deserves the recipient of the prayer to give him the thing he prays for, why doesn't he receive it, even without prayer? And if a person is not deserving of it, then even if that person does pray and request it, should it be given just because of his prayer? * Why should it be necessary to pray with speech? Doesn't the recipient know the thoughts of all people? * If the recipient is omniscient (all-knowing) then doesn't that mean that they would know what we are going to ask for, even before we pray? * How can a human being hope to change the mind of the recipient of the prayer? Why should human prayers affect those decisions? * Do human beings actually have the ability to praise an omniscient and omnipotent entity? Praising is difficult to do without describing, yet how can a finite human being know anything about the entity's ultimate nature? This question was the subject of heated debate among many religious philosophers; one such debate took place in the 14th century between Gregory Palamas and Barlaam of Calabria. *The prerequisite of asking for a favour is faith in the recipient of the prayer. But asking to change an aspect of creation seems to be expressing a dissatisfaction with the way things are - and hence not trusting the "plan" Many of these questions have been discussed in Jewish, Christian and Muslim writings from the medieval period onward. The 900s to 1200s saw some of the most fertile discussion on these questions, during the period of Neo-Platonic and Neo-Aristotelian philosophy. Discussion of these problems never ceased entirely, but they did fall mostly from the public view for several centuries, until The Enlightenment reignited philosophical inquiry into theological issues. All of these questions have been discussed in many Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious texts. There was much intellectual cross-fertilization between Jews, Christians and Muslims during parts of the middle-ages, and so there is much convergence among some of the rationalist philosophers of that era. Many of these texts offer proposed resolutions to some or all of these paradoxes. === The educational approach === In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. Among Jews, this has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, 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). Among Christian theologians...(please add examples here) Among Muslim theologians....(please add examples here). === The Kabbalistic view of prayer === Traditional kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) embraces the social approach, in which prayer is viewed as a dialogue. It further refines the approach by presenting exact kavanot, directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog to increases its chances of being answered favorably. Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the Hassidei Ashkenaz, the Zohar, the Kabbalist school of though created by the Ari, the Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon, and rabbis such as Yaakov Emden and Kalonimus Shapira. Many people involved with kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) outside of traditional Jewish training follow an approach that often rejects rationalist reinterpreations of prayer outright, but also rejects the social approach, in which prayer is viewed as a dialogue. Instead, this approach ascribes 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. For these Kabbalists, every prayer, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word of every prayer, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. In Kabbalah and related mystical belief systems, adherents claim intimate knowledge about the way in which the divine relates to us and the physical universe in which we live. For people with this view, prayers can literally affect the mystical forces of the universe and repair the fabric of creation. In the 1800s some European Christians were influenced by Kabbalah...(please add information here) === The rationalist approach === In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists; it became popular in Jewish, Christian and Islamic intellectual circles, but never became the most popular understanding of prayer among the laity in any of these faiths. In all three of these faiths today a significant minority of people still hold to this approach. === The experiential approach === In this approach, the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to gain a direct experience of the recipient of the prayer (or as close to direct as a specific theology permits). This approach is very significant in Christianity and widespread in Judaism (although less popular theologically). In Eastern Orthodoxy, this approach is known as hesychasm. It is also widespread in Sufi Islam, and in some forms of mysticism. It has some similarities with the rationalist approach, since it can also involve contemplation, although the contemplation is not generally viewed as being as rational or intellectual. It also has some similarities with the Kabbalistic view, but it lacks the Kabbalistic emphasis on the importance of individual words and letters. == Claims of evidence for the effectiveness of prayer == Prayer is known to reduce stress and increase longevity in the praying person. The following applies only to prayer on behalf of others (intercessory prayer). A famous statistics experiment whether prayer was effective was conducted by Francis Galton. Galton hypothetized 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 longetivity of the British Royal family with that of the general population, and found no difference. While the experiment was probably intended to satirize, and suffered from a number of confounders, it set the precedent for a number of different studies. Most confirmed his findings, while some studies concluded that prayer can have health benefits (e.g. Byrd RC, see below). Some modalities of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) employ prayer, and a number of studies have claimed that patients who are being prayed for recover more quickly or more frequently. One such study (Byrd RC, 1988), with a Double-blind design, showed with a p-value of 0.0001 that intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian god had a positive effect on a coronary care unit population. Sicher et al found statistically significant benefits to a group being prayed for ten years later (Sicher, Targ, Moore, Smith, 1998). Another confirmation was reported by William Harris (Harris et al, 1999). Critics claim that Byrd's 1988 study was not fully double-blinded, and that in Harris's 1999 study, patients actually had a longer hospital stay on average if prayed for than if not prayed for, once one discounts the patients in both groups who left before prayers began. Critics also point to a number of studies where no similar effect was found (e.g. O'Laoire 1997). Typically, the scientific establishment ignores studies of the occult and esoteric, but in 1999, media reports on prayer studies prompted a comprehensive review of such studies in ''The Lancet''. The result: "Even in the best studies, the evidence of an association between religion, spirituality, and health is weak and inconsistent." 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 (five people praying once a week for 26 weeks), and those who were not. In 2003, a second MANTRA study by Duke University contradicted the first MANTRA study's findings that intercessory prayer improved recovery rates in heart patients. A [http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camsurvey.htm survey released in May 2004] by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, found that in 2002, 43 percent of Americans pray for their own health, 24% pray for others health, and 10% participate in a prayer group for their own health. For those who believe in something that can and does answer prayer, such studies do not prove nor disprove their notion that praying can result in miraculous healing. Many religious believers hold that it "cannot be tested" and such a study cannot be conducted without the recipient of prayer "being blind" to the study, which would be against their divine nature. == Historical polytheistic prayer == In Graeco-Roman paganism, ceremonial prayer was highly formulaic and ritualized. The Iguvine Tables contain a supplication that can be translated, "If anything was said improperly, if anything was done improperly, let it be as if it were done correctly." The formalism and formulaic nature of these prayers led them to be written down in language that may have only been partially understood by the writer, and our texts of these prayers may in fact be garbled. Prayers in Etruscan language were used in the Roman world by augurs and other oracles long after Etruscan became a dead language. The Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare are two specimens of partially preserved prayers that seem to have been unintelligible to their scribes, and whose language is full of archaisms and difficult passages. Roman prayers and sacrifices were often envisioned as religious law bargains between deity and worshipper. The Roman formula was ''do ut des'': "I give, so that you may give in return." Cato the Elder's treatise on agriculture contains many examples of preserved traditional prayers; in one, a farmer addresses the unknown deity of a possibly sacred grove, and sacrifices a pig in order to placate the god or goddess of the place and beseech his or her permission to cut down some trees from the grove. == See also == *Glossolalia *List of prayers *public prayer *prayer in school *Supplication *moment of silence == References and footnotes == * Byrd RC. ''Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population.'' South Med J 1988;81:826-9. PMID 3393937 *Moshe Greenberg, ''Biblical Prose Prayer as a Window to the Popular Religion of Ancient Israel'' *Abraham Joshua Heschel, ''Man's Quest for God'' Scribner, NY, 1954 *Seth Kadish, ''Kavvana: Directing the Heart in Jewish Prayer'', Jason Aronson Inc., 1997 *Charles Hugo Doyle, Guidance in Spiritual Direction, The Newman Press, 1959 *Father Gabriel, Divine Intimacy, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1996, reprint edition. *Geoffrey K. Mondello, [http://www.johnofthecross.com/preface_to_the_philosophy_of_st._john_of_the_cross.htm The Search for Coherence] *1 See, for example, "''Unigenitus''", published by Pope Clement VI, 27 Jan., A.D. 1343. == External links == *[http://www.e-skeptic.de/040399.HTM Faith-Medicine Connection Challenged] *[http://www.spirithome.com/prayer.html Spirithome's prayer theology and practice resources] *[http://www.worldprayers.org/ World Prayers] *[http://www.mayo.edu/proceedings/2001/dec/7612a1.pdf Avilles et.al.: ''Intercessory prayer and cardiovascular disease progression in a coronary care unit population: a randomized trial'', Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2001, vol 76, pp. 1192 - 1198] *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3193902.stm Second MANTRA study finds that prayer has no medical benefit] *[http://www.eatingbythebook.com/connect/0007.html R.P. Sloan, E. Bagiella, T. Powell: Religion, spirituality, and medicine. Lancet 1999: 353, no 9153.] *[http://www.centeringprayer.com/ a particular meditative method of prayer often associated with Thomas Keating and Basil Pennington] *[http://www.jesuit.ie/ Sacred Space, from Irish Jesuits] *[http://www.24-7prayer.com/ 24-7 Prayer] *[http://www.religiousbook.net/Books/Complete_books/Jesus_prayer.html The Jesus Prayer] The technique emerged that consisted in pronouncing the name of Jesus in one’s anahata, using it as a mantra. Prayer
Prayer
==General== What about what I might call the "contemplative approach"? Namely that the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to experience God... kind of like the "rational approach", but without presuming the contemplation to be so "intellectual". Or to make the person praying able to experience God (again, like the "educational", but less "intellectual" or "propositional")... Just trying to see where my own views fit in :) :Looks like I missed that totally. This is very significant in Christianity, fairly wide-spread in Judaism (but, it appears to me, viewed as less theologically imporant than the other views); this view must also be existent to some degree in Unitarian-Universalism. We should add this in! I would prefer a different title than "contemplative approach", because that name may give the impression of formal philosophical contemplation. What about a name like the "experiential approach", or something like that? User:RK ::In :Eastern Orthodoxy, this would be called :hesychasm, I believe. It was defended theologically by :Gregory Palamas at about three separate Hesychast Synods in Constantinople in the 1340's; it was attacked by :Barlaam of Calabria, who advocated a more intellectual approach to prayer. This sort of prayer is described in great detail in the :Philokalia, a compilation of what various Eastern Orthodox saints wrote about prayer. The Philokalia also talks a lot about the "prayer of the heart", or prayer without ceasing, which I think is related but slightly different. I suppose all of this might be called a subset of the "experiential approach". --User:Wesley :I unconsciously left this view out because, though this experience exists in Jewish prayer, it usually isn't considered a separate type of prayer (although, of course, it could be.) Rather, I have seen it presented as a consequence, or effect, of one of the other types of prayer. Of course, if such emotional communion is the goal, it becomes a separate category of prayer outright. To give an example, Hasidic Jews (and some non-Orthodox Jews as well) follow the Kabbalistic form of prayer; yet in doing so they also state that they strive to feel an emotional bond with God. To wit: :"In Hasidism, the kabbalistic type of kavvanot yields to a far more emotional involvement and attachment (devekut) to God. "The metamorphosis which took place in the meaning of kavvanot at the advent of Hasidism, and more explicitly after the Great Maggid [Dov Baer of Mezhirech], consists in this—that an originally intellectual effort of meditation and contemplation had become an intensely emotional and highly enthusiastic act". In Hasidism, prayer is a mystical encounter with the Divine, the heart leaping in ecstasy to its Source. Violent movements in prayer were not unusual; some of the hasidic groups even encouraged their followers to turn somersaults during their prayers." [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Prayer] Also, we should add stuff on prayer in religions other than Western monotheism... -- User:SJK :Absolutely. User:RK I removed a sentence saying that critics have complained about lack of control in the Mayo study. If those critics are different from the writer of that sentence, I would like to see a reference. [Whoever wrote this, please replace this bracketed comment with four consecutive ~. Thanks.] :Here is one rerference; there are more. Irwin Tessman and Jack Tessman in ""Efficacy of Prayer: A Critical Examination of Claims,"" Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2000 ::This article appeared before the Mayo study so it is irrelevant to the question --AxelBoldt The study had in fact a control group. Whether the people in the control group were in addition prayed for by family and friends is irrelevant, since the trial was randomized and you would expect to see the same amount of family-and-friend prayer in the control group as in the study group. The study showed only that the ''additional effect'' of the prayer group was nil. --AxelBoldt :You missed the point: how can one make any determination of the effect of prayer on a patient, if ALL the patients are being prayed for? (And in all likelihood, most of them are being prayer for by someone, even if this is not known.) In such a case, no control group is possible. Having additional people doing extra praying for some people only wouldn't make a difference - unless there was an additional and unreasonable hypothesis, such as that the prayers of friends and family outside the study don't count. In the study you describe, NO CONTROL existed. You had one group in which people were probably being prayed for a lot, plus five extra prayers, and a second group in which people were probably being prayer for a lot, without an extra five people. There is prayer in both groups! Hence, there was no control group to begin with; that is the essence of the criticism. (Unless the scientists running the study claimed that they somehow "knew" that no one was praying for these people. User:RK ::Where did you read this criticism? The study claims to show that the additional five people praying didn't make a difference, and they didn't. If you don't think that "more prayer is better", than those five people should at least have made a difference for those patients that nobody else was praying for; and you would expect about the same number of these in the treatment group and in the control group. But even for those it didn't make a difference. --AxelBoldt Thanks much for the needed addition on Bahai prayer! User:RK I removed the link to 'dua', because the article dua gives a common Indian surname. In the edit history of dua, a redirect to Duamutef is given, which is an ancient Egyptian god. If someone can make a good article about the Islamic dua, feel free to make a disambiguation page. User:Coffeemonster 14:44, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) ==Removal: Matthew 21:22== Removed: : In Gospel of Matthew 21:22, Jesus is reported as saying "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." It is not explained how conflicting requests of believers are resolved. [Whoever wrote this, please replace this bracketed comment with four consecutive ~. Thanks.] ::All this says is that the editor doesn't understand a particular isolated verse about prayer. There are dozens of other passages about prayer, in the scriptures of all religions, that could easily appear to be inexplicable on the surface. Do we really want to list and categorize such passages, and then add commentaries to document how authorities from each religion explain each confusing passage from their scriptures? I'm not sure this sort of project would benefit the article. User:Wesley 13:18 9 Jun 2003 (UTC) :Well, the passage was added to the section containing the Christian understanding of prayer, so Jesus's opinion, supporting "request-style prayer", seems to be relevant. The criticising sentence is probably too much (and evident), so I'm happy with leaving it out. (However, it would certainly be interesting and relevant to learn how Christian authorities resolve the problem). The claim that this quote is isolated does not seem well grounded: it appears in a paragraph which describes how Jesus punished a bush for not carrying fruit by praying for its destruction. User:AxelBoldt 18:19 9 Jun 2003 (UTC) :: Ok, I'm happy to leave it in as it is now; the verse itself is relevant, and agree it doesn't seem to be taken out of context or anything of that sort. I'll keep my out for further commentary by Christian authorities... John Chrysostom just says that Jesus' goal was to increase his disciples' confidence in prayer, but doesn't directly address your question. http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF1-10/npnf1-10-73.htm#P6519_2001116. User:Wesley 16:44 10 Jun 2003 (UTC) ==Prayer in public and school== How about public prayer or prayer in school? Any comments or ideas? I just completed the new article moment of silence (contributions would be appreciated). User:Usedbook 16:23 11 Jun 2003 (UTC) :Those controversies perhaps ought to be mentioned here, although from the big perspective they may be somewhat parochial, given that they're only controversies because of the constitution of the United States. An article about the political debates over religion in schools in France, for example, would necessarily cast the debate in quite different terms; and I am wholly ignorant of whether it's been controversial other than in the USA and France, or under what terms the debate might be cast in those places. Some notice of civil religion probably ought to be taken as well. -- User:Ihcoyc 00:06 12 Jun 2003 (UTC) :: IHCOYC, those are good points. I don't know, but I would imagine that in many Muslim countries it's required or nearly so for everyone to face Mecca and at least assume the appropriate posture of prayer if one of the daily prayer times happens to fall during school hours. I could imagine this could be controversial in a country which is heavily Muslim but not entirely so. There are probably other places with an entirely different angle on the debate. User:Wesley : Hey, I am a new user. If you come to this page and wonder about its entirely new format, I have added Hinduism, the most representative of Eastern religion, into the mix. Also, I felt that inclusion of the Bible/Christian views on prayer as somehow separate from Christian prayer was unwarranted. Thus, taking the structure of the articlea and chronology of the religions' appearance into account, I rearranged the more general discussions to appear at the top and the religions to each be dealt with separately in order of their ages. I think, more so than even Judaism and Buddhism, Islam needs to be better represented, if only for its massive world population. It also has a very rigid and codified system of prayer, which would be interesting in contrast to the more widely differing sects within other religions. Also, in generalized statements about religion, I excised a statement or added other examples to balance what is sometimes unintentional bible-centralization. Example: "confession of sins" is a solely Christian concept, and while it may find analogies in other religions, it is certainly not one of the four primary forms of prayer when a world view is seen. I base this not only the number of other religions, but the number of adherents to different faiths. I also believe that the religion pages suffers from a similarly unbalanced viewpoint that unconsciously equates religion with Christianity. Understandably, the writer was not well-versed in other religions and thus, as in this prayer article, focused on what he/she knew. For this reason, we need to balance the equation with more contributors across the wikipaedic (dipthong!) board. --- User:Donaldsutherland ::Hi Donald, welcome. Good attitude. I've invited you to join the Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias project, message on your user talk page. I think you get it. Anyone else that understands what Donald means, you also may want to take a look at the project.User:Pedant 02:03, 2004 Oct 30 (UTC) == Hebrew Bible and Christianity == :We may not have this article say that the Hebrew Bible is Christian, and is separate from Judaiam. There is no historical basis for this position. Historically it is a fact that the Hebrew Bible developed first, from within the Israelite community. The Israelites then became the rabbinic Jews, and only later did Christians develop their addition to the Bible, the New Testament. Your editing of this article rewrites history. Therefore, the article should discuss these aspects of prayer in the same way: As prayer appeared in the Hebrew Bible, then as it changed in the New Testament. User:JeMa 15:22, Jan 9, 2004 (UTC) :: There is also the matter of prayer in the Septuagint as not found in the Hebrew language Bible based on the much later Masoretic texts; these prayers and versions of prayers were retained by the Church but rejected by the Jews, along with the other differences between those texts. User:Wesley 16:42, 5 May 2004 (UTC) == Soldier in Iraq == While whoever posted this seemed distraught, I removed this request for prayers regarding this person's famlly life as it isn't appropriate for this forum. [Whoever wrote this, please replace this bracketed comment with four consecutive ~. Thanks.] == Oldest Liturgy == The article says the Roman Catholic Mass is the oldest liturgy. What are the dates of its origin, and how do they compare with the Divine Liturgy of St. James? Our Mass (liturgy) article doesn't cover the older history of the Mass or its origins. User:Wesley 16:42, 5 May 2004 (UTC) == Medical Effects of Prayer == Why does the study "Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population" (http://home.wxs.nl/~faase009/D960916-prayer.html ) appear to be missing? Is it for some reason discredited, was it simply unknown to the authors, or is it somehow considered trivial? I intend to add a reference to the study if no objections are posted. User:18.242.6.95 16:56, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC) * There are also many studies of prayer that suggest that remote intercessory prayer is ineffective and practically useless in enhancing the health of another person. I consider this entire entry POV without a section on the medical effects of prayer. User:Adraeus 20:51, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) == Controversy == Please don't assume I mean offense. My reason for addition of this tag is the article consistently references an undefined "God," which can be construed as POV by those who are unfamiliar with the application of "God" in objective contexts. For those of monotheistic religions who are watching and editing this article, understand that there are more gods than your "God" and the process of prayer should be attributed to most gods of most religions, not just one. I understand that using the phrase "a god or gods" wherever there is a mention of "God" might become tiresome to read but perhaps that means there is a problem with the way the article is written. I suggest rewording the text to eliminate the many instances of "God" and replace where needed with "a god or gods" to make this article more-NPOV. Only use "God" and "Allah" in the appropriate subsections. User:Adraeus 05:05, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC) Islamic Prayer I object to the statement "Some of the early Christians whom Mohammed observed, and from whom he adapted elements of his religion, prayed in the posture for which Muslims are now famous." First of all, where is the fact proving this statement? Secondly, Islam is religion given to us from God, Allah, yehwe, whatever you want to call him (see Ahmed Deedat's books for more info). Therefore, it is only logical that Christians have the Old Testament as part of their Bible as Christianity can be seen as a continuation or correction of Judaism. Feel free to look at it in any way. Similarly, Islam is from the same God that gave us Judaism and Christianity. Why shouldn't there be similar aspects in the other religions? After all, if one looks closely at the 3 religions, one will find that all three religions forbid alcohol, promiscuity and others. I move the editor strike that sentence. --User:Marafa 08:29, 25 Oct 2004 (UTC)
Prayer
Religious behaviour and experience Communication
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
P
PA | PB | PC | PD | PE | PF | PG | PH | PI | PJ | PK | PL | PM | PN | PO | PR | PS | PT | PU | PW | PX | PY | PZ |Words begining with Prayer:
Prayer
Prayer
Prayer
Prayer(Skill)
Prayers
Prayers_of_Steel
Prayers_On_Fire
Prayers_on_Fire
Prayers_on_Fire
PrayerWheel
Prayer_(Runescape)
Prayer_Book_Rebellion
Prayer_Book_Rebellion
Prayer_Book_rebellion
Prayer_Book_rebellion
Prayer_Circle
Prayer_Circle
Prayer_circle
Prayer_circle
Prayer_flag
Prayer_for_relief
Prayer_for_the_dead
Prayer_for_the_dead
Prayer_in_Christianity
Prayer_in_Christianity
Prayer_in_Hinduism
Prayer_in_school
Prayer_in_the_New_Testament
Prayer_mat
Prayer_of_Columbus
Prayer_of_Manasseh
Prayer_of_Saint_Francis
Prayer_of_the_Heart
Prayer_Reverie
Prayer_rope
Prayer_Tower
Prayer_Tower
Prayer_to_Saint_Joseph
Prayer_to_Saint_Michael
Prayer_wheel
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