Prayer from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia for Other Uses, See Prayer (Disambiguation)
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Prayer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Prayer (disambiguation). "Pray" redirects here. For other uses, see Pray (disambiguation). Praying Hands by Albrecht Dürer Prayer (from the Latin precari "to ask earnestly, beg, entreat")[1] is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worshipthrough deliberate communication. Prayer can be a form of religious practice, may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words, song or complete silence. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and praise. Prayer may be directed towards a deity, spirit, deceased person, or lofty idea, for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing transgressions (sins) or to express one's thoughts and emotions. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as personal benefit, asking for divine grace, spiritual connection, or for the sake of others. Some anthropologists believe that the earliest intelligent modern humans practiced a form of prayer. Today, most major religions involve prayer in one way or another; some ritualize the act of prayer, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be practiced 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. Meta-studies of the studies in this field 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 7 of 17 studies had "small, but significant, effect sizes" but the review noted that the most methodologically rigorous studies failed to produce significant findings.[2][3] Some studies have indicated increased medical complications in groups receiving prayer over those without.[4][5] The efficacy of petition in prayer for physical healing to a deity has been evaluated in numerous other studies, with contradictory results.[6][7][8][9] There has been some criticism of the way the studies were conducted.[5][10] Contents [hide] 1Act of prayer 2Abrahamic religions o 2.1Bible o 2.2Judaism o 2.3Christianity o 2.4Islam o 2.5Bahá'í 3Animism o 3.1Americas o 3.2Australia 4Eastern religions o 4.1Buddhism o 4.2Hinduism o 4.3Jainism o 4.4Shinto o 4.5Sikhism o 4.6Taoism 5Other religions o 5.1Wicca o 5.2Raëlism o 5.3Eckankar 6Pre-Christian Europe o 6.1Etruscan, Greek, and Roman paganism o 6.2Germanic paganism 7Theurgy and Western esotericism o 7.1Thelema 8Approaches to prayer o 8.1Direct petitions to God o 8.2Educational approach o 8.3Rationalist approach o 8.4Experiential approach o 8.5Transformative approach 9Prayer groups 10Prayer requests 11Prayer healing o 11.1Efficacy of prayer healing 12Skepticism 13See also 14Notes 15References and footnotes 16Further reading 17External links Act of prayer[edit] Video demonstration of prayer Christians in prayer Muslim men prostrating during prayer in a mosque The act of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago. [11] Some anthropologists, such as Sir Edward Burnett Tylorand Sir James George Frazer, believed that the earliest intelligent modern humans practiced something that we would recognize today as prayer.[12] Various spiritual traditions offer a wide variety of devotional acts. There are morning and evening prayers, graces said over meals, and reverent physical gestures. Some Christians bow their heads and fold their hands. Some Native Americans regard dancing as a form of prayer.[13] Some Sufis whirl.[14] Hindus chant mantras.[15] Jewish prayer may involve swaying back and forth and bowing. [16] Muslimspractice salat (kneeling and prostration) in their prayers. Quakers keep silent.[17] Some pray according to standardized rituals and liturgies, while others prefer extemporaneous prayers. Still others combine the two. Friedrich Heiler is often cited in Christian circles for his systematic Typology of Prayer which lists six types of prayer: primitive, ritual, Greek cultural, philosophical, mystical, and prophetic.[18] Some forms of prayer require a prior ritualistic form of cleansing or purification such as in ghusl and wudhu.[19] Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Prayer can be incorporated into a daily "thought life", in which one is in constant communication with a god. Some people pray throughout all that is happening during the day and seek guidance as the day progresses. This is actually regarded as a requirement in several Christian denominations,[20] 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.[20] Some may experience audible, physical, or mental epiphanies. If indeed an answer comes, the time and place it comes is considered random. Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: anointing with oil;[21]ringing a bell;[22] burning incense or paper;[23] lighting a candle or candles; See, for example, facing a specific direction (i.e. towards Mecca [24]or the East); 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; hands folded or clasped; hands upraised; holding hands with others; a laying on of hands and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously as they are prayed. They may be said, chanted, or sung. They may be with musical accompaniment or not. There may be a time of outward silence while prayers are offered mentally. Often, there are prayers to fit specific occasions, such as the blessing of a meal, the birth or death of a loved one, other significant events in the life of a believer, or days of the year that have special religious significance. Details corresponding to specific traditions are outlined below. Abrahamic religions[edit] Bible[edit] Our Father who art heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. —known as "The Lord's Prayer"[25] In the common Bible of the Abrahamic religions, various forms of prayer appear; the most common forms being petition, thanksgiving, and worship. The longest book in the Bible is the Book of Psalms, 150 religious songs which are often regarded as prayers. Other well-known Biblical prayers include the Song of Moses (Exodus 15:1– 18), the Song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1–10), and the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55). The most recognized prayers in the Christian Bible are the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9– 13; Luke 11:2–4) and Hail Mary (Luke 1:28; Luke 1:42). See also: Tanakh, New Testament, Prayer in the Hebrew Bible and Prayer in the New Testament Judaism[edit] Main article: Jewish prayer Captain Samuel Cass, a rabbi, conducting the first prayer service celebrated on German territory by Jewish personnel of the 1st Canadian Army near 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 sidduris 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 10 adult males (a minyan) is considered by Orthodox Judaism a prerequisite for several communal prayers. Orthodox Jewish women praying inJerusalem's Western Wall tunnel 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 to prayer[edit] 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.[26] This approach is sometimes described as the person praying having a dialogue or conversation with God.[27] Educational approach to prayer[edit] 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.