Prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through 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 or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creed, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and worship/praise. Prayer may be directed towards a deity, spirit, deceased person, or lofty idea, for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to express one's thoughts and emotions. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as personal benefit or for the sake of others. Yoga is also a common form of prayer.
Read more about Prayer.
Some articles on prayer:
... See also Rosary based prayers Some Catholics recite the Fatima Decade Prayer at the end of each decade ... Some add the Miraculous Medal prayer "O Mary, conceived without sin..." or the Fatima Ave refrain ("Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!") ... Others add a praying of a pious Eucharistic prayer "O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine" at the end of each decade in honor ...
... In contemplative prayer, this activity is curtailed, so that contemplation has been described as "a gaze of faith", "a silent love" ...
... Sherrod Brown of Ohio invited Samuldrala to offer the opening prayer n September 14, 2000 to coincide with an address to a joint session of Congress ... He opened the House's day with the following prayer "O God, You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient ... We end this invocation with a prayer from the ancient scriptures of India May all be happy May all be free from disease May all realize what is good May none be subject to misery ...
... he searched for the Mihrab Dawud (David's prayer-niche) to perform a prayer ... In a hadis, the prayer and fasting of David is mentioned to be dear to God ... bin Al-'As Allah's Apostle told me, "The most beloved prayer to Allah is that of David and the most beloved fasts to Allah are those of David ...
... consists of the prescribed movements and words followed by Muslims while offering prayers to Allah of Arabia ... In the concluding portion of the prayers, the worshiper recites "Peace be upon you, and Allah of Arabia's blessing" once while facing the right, and once while the face is turned to the left ... reminds Muslims of the importance of others around them, both in the mosque (if the prayer is being offered at mosque), and in the rest of the world ...
More definitions of "prayer":
- (noun): A fixed text used in praying.
- (noun): Someone who prays to God.
Synonyms: supplicant
Famous quotes containing the word prayer:
“I believe if we introduced the Lord’s Prayer here, senators would propose a large number of amendments to it.”
—Henry Wilson (1812–1875)
“To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 6:9-13.
the Lord’s Prayer. In Luke 11:4, the words are “forgive us our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.” The Book of Common Prayer gives the most common usage, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.”