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70-478: Dürer created the drawing using the technique of white heightening and black ink on (self-made) blue colored paper. The drawing shows a close up of two male hands clasped together praying . Also, the partly rolled up sleeves are seen. The drawing used to be considered a sketch (study) for hands of an apostle , whose full picture was planned to occupy the central panel of the triptych installed in Frankfurt entitled

140-587: A greater or lesser extent, in modern religious traditions throughout the world, most notably in Japanese Shinto , Vietnamese folk religion , and 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

210-409: A laying on of hands and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously or "impromptu". 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

280-473: 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. Anthropologically, the concept of prayer is closely related to that of 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

350-663: A meal that includes bread, is known as Birkat Hamazon. If the meal does not include bread, a blessing after the meal is recited based on the category of food that was eaten. With the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, the offering of the prescribed sacrifices ceased in Judaism . Thereafter, the Rabbis prescribed the substitution of other ritual actions to fill this void in Jewish obedience to

420-457: A more standardized form, although still radically different from the 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 , Moses , Samuel , and Job , the act of praying

490-497: A person of the need to take active measures. 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. 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

560-607: 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

630-454: 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. Celtic , Germanic and 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,

700-420: A question, if there in fact comes an answer. Some may experience audible, physical, or mental epiphanies. If indeed an answer comes, the time and place it comes is considered random. Some traditions distinguish between contemplative and meditative prayer. Outward acts that may accompany prayer include anointing with oil ; ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing

770-507: A reproduction of the image tattooed on his left leg. Canadian hip-hop artist Drake reproduced this image for the cover art of his mixtape, If You're Reading This It's Too Late in 2015. The tombstone of Andy Warhol , who had copied the Praying Hands , features a carving based on the image. Prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication . In

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840-412: 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 ' rhemata ' 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. Among

910-654: A sketch of the apostle's head, but the sheet with the head has been separated from it. Overall, Dürer made 18 sketches for the altarpiece . The first public recognition of the artwork was in 1871 when it was exhibited in Vienna, and the image is said to depict the hands of Dürer's brother, one of eighteen siblings. The image is the most widely reproduced depiction of prayer in the Western world, found on posters, coffee mugs, mobile phones, and has been used as album artwork . Justin Bieber has

980-405: A small bag of sacred meal. There are different forms of prayer. One of them is to directly appeal to a deity to grant one's requests. Some have termed this as the social approach to prayer. Atheist arguments against prayer are mostly directed against petitionary prayer in particular. Daniel Dennett argued that petitionary prayer might have the undesirable psychological effect of relieving

1050-477: A specific direction (e.g., towards Mecca or the East ); 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; hands folded or clasped ; hands upraised; holding hands with others;

1120-514: A specific faith tradition or a broader grouping of people. 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, although enforcement is neither possible nor desirable. There can be many different answers to prayer, just as there are many ways to interpret an answer to

1190-477: A term called "religious experience" in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience . 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 Kant held that moral experience justified religious beliefs , John Wesley in addition to stressing individual moral exertion thought that

1260-640: 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 . Prayers in Etruscan were used in the Roman world by augurs and other oracles long after Etruscan became a dead language. The Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare are two specimens of partially preserved prayers that seem to have been unintelligible to their scribes and whose language

1330-524: 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 to Hezekiah . In the New Testament prayer is presented as a positive command. The People of God are challenged to include Christian prayer in their everyday life, even in

1400-421: Is believed to be the origin of everything. Pope Francis has suggested that "all believers ... return to [the] beautiful and meaningful custom" of stopping to "give thanks to God before and after meals". Typical Christian mealtime grace prayers include: German prayers to be sung before a meal include "Aller Augen warten auf dich" (All eyes are waiting for you) by Heinrich Schütz , after Psalm 145 :15, and

1470-581: Is customary to say "Jal meokgesseumnida" (잘 먹겠습니다) ("I will eat well'). The saying is not religious in nature, and usually only occurs when eating with someone else. Before eating, grace in Korean is "주님, 은혜로이 주신 이 음식과 우리에게 강복하소서. 우리 주 예수 그리스도를 통하여 비나이다, 아멘" ("Lord, bless this food that you have graciously given us and us. We pray through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen"). In certain Boy Scout circles, especially in Missouri ,

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1540-509: Is deemed worthy of the blessing commanded in verse 10. After the meal, a series of four (originally three) benedictions are said, or a single benediction if bread was not eaten. The Baháʼí Faith has these two prayers, which are meant for those who wish to thank God before they eat: "He is God! Thou seest us, O my God, gathered around this table, praising Thy bounty, with our gaze set upon Thy Kingdom. O Lord! Send down upon us Thy heavenly food and confer upon us Thy blessing. Thou art verily

1610-506: Is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII). Among Christian theologians, 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. In this view, the ultimate goal of prayer

1680-532: 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). Grace (prayer) A grace is a short prayer or thankful phrase said before or after eating. The term most commonly refers to Christian traditions. Some traditions hold that grace and thanksgiving imparts a blessing which sanctifies

1750-469: Is full of archaisms and difficult passages. Roman prayers and sacrifices were envisioned as legal bargains between deity and worshipper. The Roman principle was expressed as 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

1820-432: Is mediated by intellectual and cognitive activity. 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. A pure consciousness without concepts, reached by "cleaning the doors of perception", would be an overwhelming chaos of sensory input without coherence. In

1890-427: Is offered into the fire of God, God is That which is to be attained by him who sees God in all.' Sometimes, the 14th verse from the 15th chapter of Bhagavad Gita is used: Aham Vaishvaanaro Bhutva Praaninaam Dehamaashritha Praanaapaana Samaa Yuktaha Pachaamyannam Chatur Vidam This translates as 'Becoming the life-fire in the bodies of living beings, mingling with the upward and downward breaths, I digest

1960-413: 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. 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. In this view, the ultimate goal of prayer is to help train

2030-492: 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 contemplation . The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes prayer and meditation as follows: Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt

2100-434: 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." 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

2170-434: 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 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,

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2240-548: The Heller Altarpiece – destroyed by a fire in 1729. The sketched hands appear on the triptych on the right side of the central panel, and although the detail appears very similar, it is smaller in size in the triptych. Recently, a more plausible theory of the drawing is that, in its elaborate execution on precious blue paper, it is rather a virtuoso record of the hands in the painting, which Dürer could bring back with him from Italy to Nuremberg. The drawing also once contained

2310-648: The Abrahamic religions , Islam , 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 . 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 Sadhus . In this approach,

2380-477: The Book of James says that the lack of blessings in life results from a failure to pray. Jesus healed through prayer and expected his followers to do so also. The apostle Paul wrote to the churches of Thessalonica to "Pray continually." 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

2450-620: The Merseburg Incantations , the latter recorded in the 9th or 10th century but of much older traditional origins. In Australian Aboriginal mythology , prayers to the "Great Wit" are performed by the "clever men" and "clever women", or kadji . These Aboriginal shamans use maban or mabain, the material that is believed to give them their powers. The Pueblo Indians are known to have used prayer sticks , that is, sticks with feathers attached as supplicatory offerings. The Hopi Indians used prayer sticks as well, but they attached to it

2520-742: The Septuagint translation of Biblical Hebrew תְּפִלָּה tĕphillah . 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. Hindus chant mantras. Jewish prayer may involve swaying back and forth and bowing. Muslim prayer involves bowing, kneeling and prostration , while some Sufis whirl . Quakers often keep silent. Some pray according to standardized rituals and liturgies, while others prefer extemporaneous prayers; others combine

2590-450: The Torah . The ritual washing of hands and eating of salted bread is considered to be a substitute for the sacrificial offerings of the kohanim (Jewish priests). Though there are separate blessings for fruit, vegetables, non-bread grain products, and meat, fish, and dairy products, a meal is not considered to be a meal in the formal sense unless bread is eaten. The duty of saying grace after

2660-483: The polytheistic religions of the Iron Age , most notably Ancient Greek religion , which strongly influenced Roman religion . These religious traditions were direct developments of the earlier Bronze Age religions . Ceremonial prayer was highly formulaic and ritualized . In ancient polytheism, ancestor worship is indistinguishable from theistic worship (see also euhemerism ). Vestiges of ancestor worship persist, to

2730-638: The "S-F" grace (named after the S-F Scout Ranch in Knob Lick, Missouri) is often said, especially when people at the table are of mixed religions. The S-F grace gives thanks to a "great Spirit", but is not affiliated with any one religion. Another common Boy Scout grace is the "Philmont Grace" (named after the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico) or the " Wilderness Grace ". It can be found in use wherever

2800-403: The "flight" posture, a crouching posture with raised hands related to the universal "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. Although prayer in its literal sense is not used in animism , communication with the spirit world is vital to

2870-463: The Almighty." Hindus use the 24th verse of the 4th chapter of Bhagavad Gita as the traditional prayer or blessing before a meal. Once the food is blessed it becomes Prasad , or sanctified as holy Brahmaarpanam Brahma Havir Brahmaagnau Brahmanaa Hutam Brahmaiva Tena Gantavyam Brahma Karma Samaadhinah Which translates as 'The act of offering is God (Brahma), the oblation is God, By God it

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2940-663: The Bestower, the Merciful, the Compassionate." "He is God! How can we render Thee thanks, O Lord? Thy bounties are endless and our gratitude cannot equal them. How can the finite utter praise of the Infinite? Unable are we to voice our thanks for Thy favors and in utter powerlessness we turn wholly to Thy Kingdom beseeching the increase of Thy bestowals and bounties. Thou art the Giver, the Bestower,

3010-568: 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

3080-434: The act of self-analysis or self-evaluation. This approach is sometimes described as the person praying having a dialogue or conversation with God. 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

3150-545: 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 tellers and healers. 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

3220-471: The anonymous 20th-century round " Segne, Vater, diese Gaben " (Bless Father, these gifts). Before eating, a blessing is said based on the category of food that is being eaten. The categories are: (i) Bread, (ii) fruits that grow on a tree, (iii) fruits/vegetables that do not grow on a tree, (iv) derivates of the five grains (except for bread, which has its own blessing), (v) derivatives of grapes and (vi) everything else. The Jewish mealtime prayer, after eating

3290-554: The busy struggles of marriage as it brings people closer to God . Jesus encouraged his 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. For evangelists and other Christian sects , prayer is shown to be God's appointed method by which we obtain what He has to bestow. Further,

3360-430: The concept of experiential religion or 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. The notion of "religious experience" can be traced back to William James , who used

3430-523: 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. The experience of God within Christian mysticism has been contrasted with

3500-503: The form of a hymn , incantation , formal creedal 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 religions 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

3570-525: The four kinds of food.' Traditional Maharashtrian grace invokes the Lord through the shloka of Sant Ramdas namely: vadani kaval gheta naam ghya shri-hariche l sahaj havan hote naam gheta phukache l jivan kari jivitva anna he purn-brahma l udar-bharan nohe janije yadnya-karma ll 1 ll jani bhojani naam vache vadave l ati aadare gadya-ghoshe mhanave l harichintane anna sevit jaave l tari srihari pavijeto swabhave ll 2 ll This translates as: Take

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3640-419: The goddesses Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr and Irpa . Folk religion in the medieval period produced syncretisms 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 . The 8th-century Wessobrunn Prayer has been proposed as a Christianized pagan prayer and compared to the pagan Völuspá and

3710-557: The gods and the earth after being woken by the hero Sigurd . A prayer to Odin is mentioned in chapter   2 of the Völsunga saga where King Rerir prays for a child. In stanza   9 of the poem Oddrúnargrátr , a prayer is made to "kind wights , Frigg and Freyja , and many gods, In chapter 21 of Jómsvíkinga saga , wishing to turn the tide of the Battle of Hjörungavágr , Haakon Sigurdsson eventually finds his prayers answered by

3780-429: The meal is derived from Deuteronomy 8:10 : "And thou shalt eat and be satisfied and shalt bless the Lord thy God for the goodly land which he has given thee." Verse 8 of the same chapter says: "The land of wheat and barley, of the vine, the fig and the pomegranate, the land of the oil olive and of [date] syrup." Hence only bread made of wheat (which embraces spelt) or of barley (which for this purpose includes rye and oats)

3850-512: The meal. In English , reciting such a prayer is sometimes referred to as "saying grace". The term comes from the Ecclesiastical Latin phrase gratiarum actio , "act of thanks." Theologically , the act of saying grace is derived from the Bible , in which Jesus and Saint Paul pray before meals (cf. Luke 24:30 , Acts 27:35 ). The practice reflects the belief that humans should thank God who

3920-406: The name of the Lord when putting a morsel into your mouth. In Buddhism , different traditions have prayers that are said or chanted before meals. In Japanese Zen , a prayer on the "Five Reflections", Gokan-no-ge , are done before and after meals. This includes putting one's hands together and say " Itadakimasu " ( 頂きます，いただきます ) ("I humbly receive") before eating a meal. Upon finishing a meal,

3990-479: The narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor . More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of thanksgiving or praise , and in comparative religion is closely associated with more abstract forms of meditation and with charms or spells . 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

4060-492: The period in-between world wars – famously rejected by Karl Barth . 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 theological view are Charles Raven and the Oxford physicist/theologian Charles Coulson . The notion of "religious experience" was adopted by many scholars of religion, of whom William James

4130-605: The polite phrase gochisōsama-deshita ( ご馳走様でした，ごちそうさまでした , lit. "that was (the condition of) an (honorable) feast") . In response, the preparer often says osomatsusama-deshita ( お粗末様でした，おそまつさまでした , lit. "I think that meal was not feast") . Theravadan monks chant a reminder not to crave food. In the Nichiren School of Buddhism, a prayer is done to "repay the Four Favors", debts we owe to parents, sentient beings, leaders and The Buddha, Dharma and Sanga. In Korea, it

4200-406: 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   2 and   3 of the poem Sigrdrífumál , compiled in the 13th century Poetic Edda from earlier traditional sources, where the valkyrie Sigrdrífa prays to

4270-606: 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

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4340-401: 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

4410-506: 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

4480-536: The religious experiences in the Methodist movement (paralleling the Romantic Movement ) were foundational to religious commitment as a way of life. According to 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 religions . Wayne Proudfoot traces

4550-571: 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 Albert Ritschl to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique, and defend the view that human (moral and religious) experience justifies religious beliefs . Such religious empiricism would be later seen as highly problematic and was – during

4620-435: The same period similarly contain spells or incantations 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 anthropologists such as Sir Edward Burnett Tylor and Sir James George Frazer . Reliable records are available for

4690-492: The two. 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. Some forms of prayer require a prior ritualistic form of cleansing or purification, such as in ghusl and wudhu . Prayer may occur privately and individually (sometimes called affective prayer ), or collectively, shared by or led on behalf of fellow-believers of either

4760-406: 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. The English term prayer is from Medieval Latin : precaria , lit.   'petition, prayer'. The Vulgate Latin is oratio , which translates Greek προσευχή in turn

4830-508: 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

4900-478: Was the most influential. The notion of "experience" has been criticised. Robert Sharf points out that "experience" is a typical Western term, which has found its way into Asian religiosity via western influences. 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. "Pure experience" does not exist; all experience

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