Prayer
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Related e |
Featured: |
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.
Namesakes
- Answered Prayers, an unfinished novel by American author Truman Capote
- The Carnal Prayer Mat, a Chinese novel by Li Yu
- Lord's Prayer, the prayer taught by Jesus Christ to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount
- The Prayer, a black and white photograph by Man Ray
- A Short and Easy Method of Prayer by Jeanne Guyon
See also