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.
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
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.
The efficacy of petition in prayer for physical healing to a deity has been
evaluated in numerous other studies, with contradictory results. There has
been some criticism of the way the studies were conducted.
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