What do you think prayer is?

[KevinM1]

In a lot of cases, prayer is nothing more than a way for someone to feel like they've done something meaningful when they haven't actually done anything at all.

"Pray for the victims of this shooting!"
"Pray for this terminally ill child!"
"Pray for that country that just suffered a natural disaster!"
I really love the blatant "1 like = 1 prayer" BS that always generates clicks. Truly doing god's work, that.

You know what really helps?

Voting for stricter gun control.
Increasing science funding.
Sending actual, physical aid.
Actually doing something to make the world a better place.

[brewer]

Depends on if they are praying by them self or in a group.

By them self: A self absorbed way of making the individual feel better. Does not matter if they pray for something for them self or for someone/thing else. It's still all about the person praying.

In a group: Herd bonding, which is more effective when done out loud. 

Praying is not meditating.

[The Grand Nudger]

Neither is working in my garden, but all three have similar effects for the same reasons.

[brewer]

Neither is working in my garden, but all three have similar effects for the same reasons.

You must be praying with the wrong orifices.

[The Grand Nudger]

I pray/meditate with my hands, as I explained earlier.  Get's shit done.  I actually hum alot, though, really repetitive stuff, when I;m working.  I find that it helps me to clear my mind and creates sort of experienced symmetry between the fall of the tool and the sound of my voice. Helps to melt away time.

[ErGingerbreadMandude]

A common misconception is that praying is simply a kind of channel through which you ask for a favor from God. This is exactly why prayer "doesn't work" for many people because everybody wants to know "what can God do for me?" but the very simple thought "what can I do for God" never crosses their mind. How will you receive anything if all you do is ask?

[vulcanlogician]

Praying is not meditating.

Granted, prayer isn't meditating. But it is similar in some regards... one may say it's meditation-like, or perhaps quasi-meditation. I think Khemikal had a good point that it is a real act with real effects on real minds. Like smoking some pot and hoeing a garden PLUS the intention of using those activities to clear the mind may be of value, so too may the act of prayer itself.

There are a lot of exaggerated claims attached to prayer--no doubt about that. The most obvious being the presumed ability of a prayer to change outcomes of things in the material world. Also, as you note--herd bonding is a major driving principle behind public prayer. The OP was more about private prayer.

The reason it seemed like something worth discussing is that we nonbelievers tend to dismiss prayer because of the erroneous beliefs attached to it. In the process of doing this, we might miss that there is genuine benefit to the practice, regardless of the fact that it is sold with a package of unsubstantiated claims.

[brewer]

Praying is not meditating.

Granted, prayer isn't meditating. But it is similar in some regards... one may say it's meditation-like, or perhaps quasi-meditation. I think Khemikal had a good point that it is a real act with real effects on real minds. Like smoking some pot and hoeing a garden PLUS the intention of using those activities to clear the mind may be of value, so too may the act of prayer itself.

There are a lot of exaggerated claims attached to prayer--no doubt about that. The most obvious being the presumed ability of a prayer to change outcomes of things in the material world. Also, as you note--herd bonding is a major driving principle behind public prayer. The OP was more about private prayer.

The reason it seemed like something worth discussing is that we nonbelievers tend to dismiss prayer because of the erroneous beliefs attached to it. In the process of doing this, we might miss that there is genuine benefit to the practice, regardless of the fact that it is sold with a package of unsubstantiated claims.

Maybe, if it's done like a chant or mantra.

[The Grand Nudger]

It helps me get through drudgery, conveniently, that seems to be alot of what people pray about as well.  "God, help me get through another shit day at this shit job for shit pay. Help me to work hard..and, you know, if you can swing it, a promotion would be nice."

Well, if they do manage to string a bunch of shit days together and work hard, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that a promotion lies at the end of that rainbow. I get carrots. Obvs they;re talking to themselves and not to god (and I;m not really conversing with the earth)..though I strongly doubt that there's really a difference, in actuality.

As a point of interest, alot of meditative exercises are meant to reduce the amount of chanting or mantra required to achieve the effect. Prayer being attached to deeply held religious beliefs and past private and communal experience achieves much of the same. Whatever amount of control we may have on the state of our mind or the outcomes of our actions which can be influenced by our state of mind depends upon our ability to pull those levers. This, in turn, circumscribes and explains the relative effect of prayer or meditation. I described two of my favorites to another poster once...and I have oticed that the longer I;ve been at it and the more often I did it the less time I had to spend doing them in order to achieve the desired effect...which, in my case is simple peace of mind. I;d grant that meditation is more elaborate, but that may be because meditation is less effective or efficient than the headstart provided by an enduring faith. There's no need to set your mind in that mode..because you live there.

[Edwardo Piet]

What is prayer?

A completely useless waste of energy.