The journalist Ambrose Bierce once defined praying as asking “that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy”.[1]
Whatever you make of that, according to one poll, Americans as a whole today have more faith in prayer than that definition would indicate Bierce had. We are a prayerful people—well, that is, about three quarters of us believe that prayer has the power to actually help heal an injury or illness (even if most people who say that to pollsters don’t really spend much time praying themselves).[2] People who were least likely to affirm that this is the case, the poll reported, were men, Democrats, white, under 35, making more than $50 000 a year, and those with college degrees. Lest you be encouraged by the faith of the nation, I should tell you that most Americans also believe that it doesn’t matter who you pray to.
But in Christianity, prayer isn’t quite that vague. Who you pray to is actually understood to make a difference, as is why you pray. Other matters, too, are significant, like where we pray, with whom we pray, and when we pray. Keep reading
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