How we talk to God
People pray for everything from the divine to the selfish and profane
Throughout the world, prayer is a social and cultural phenomenon, one shaped by the cultural norms of the time. And in the 20th century, an odd yoking of technology and prayer occurred. The earliest radio programs included prayer, or preaching. Television offered Mass for Shut-Ins and other prayerful venues. Cable television is now filled with religious options. The Internet vibrates with prayer warriors, "prayer circles," prayer groups. Beliefnet alone has over 65,000 prayer circles, which have been created informally by the site's subscribers. One of the most popular has been for pets. Entrepreneurial companies accept prayers for the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, where believers can fax or E-mail a prayer request.
For those who pray, there are clearly few limits to innovation or forms of expression. Psychologically, prayer can organize anxieties, focus worries, offer a sense of comfort and connection, solidify communities. It can assist in changing bad behavior, as those who are enrolled in 12-step programs can attest. But in the end, prayer is ultimately about realms of consciousness as yet unexplored--about what believers might call the soul, or the spirit, or some transcendent part of being. Some believe that prayers are actually answered. But it doesn't really matter: For those who believe, that is not where the true power of prayer will ever reside.
With Caroline Hsu
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