What is prayer to you?

Answer 1

Prayer is a communication with God. It could be compared to a phone call home.

Answer 2

A prayer is talking with guidance from the Holy Spirit. God already knows what we require. A prayer is our relationship with the Lord. Talking to God through Jesus. Thanking Him for all He does, and seeking general guidance to do His will.

Answer 3

Prayer to me is communication with Christ my God. It however is more than that to me it helps in the building of christian life, and it is like just talking to somebody right before me , it is fun and a great communication medium to Christ. These are in my opinion and i was not saying Christ to offend you or anybody, If i did sorry.

Answer 4

Wishful thinking. Two hands working can do more than the prayers of millions.

Answer 5

Prayer, in Hebrew "tephila" comes from a linguistic root meaning "to judge oneself". Prayer is an introspective exercise. It is conversation with the divine, but not in the way that most people understand it.

For those who believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing G-d, what could the purpose be of asking Him for stuff? Does He not know what we need, without us asking and before WE even know it? Does he need us to ask for what we need, or to offer him praise? Does G-d need us to boost his ego? Of course not - G-d is perfect and lacks nothing. Otherwise He wouldn't be G-d, right?

To put it as simply as I can, the creation of the universe was, according to what Judaism teaches, an act of love. In the beginning, G-d existed alone. So in order that something should exist to receive his benevolence, He created the universe, and within it, lifeforms, including plants, animals, and ultimately, human beings. So while G-d doesn't need anything, you could say that he "wants" a relationship with us.

Prayer is the ultimate form of meditation. It is communication with G-d not for His benefit, but for ours. And by training ourselves to recognize and appreciate G-d's benevolence and to bring our supplications before him, we refine our own characters. In other words, there may be something that we want, but don't necessarily deserve at our spiritual level. By refining ourselves through the performance of commandments, including prayer, we elevate ourselves to a level that we may merit those things.

If I may bring an example from B'reishis ("Genesis") that sort of underscores the significance of prayer, look to what happened in the Garden of Eden. G-d curses the serpent for his role in leading Adam and Eve astray, saying:

"Because you have done this, cursed be you more than all the cattle and more than all the beasts of the field; you shall walk on your belly, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life."

Now, at first this seems a straightforward curse, but think for a minute. G-d is promising the serpent a ready supply of food for as long as he lives! Dust can be found everywhere. When G-d promises Abraham that he will be the father of multitudes, he says that his seed shall be as the dust of the earth!

So the other stuff that G-d says to the serpent, what about the eternal emnity between man and snake, the humiliation of crawling around in his belly, this I understand. But how is the promise of never going hungry a curse?

Well, it is a curse, and it may well be the worst of all, and here's why. People pray for their food, for their economic well-being. In Jewish liturgy, we pray for rain in the winter and dew in the summer, for a good harvest and for all-around prosperity. For all these things, we work with all our might, but ultimately, we depend on G-d, as it is written "you open your hand and fulfill the desire of every living creature". And that's a good thing! What G-d was saying to the snake is "I want nothing to do with you. You, go along your way - I have provided everything you'll ever need. So go, and leave me alone." G-d has basically ended his relationship with the serpent. But he still allows us to connect, through prayer.

Prayer allows us to connect with the divine and improve ourselves, and indeed, it is precisely by improving ourselves that we connect with the divine.

That's prayer, from the orthodox (I'm strictly old-school) Jewish perspective. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask, and if I don't have the answer, I'd certainly be glad to point you in the direction of someone who does.

I hope you find this answer as enlightening as I did when I first heard it.

Answer 6

Seeking comfort, solace, especially when I'm in trouble.
An instrument of hope and gratitude.

Answer 7

Speaking with God.

There are all kinds of prayers: asking of God, praising God, reminding God, crying out to God, thanking God.....

Answer 8

Communicating with your Heavenly Father....

Answer 9

Communication to God, and talking to him personally

Answer 10

Seeking knowledge and understanding of both creator and creation