Dion Shattuck

English 101
8/10/2015
Christian Prayer: A Genre of Communication
Ive prayed when I was worried. I prayed when I thought my dog was dying; I prayed
because there was nothing I could do and I wanted help. The definition of prayer, according to
OxfordDictionaries, is a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an
object of worship. but the context I have encountered it in most is dialogue between yourself
and God. To me, prayer is a channel through which someone can communicate and connect to a
figure or object of worship. People ask questions, talk about their day, and express feelings.
Someone may voice their concern about work, the death of a loved one, or a difficult financial
situation; you can pray about anything. I spent some time recently with a Christian group from
North Carolina and I took part in a prayer activity. While I didnt actually pray myself, I listened
in on one of the small prayer circles. Since the group I spent time with is Christian, I will be
focusing on Christian prayer.
During prayer, as defined by my Christian friends, you can be with others or alone, but
you must make an effort to calm yourself and, as many do, you can lower your head and close
your eyes. If you had to define this kind of prayer, you could say it is talking or thinking words,
ideas, and questions, to God with the intent of being heard and responded to. As you speak with
God, it is common to breathe deeply and feel the presence of God; my friends say the presence
of God is the thought and power that we feel of him. Prayer, in a simple form, can be to pause
your normal, physical, social, political life to feel the existence of God. When I was with with the
religious group, they based their prayer off of text from the Bible. This is a structured way to
focus on specific parts of life and faith, which helps, as they said, to make sense of our

complicated thoughts. This technique goes hand in hand with the concept of the bible being a
guiding force in a Christians life.
Why do they pray? Do they just want to talk to God and talk about problems? The
Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF) shows that, no, prayer can be much more specific
than that. Its website states that prayer Improves spiritual practice [by impacting]action,
thought and attitude. In this sense the website explains how prayer aligns action, thought, and
attitude to God and his intentions. It goes on to explain that prayer Enhances the potency of
chanting the Name of God[gives] forgiveness for mistakes[reduces] the egoprotects from
ghosts[and] increases faith.(SSRF) These are ways to put the benefits of prayer into words,
but Ive come to understand that prayer isnt just all a set of questions and answers. Prayer is an
important way to connect with God. One of the group members I spoke extensively with
explained that God can communicate, as he did with Jesus, through thought or, rarely, voice. She
explained that God doesnt communicate often and, for the large part, prayer is an expression of
a persons faith for and connection with God. Christianity, dissimilar with Islam, doesnt have a
specific way one must pray, so the definition is broad. As my friend described it, it is an open
conversation with God about anything that is on your mind. The core concept is that God is
always there for you; he will listen to your happiness and excitement and help you through pain
and suffering. It is worth discussing my experiences with prayer since Im not religious. I
remember when I have prayed and it went something like, God? I dont know if you exist or if
you are God. Maybe youre something else, but I dont care. If you can help me I would be
grateful. I dont know what to do and Im worried. For me, it was a cry for help, and it seemed
that I personified the darkness and loneliness that I felt at that time. Talking to something, at least
in our own heads, gives it life; in other words, when people talk to something or direct

conversational thoughts to something, it tricks our mind into thinking we have the comfort of a
friend who is listening and giving us answers. It think its a basic human instinct to seek help
from others. So, in my case, even though I dont believe in God, I can find solace in a dialogue
with what is, I believe, literally nothing. The act of expressing my thoughts and feelings, no
matter who or what is listening, can be beneficial to me feeling better and finding a solution.
Despite what you believe, opening up to an idea, object, or something else gives it a presence
that it wouldnt otherwise have.
The Christians I met with have a distinct mood when they pray. In a former essay, I
quoted what I remember my friend saying during the prayer session and I think it is an accurate
depiction of the way most of them pray,
Hello, God. Id just like to say a few words today. Thank you for this wonderful dinner
tonight. Thank you for my friends. I have had such a wonderful summer with them. Im
blessed by you to have this opportunity to travel to a new place, meet new people, and
develop my relationship with you, God. I thank you for bringing Dion here to us today as
he develops his relationship with you, God. You continue to bless me, God, and I thank
you for that. Every day is such an adventure and Im thankful to you.
The tone of her prayer is honest and clear. She notes things that she is broadly grateful for as well
as specific things like me being there. Later, when I interviewed her, she talked a bit more about
God and prayer. For her, a connection with God where you can talk any time you want and hes
always there for you, is a heartwarming thing to have.
Prayer is not just for Christians and those of other religious groups. While prayer is,
traditionally, to talk to God or another religious figure, prayer can also be reflection. To pray, for

a non-religious person, can be to consider any number of things. Making a conscious effort to
relax and think clearly about problems, successes, questions, and such is very similar to religious
prayer in that it often helps people collect their thoughts and move forward in their lives
confidently. Like I explained earlier, it is natural for humans to communicate with others and
share thoughts. It can be a therapeutic, as well as helpful, experience to communicate thoughts in
a spoken or written manner. It is for this reason, that talking out our problems can be a way to
understand the problems better ourselves. Some people like to write, as many do in journals, to
put problems and thoughts into a physical form. All these ways of processing thoughts can, in
some way, be related to prayer. Whether we are praying to God or self-reflecting, we are
communicating our thoughts and feelings in a way that helps us manage and understand them.
The act of prayer, for religious people and not, is a healthy way to work through problems that
creates the sense that there is a presence on the other side listening and responding to you.

Works Cited
Oxford Dictionaries. prayer. Oxford University Press, 2015. Online
Spiritual Science Research Foundation. Benefits of prayer. Spiritual Science Research
Foundation Inc, 2015. Online