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prayer
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Charles Sprague Pearce: Religion William James St. Augustine Karl Jaspers Agni Amida Ancient Egyptian-style illustration showing Osiris, depicted with blue skin, wrapped in white and holding a crook and flail, standing beside Isis, who wears a green dress and holds an ankh, with a throne-shaped crown on her head. the gods on Olympus Vishnu and Lakshmi Ahura Mazdā
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Charles Sprague Pearce: Religion
Charles Sprague Pearce: Religion Detail of Religion, mural in lunette from the Family and Education series by Charles Sprague Pearce, 1897; in the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

prayer

Written by
Adalbert G. Hamman
Professor at Patristic Institute, Rome. Editor, Patrologiae Latinae Supplementum. Author of La Prière.
Adalbert G. Hamman
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

prayer, an act of communication by humans with the sacred or holy—God, the gods, the transcendent realm, or supernatural powers. Found in all religions in all times, prayer may be a corporate or personal act utilizing various forms and techniques. Prayer has been described in its sublimity as “an intimate friendship, a frequent conversation held alone with the Beloved” by St. Teresa of Ávila, a 16th-century Spanish mystic. Prayer is a significant and universal aspect...

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