PSC 170 Lecture 7: 4-24-18
4/24/18 – PRAYER
Spiritual Practices or Disciplines
• All religions have spiritual practices.
• Training or exercise.
• Religio is a ople of ulturall presried praties “ith, p. 22.
o Not something just one person does.
• Doig spiritualit; ot just thinking it or speaking it.
• Purpose: spiritual growth; closeness to God; deepening of oneself; expanding the self.
Spiritual Disciplines
• Baptism
• Journals
o Writing down feelings.
• Fasting
• Worship
o By oneself or together with a group.
Prayer
• The heart of religio
• The soul ad essee of religio
• The ost spotaeous ad persoal epressio of religio
• The atie laguage of the soul
William James on Prayer
• No ai eerise of ords, no mere repetition of certain sacred formula, but the very
movement itself of the soul, putting itself in a personal relation of contact with the mysterious
power of which it feels the presee.
Why study prayer?
• Because people pray!
• Behavior which occurs within traditions. Even atheists do it.
• Some do it consistently, others do it in times of despair.
• 90% of Americans pray.
• 55% at least once daily.
• 21% seldom or never.
• 95% of the people who pray believe their prayers are answered.
National Day of Prayer
• First Thursday of May.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Excerpt from proclamation: I ties of stead al ad etraordiar hage alike, Aerias
of all walks of life have long turned to prayer to seek refuge, demonstrate gratitude, and
discover peace. Sustaining us through great uncertainty and moments of sorrow, prayer allows
us an outlet for introspection, and for expressing our hopes, desires, and fears. It offers
strength in the face of hardship, and redemption when we falter. Our country was founded on
the idea of religious freedom, and we have long upheld the belief that how we pray and
whether we pray are matters reserved for an individual's own conscience. On National Day of
Praer, e redediate ourseles to etedig this freedo to all people.
• We oe together o our Natioal Da of Praer as oe Natio, uder God, to show gratitude
for our many blessings, to give thanks for His providence, and to ask for His continued wisdom,
strength, and protection as we chart a course for the future. We are united in prayer, each
according to our own faith and tradition, and we believe that in America, people of all faiths,
creeds, and religions must be free to exercise their natural right to worship according to their
osiees.
What do people pray about?
• Most people who pray do so to ask a superhuman power for help...the majority of topics are
this-orldl, pratial atters, as opposed to spiritual or other-orldl oers “ith, p.
197).
• Among Americans who pray, people typically pray for:
o Family or friends – 82%
o Own problems/difficulties – 74%
o Good things that have recently occurred – 54%
o Own sin – 43%
o People in natural disasters – 38%
o God’s greatess – 37%
o Own future prosperity – 36%
o People of other faiths or no faith – 20%
o Gov. leaders – 12%
o Celebrities – 5%
o None of these – 2%
• People pray for different things depending on where in the world.
There are four main types of prayer:
• Petitionary/Intercessory
• Liturgical (book prayer)
• Colloquial/Spontaneous/Thanks
• Meditative/Contemplative
Usage of Different Forms of Prayer
• Petitionary: Used to counter frustration & threat.
• Thanksgiving: For deliverance from crises; receive blessings.
• Contemplative: To aid in internal integration of self.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Journals: writing down feelings, fasting, worship, by oneself or together with a group. Prayer (cid:862)the heart of religio(cid:374)(cid:863) (cid:862)the soul a(cid:374)d esse(cid:374)(cid:272)e of religio(cid:374)(cid:863) (cid:862)the (cid:373)ost spo(cid:374)ta(cid:374)eous a(cid:374)d perso(cid:374)al e(cid:454)pressio(cid:374) of religio(cid:374)(cid:863) (cid:862)the (cid:374)ati(cid:448)e la(cid:374)guage of the soul(cid:863) Why study prayer: because people pray, behavior which occurs within traditions. Sustaining us through great uncertainty and moments of sorrow, prayer allows us an outlet for introspection, and for expressing our hopes, desires, and fears. It offers strength in the face of hardship, and redemption when we falter. Our country was founded on the idea of religious freedom, and we have long upheld the belief that how we pray and whether we pray are matters reserved for an individual"s own conscience. What do people pray about: most people who pray do so to ask a superhuman power for helpthe majority of topics are this-(cid:449)orldl(cid:455), pra(cid:272)ti(cid:272)al (cid:373)atters, as opposed to (cid:862)spiritual(cid:863) or other-(cid:449)orldl(cid:455) (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)er(cid:374)s(cid:863) (cid:894) (cid:373)ith, p.
