La oración es una invocación o acto que busca activar una relación con un objeto de adoración a través de una comunicación deliberada . En sentido estricto, el término se refiere a un acto de súplica o intercesión dirigido hacia una deidad (un dios) o un antepasado divinizado . De manera más general, la oración también puede tener el propósito de acción de gracias o alabanza , y en la religión comparada está estrechamente asociada con formas más abstractas de meditación y con encantamientos o hechizos . [1]
La oración puede tomar una variedad de formas: puede ser parte de una liturgia o ritual establecido , y puede realizarse sola o en grupos. La oración puede tomar la forma de un himno , un encantamiento , una declaración formal de credo o una expresión espontánea en la persona que ora.
El acto de la oración está atestiguado en fuentes escritas desde hace 5000 años. Hoy en día, la mayoría de las religiones principales involucran la oración de una forma u otra; algunos ritualizan el acto, requiriendo una secuencia estricta de acciones o imponiendo una restricción sobre quién puede orar, mientras que otros enseñan que la oración puede ser practicada espontáneamente por cualquier persona en cualquier momento.
Los estudios científicos sobre el uso de la oración se han concentrado principalmente en su efecto en la curación de personas enfermas o heridas. La eficacia de la oración en la curación por la fe ha sido evaluada en numerosos estudios, con resultados contradictorios.
Etimología
El término inglés oración proviene del latín medieval : precaria , lit. 'petición, oración'. [2] El latín Vulgata es oratio , que traduce el griego προσευχή [3] a su vez, la traducción de la Septuaginta del hebreo bíblico תְּפִלָּה tĕphillah . [4]
Acto de oración
Varias tradiciones espirituales ofrecen una amplia variedad de actos devocionales. Hay oraciones matutinas y vespertinas, gracias durante las comidas y gestos físicos reverentes. Algunos cristianos inclinan la cabeza y cruzan las manos. Algunos nativos americanos consideran el baile como una forma de oración. [5] Algunos sufíes giran . [6] Los hindúes cantan mantras. [7] La oración judía puede implicar balancearse hacia adelante y hacia atrás e inclinarse. [8] La oración musulmana implica inclinarse, arrodillarse y postrarse . Los cuáqueros guardan silencio. [9] Algunos rezan de acuerdo con rituales y liturgias estandarizados, mientras que otros prefieren oraciones extemporáneas. Otros combinan los dos.
Friedrich Heiler es citado a menudo en los círculos cristianos por su Tipología sistemática de la oración, que enumera seis tipos de oración: primitiva, ritual, cultural griega, filosófica, mística y profética. [10] Algunas formas de oración requieren una forma ritualista previa de limpieza o purificación, como en el ghusl y el wudhu . [11]
La oración puede hacerse en forma privada e individual, o puede hacerse colectivamente en presencia de compañeros creyentes. La oración puede incorporarse a una "vida de pensamiento" diaria, en la que uno está en constante comunicación con un dios. Algunas personas oran durante todo lo que sucede durante el día y buscan orientación a medida que avanza el día. En realidad, esto se considera un requisito en varias denominaciones cristianas, [12] aunque su aplicación no es posible ni deseable. Puede haber muchas respuestas diferentes a la oración, al igual que hay muchas formas de interpretar una respuesta a una pregunta, si es que de hecho llega una respuesta. [12] Algunos pueden experimentar epifanías audibles, físicas o mentales. Si de hecho llega una respuesta, la hora y el lugar en que llega se considera aleatorio. Algunos actos externos que a veces acompañan a la oración son: ungir con aceite; [13] tocar una campana; [14] quemar incienso o papel; [15] encender una vela o velas; Véase, por ejemplo, mirando en una dirección específica (es decir, hacia La Meca [16] o el Este); haciendo la señal de la cruz . Un acto menos notable relacionado con la oración es el ayuno .
Se pueden asumir una variedad de posturas corporales, a menudo con un significado específico (principalmente respeto o adoración) asociado con ellas: estar de pie; sentado; arrodillado postrarse en el suelo; ojos abiertos; Ojos cerrados; manos juntas o juntas; manos levantadas; tomarse de la mano con otros; una imposición de manos y otros. Las oraciones pueden recitarse de memoria, leerse de un libro de oraciones o componerse espontáneamente a medida que se oran. Se pueden decir, cantar o cantar. Pueden ser con acompañamiento musical o no. Puede haber un momento de silencio exterior mientras se ofrecen oraciones mentalmente. A menudo, hay oraciones para ocasiones específicas, como la bendición de una comida, el nacimiento o la muerte de un ser querido, otros eventos importantes en la vida de un creyente o días del año que tienen un significado religioso especial. Los detalles correspondientes a tradiciones específicas se describen a continuación.
Orígenes e historia temprana
Antropológicamente, el concepto de oración está estrechamente relacionado con el de entrega y súplica . La postura tradicional de oración en la Europa medieval es arrodillada o en decúbito supino con las manos juntas, en la antigüedad más típicamente con las manos levantadas. La postura de oración de los primeros cristianos era estar de pie, mirando al cielo, con los brazos extendidos y la cabeza descubierta. Esta es la postura de oración pagana y precristiana (excepto por la cabeza descubierta, que fue prescrita para los hombres en Corintios 11: 4, en el paganismo romano, la cabeza tenía que estar cubierta en oración). Ciertas figuras cretenses y chipriotas de la Edad del Bronce Final, con los brazos en alto, han sido interpretadas como adoradores. Su postura es similar a la postura de "vuelo", una postura agachada con las manos levantadas, observada en pacientes esquizofrénicos y relacionada con el gesto universal de entrega de "manos arriba" . La postura de rodillas con las manos entrelazadas parece haber sido introducida solo con el comienzo del período medieval alto, presumiblemente adoptada a partir de un gesto de homenaje feudal. [18]
Aunque la oración en su sentido literal no se usa en el animismo , la comunicación con el mundo espiritual es vital para la forma de vida animista. Esto generalmente se logra a través de un chamán que, a través de un trance , obtiene acceso al mundo de los espíritus y luego muestra los pensamientos de los espíritus a la gente. Otras formas de recibir mensajes de los espíritus incluyen el uso de la astrología o contemplar a los adivinos y curanderos. [19]
Parte de la literatura existente más antigua, como los himnos del templo sumerio de Enheduanna (c. Siglo 23 a. C.) son liturgia dirigida a deidades y, por lo tanto, técnicamente "oración". Los Textos de las Pirámides Egipcias de aproximadamente el mismo período contienen de manera similar hechizos o encantamientos dirigidos a los dioses. En el sentido más amplio, en forma de pensamiento mágico se combina con el animismo , la oración ha argumentado que representan a un humano universal culturales , lo que habría estado presente desde la aparición de la modernidad del comportamiento , por antropólogos como Sir Edward Burnett Tylor y Sir James George Frazer . [20]
Hay registros confiables disponibles para las religiones politeístas de la Edad del Hierro , sobre todo la religión griega antigua (que influyó fuertemente en la religión romana ). Estas tradiciones religiosas fueron desarrollos directos de las religiones anteriores de la Edad del Bronce . La oración ceremonial fue altamente formulada y ritualizada . [21] [22]
En el politeísmo antiguo, el culto a los antepasados es indistinguible del culto teísta (véase también el euhemerismo ). Los vestigios del culto a los antepasados persisten, en mayor o menor medida, en las tradiciones religiosas modernas de todo el mundo, sobre todo en el sintoísmo japonés y en la religión popular china . Las prácticas involucradas en la oración sintoísta están fuertemente influenciadas por el budismo; El budismo japonés también ha sido fuertemente influenciado por el sintoísmo. Las oraciones sintoístas con frecuencia consisten en deseos o favores que se les pide a los kami , en lugar de largas alabanzas o devociones. La práctica de la ofrenda votiva también es universal, y está atestiguada al menos desde la Edad del Bronce. En Shinto, esto toma la forma de una pequeña tableta de madera, llamada ema .
Las oraciones en etrusco fueron utilizadas en el mundo romano por augurios y otros oráculos mucho después de que el etrusco se convirtiera en una lengua muerta. La Carmen Arvale y la Carmen Saliare son dos ejemplares de oraciones parcialmente conservadas que parecen ininteligibles para sus escribas, y cuyo lenguaje está lleno de arcaísmos y pasajes difíciles. [23]
Las oraciones y los sacrificios romanos a menudo se concibieron como acuerdos legales entre la deidad y el adorador. El principio romano se expresó como do ut des : "Yo doy para que tú des". El tratado de agricultura de Catón el Viejo contiene muchos ejemplos de oraciones tradicionales conservadas; en una, un granjero se dirige a la deidad desconocida de una arboleda posiblemente sagrada y sacrifica un cerdo para aplacar al dios o diosa del lugar y pedirle permiso para talar algunos árboles de la arboleda. [24]
Las religiones celtas , germánicas y eslavas se registran mucho más tarde, y de manera mucho más fragmentaria, que las religiones de la antigüedad clásica. Sin embargo, muestran paralelismos sustanciales con las religiones mejor atestiguadas de la Edad del Hierro. En el caso de la religión germánica, la práctica de la oración está atestiguada de manera confiable, pero no se registra ninguna liturgia real desde el período temprano (era romana). Una oración nórdica antigua está registrada en forma de dramatización en poesía escáldica . Esta oración está registrada en las estrofas 2 y 3 del poema Sigrdrífumál , compilado en la Edda poética del siglo XIII a partir de fuentes tradicionales anteriores, donde la valquiria Sigrdrífa reza a los dioses y a la tierra después de ser despertada por el héroe Sigurd . [25] Una oración a Odin se menciona en el capítulo 2 de la saga Völsunga, donde el rey Rerir ora por un niño. En la estrofa 9 del poema Oddrúnargrátr , se hace una oración a "los bondadosos espectros , Frigg y Freyja , y muchos dioses [26]. En el capítulo 21 de la saga Jómsvíkinga , deseando cambiar el rumbo de la batalla de Hjörungavágr , Haakon Sigurdsson finalmente encuentra su oraciones respondidas por las diosas Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr e Irpa . [27] La religión popular en el período medieval produjo sincretismos entre las tradiciones precristianas y cristianas. Un ejemplo es el encanto anglosajón del siglo XI Æcerbot para la fertilidad de los cultivos y la tierra, o el médico færstice WID . [28] en el siglo octavo Wessobrunn la oración se ha propuesto como una oración pagana cristianizada y en comparación con la pagana Völuspá [29] y el Encantamientos de Merseburg , este último grabado en el noveno o el siglo 10, pero de los tradicionales mucho más antiguo orígenes. [30]
En la mitología aborigen australiana , las oraciones al "Gran Ingenio" las realizan los "hombres inteligentes" y las "mujeres inteligentes", o kadji . Estos chamanes aborígenes usan maban o mabain, el material que se cree que les da sus supuestos poderes mágicos. [31] Se sabe que los indios Pueblo usaban palos de oración , es decir, palos con plumas adheridas como ofrendas de súplica. Los indios Hopi también usaban palos de oración, pero le colocaban una pequeña bolsa de comida sagrada. [32]
Aproximaciones a la oración
Peticiones directas
Hay diferentes formas de oración. Uno de ellos es apelar directamente a una deidad para que le conceda las peticiones. [33] Algunos han denominado esto como el enfoque social de la oración. [34]
Los argumentos ateos en contra de la oración se dirigen principalmente contra la oración de petición en particular. Daniel Dennett argumentó que la oración de petición podría tener el efecto psicológico indeseable de aliviar a una persona de la necesidad de tomar medidas activas. [35]
Este potencial inconveniente se manifiesta en formas extremas en casos como los de los Científicos Cristianos que confían en las oraciones en lugar de buscar tratamiento médico para los miembros de la familia por condiciones fácilmente curables que luego resultan en la muerte. [36]
Christopher Hitchens (2012) argumentó que rezar a un dios que es omnipotente y omnisciente sería presuntuoso. Por ejemplo, interpreta la definición de oración de Ambrose Bierce afirmando que "el hombre que ora es el que piensa que Dios ha arreglado todo mal, pero que también piensa que puede instruir a Dios sobre cómo corregirlo". [37]
Enfoque educativo
Desde este punto de vista, la oración no es una conversación. Más bien, está destinado a inculcar ciertas actitudes en el que reza, pero no a influir. Entre los judíos, este ha sido el enfoque de Rabbenu Bachya, el rabino Yehuda Halevi , Joseph Albo , Samson Raphael Hirsch y Joseph B. Soloveitchik . Este punto de vista es expresado por el rabino Nosson Scherman en el resumen del Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII).
Entre los teólogos cristianos, EM Bounds declaró el propósito educativo de la oración en cada capítulo de su libro, La necesidad de la oración . Los libros de oración como el Libro de oración común son tanto el resultado de este enfoque como una exhortación a mantenerlo. [38]
Enfoque racionalista
Desde este punto de vista, el objetivo final de la oración es ayudar a capacitar a una persona para que se enfoque en la divinidad a través de la filosofía y la contemplación intelectual ( meditación ). Este enfoque fue adoptado por el erudito y filósofo judío Maimónides [39] y los otros racionalistas medievales. [40] Se hizo popular en los círculos intelectuales judíos, cristianos e islámicos, pero nunca se convirtió en la comprensión más popular de la oración entre los laicos en ninguna de estas religiones. En las tres religiones de hoy, una minoría significativa de personas todavía mantiene este enfoque.
Enfoque experiencial
En este enfoque, el propósito de la oración es permitir que la persona que ora obtenga una experiencia directa del destinatario de la oración (o tan cercana a la directa como lo permita una teología específica). Este enfoque es muy significativo en el cristianismo y está muy extendido en el judaísmo (aunque teológicamente menos popular). En la ortodoxia oriental , este enfoque se conoce como hesicasmo . También está muy extendido en el Islam sufí y en algunas formas de misticismo . Tiene algunas similitudes con el enfoque racionalista, ya que también puede implicar la contemplación , aunque la contemplación generalmente no se considera como racional o intelectual.
Las tradiciones cristianas y católicas también incluyen un enfoque experimental de la oración dentro de la práctica de la lectio divina . Históricamente, una práctica benedictina , la lectio divina implica los siguientes pasos: se lee en voz alta un breve pasaje de las Escrituras; el pasaje se medita sobre el uso de la mente para colocar al oyente en una relación o diálogo con el texto; recitación de una oración; y concluye con la contemplación . El Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica describe la oración y la meditación de la siguiente manera: [41]
La meditación involucra el pensamiento, la imaginación, la emoción y el deseo. Esta movilización de facultades es necesaria para profundizar nuestras convicciones de fe, impulsar la conversión de nuestro corazón y fortalecer nuestra voluntad de seguir a Cristo. La oración cristiana trata sobre todo de meditar sobre los misterios de Cristo, como en la lectio divina o el rosario . Esta forma de reflexión orante es de gran valor, pero la oración cristiana debe ir más allá: al conocimiento del amor del Señor Jesús, a la unión con él.
La experiencia de Dios dentro del misticismo cristiano se ha contrastado con el concepto de religión experiencial o experiencia mística debido a una larga historia de autores que viven y escriben sobre la experiencia con lo divino de una manera que identifica a Dios como incognoscible e inefable, el lenguaje de tales ideas. podría caracterizarse paradójicamente como "experiencial", así como sin los fenómenos de la experiencia. [42]
La noción de "experiencia religiosa" se remonta a William James , quien utilizó un término llamado "experiencia religiosa" en su libro, Las variedades de la experiencia religiosa . [43] [ cita no encontrada ] Los orígenes del uso de este término pueden remontarse más atrás.
En los siglos XVIII, XIX y XX, varias figuras históricas presentaron puntos de vista muy influyentes de que la religión y sus creencias pueden basarse en la experiencia misma. Si bien Kant sostenía que la experiencia moral justificaba las creencias religiosas , John Wesley, además de enfatizar el esfuerzo moral individual, pensó que las experiencias religiosas en el movimiento metodista (paralelo al movimiento romántico ) eran fundamentales para el compromiso religioso como forma de vida. [44]
Wayne Proudfoot remonta las raíces de la noción de "experiencia religiosa" al teólogo alemán Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), quien argumentó que la religión se basa en un sentimiento de infinito. La noción de "experiencia religiosa" fue utilizada por Schleiermacher y Albert Ritschl para defender la religión contra la creciente crítica científica y secular, y defender el punto de vista de que la experiencia humana (moral y religiosa) justifica las creencias religiosas .
Tal empirismo religioso sería visto más tarde como altamente problemático y fue, durante el período entre guerras mundiales, famoso rechazado por Karl Barth . [45] En el siglo XX, la experiencia religiosa y moral como justificación de las creencias religiosas todavía prevalece. Algunos académicos modernos influyentes que sostienen este punto de vista teológico liberal son Charles Raven y el físico y teólogo de Oxford Charles Coulson . [46]
La noción de "experiencia religiosa" fue adoptada por muchos estudiosos de la religión, de los cuales William James fue el más influyente. [47] [ cita no encontrada ] [nota 1]
Se ha criticado la noción de "experiencia". [52] [ cita no encontrada ] [53] [ cita no encontrada ] [54] [ cita no encontrada ] Robert Sharf señala que "experiencia" es un término occidental típico, que ha encontrado su camino en la religiosidad asiática a través de influencias occidentales. [52] [ cita no encontrada ] [nota 2] La noción de "experiencia" introduce una noción falsa de dualidad entre "experimentador" y "experimentado", mientras que la esencia de kensho es la realización de la "no dualidad" del observador y observado. [56] [ cita no encontrada ] [57] [ cita no encontrada ] "Experiencia pura" no existe; toda experiencia está mediada por la actividad intelectual y cognitiva. [58] [ cita no encontrada ] [59] [ cita no encontrada ] Las enseñanzas y prácticas específicas de una tradición específica pueden incluso determinar qué "experiencia" tiene alguien, lo que significa que esta "experiencia" no es la prueba de la enseñanza, sino un resultado de la enseñanza. [60] [ cita no encontrada ] Una conciencia pura sin conceptos, alcanzada "limpiando las puertas de la percepción", [nota 3] sería un caos abrumador de información sensorial sin coherencia. [62] [ cita no encontrada ]
Religiones abrahámicas
Biblia hebrea
En la Biblia hebrea, la oración es un medio en evolución para interactuar con Dios , con mayor frecuencia a través de una forma espontánea, individual y desorganizada de petición y / o agradecimiento. La oración estandarizada como la que se hace hoy en día es inexistente, aunque a partir de Deuteronomio , la Biblia sienta las bases para la oración organizada, incluidas las pautas litúrgicas básicas, y según los libros posteriores de la Biblia, la oración ha evolucionado a una forma más estandarizada, aunque todavía radicalmente. diferente de la forma practicada por los judíos modernos .
El Tanaj describe la oración individual de dos maneras. El primero de ellos es cuando se describe que la oración ocurre y se logra un resultado, pero no se da más información sobre la oración de una persona. En estos casos, como en Isaac , [63] Moisés , [64] Samuel , [65] y Job , [66] el acto de orar es un método para mejorar una situación. La segunda forma en que se describe la oración es a través de episodios completos de oración, donde la oración de una persona se relata en su totalidad. Muchas personalidades bíblicas famosas tienen tal oración, incluidos todos los personajes principales, desde Ana hasta Ezequías . [67]
Nuevo Testamento
En el Nuevo Testamento, la oración se presenta como un mandamiento positivo ( Colosenses 4: 2 ; 1 Tesalonicenses 5:17 ). El Pueblo de Dios tiene el desafío de incluir la oración cristiana en su vida diaria, incluso en las ajetreadas luchas del matrimonio ( 1 Corintios 7: 5 ), ya que acerca a las personas a Dios .
Jesús animó a sus discípulos a orar en secreto en sus habitaciones privadas, utilizando el Padre Nuestro , como una humilde respuesta a la oración de los fariseos , cuyas prácticas en la oración eran consideradas impías por los escritores del Nuevo Testamento ( Mateo 6: 6 ).
A lo largo del Nuevo Testamento , se muestra que la oración es el método designado por Dios mediante el cual obtenemos lo que Él tiene que otorgar ( Mateo 7: 7–11 ; Mateo 9: 24–29 ; Lucas 11:13 . Además, el Libro de Santiago dice que la falta de bendiciones en la vida es el resultado de no orar ( Santiago 4: 2 ). Jesús sanó a través de la oración y esperaba que sus seguidores también lo hicieran ( Marcos 16: 17-18 ; Mateo 10: 8 ). El apóstol Pablo le escribió a las iglesias de Tesalónica para "orar continuamente" ( 1 Tesalonicenses 5:17 ).
La oración tiene que ver con Dios, es una relación con Dios: la oración es una petición. La oración también es una forma de agradecer a un buen Dios que ya conoce todas nuestras necesidades y está trabajando para satisfacerlas.
_Pide sabiduría / verdad / conocimiento para saber lo que Dios sabe y para comprender las cosas que no sabes, para ver la situación a través de sus ojos, para aprender algo nuevo relacionado con una nueva situación. También es una solicitud para saber qué medidas debo tomar en esta nueva situación. También está pidiendo entender su plan y lo que me llevará a ser parte de su plan.
_En cuanto a agradecer a Dios, agradecer a Dios significa ver su obra en mi vida y en la vida de otras personas, darme cuenta de que Dios tiene el control lo que me da paz, y poder escuchar más fácilmente su recomendación.
_Saber que Dios es bueno, esto significa que nada malo viene de Dios, él no comete errores, este conocimiento cambiará mi energía de pelear con Dios, o culparlo, a comprenderlo.
_ Saber que Dios está trabajando en nuestras necesidades, me da paz y cambia mi energía de repetir la misma petición una y otra vez. Me permite escuchar su voz y entender lo que Dios quiere revelarme y qué acción quiere que tome con respecto a ese tema. La oración requiere pasar tiempo con otros y solo con Dios para aprender acerca de su verdad. Dios nos habla a través de otros, sus palabras / Biblia, y en silencio (tienes un problema, necesitas una solución, o no hay problema, simplemente escucha) La oración debe ser una cosa de 24 horas, donde todo está involucrado en nuestras vidas o en la vida de otras personas. Si digo algo o actúo sobre algo que no consulté con Dios en el pasado, el peligro es que estoy diciendo algo o haciendo algo que no se alinea con el camino de Dios.
Ser bueno, no hará a Dios mejor conmigo, me hará mejor con Dios para que pueda escuchar mejor
judaísmo
Judios observantes rezan tres veces al día, Shajarit , Minjá y Maariv con oraciones más largas en días especiales, como el Shabat y las festividades judías , incluyendo Musaf y la lectura de la Torá . El sidur es el libro de oraciones utilizado por los judíos de todo el mundo, que contiene un orden fijo de oraciones diarias. La oración judía generalmente se describe como teniendo dos aspectos: kavanah (intención) y keva (los elementos estructurados y ritualistas).
Las oraciones judías más importantes son el Shema Yisrael ("Escucha, Israel") y la Amidah ("la oración permanente").
Se prefiere la oración en comunidad a la oración en solitario, y el judaísmo ortodoxo considera que un quórum de diez hombres adultos (un minian ) es un requisito previo para varias oraciones en común.
También hay muchas otras oraciones rituales que un judío realiza durante el día, como lavarse antes de comer pan, lavarse después de que uno se despierta por la mañana y hacer las gracias después de las comidas.
Enfoque racionalista
Desde este punto de vista, el objetivo final de la oración es ayudar a capacitar a una persona para que se concentre en la divinidad a través de la filosofía y la contemplación intelectual. Este enfoque fue adoptado por Maimónides y los demás racionalistas medievales. Un ejemplo de este enfoque de la oración lo señala el rabino Steven Weil, quien fue nombrado vicepresidente ejecutivo de la Unión Ortodoxa en 2009. Señala que la palabra "oración" es un derivado del latín "precari", que significa "mendigar ". El equivalente hebreo "tefilá", sin embargo, junto con su raíz "pelel" o su reflexivo "l'hitpallel", significa el acto de autoanálisis o autoevaluación. [68] Este enfoque a veces se describe como la persona que ora teniendo un diálogo o conversación con Dios. [69]
Enfoque educativo
In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. This has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, Yehuda Halevy, Joseph Albo, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. This view is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII); note that Scherman goes on to also affirm the Kabbalistic view (see below).
Kabbalistic approach
Kabbalah uses a series of kavanot, directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalists ascribe a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation.[70]
Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the Chassidei Ashkenaz (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the Arizal's Kabbalist tradition, Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon, and Jacob Emden.
Christianity
—known as "The Lord's Prayer"[71]
Christian prayers are quite varied. They can be completely spontaneous, or read entirely from a text, like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. The most common prayer among Christians is the Lord's Prayer, which according to the gospel accounts (e.g. Matthew 6:9–13) is how Jesus taught his disciples to pray.[72] The Lord's Prayer is a model for prayers of adoration, confession and petition in Christianity.[72]
In the second century Apostolic Tradition, Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray at seven fixed prayer times: "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion."[73][74] Breviaries such as the Shehimo and Agpeya are used by Oriental Orthodox Christians to pray these seven canonical hours while facing in the eastward direction of prayer.[75][76]
In medieval England, prayers (particularly the paternoster) were frequently used as a measure of time in medical and culinary recipe books.[77]
Christians generally pray to God. Some Christians, such as Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox, and Methodists pray for the dead;[78][79] Roman Catholics, will also ask the righteous in heaven and "in Christ," such as Virgin Mary or other saints to intercede by praying on their behalf (intercession of saints). Formulaic closures in many Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Catholicism include "through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all the ages of ages," and "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."[80]
It is customary among Christians to end prayers with "In Jesus' name, Amen" or more commonly, with the sign of the cross while saying the Trinitarian formula.[80][81] The most commonly used closure of prayer in Christianity is "Amen" (from a Hebrew adverb used as a statement of affirmation or agreement, usually translated as so be it).
In the Western or Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, probably the most common is the Rosary; In the Eastern Church (the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church and Orthodox Church), the Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer is also often repeated as part of the meditative hesychasm practice in Eastern Christianity.[82]
Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as acts of reparation which do not involve a petition for a living or deceased beneficiary, but aim to repair the sins of others, e.g. for the repair of the sin of blasphemy performed by others.[83]
Other forms of prayer among Catholics would be meditative prayer, contemplative prayer and infused prayer discussed at length by Catholic Saints St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Jesus.
Pentecostalism
In Pentecostal congregations, prayer is often accompanied by speaking in an unknown tongue, a practice now known as glossolalia.[84] Practitioners of Pentecostal glossolalia may claim that the languages they speak in prayer are real foreign languages, and that the ability to speak those languages spontaneously is a gift of the Holy Spirit.[85][86][87] Some people outside of the movement, however, have offered dissenting views. George Barton Cutten suggested that glossolalia was a sign of mental illness.[88] Felicitas Goodman suggested that tongue speakers were under a form of hypnosis.[89] Others suggest that it is a learned behaviour.[90][91] Some of these views have allegedly been refuted.[92][93]
Christian Science
Christian Science teaches that prayer is a spiritualization of thought or an understanding of God and of the nature of the underlying spiritual creation. Adherents believe that this can result in healing, by bringing spiritual reality into clearer focus in the human scene. The world as it appears to the senses is regarded as a distorted version of the world of spiritual ideas. Prayer can heal the distortion. Christian Scientists believe that prayer does not change the spiritual creation but gives a clearer view of it, and the result appears in the human scene as healing: the human picture adjusts to coincide more nearly with the divine reality.[94] Christian Scientists do not practice intercessory prayer as it is commonly understood, and they generally avoid combining prayer with medical treatment in the belief that the two practices tend to work against each other. Prayer works through love: the recognition of God's creation as spiritual, intact, and inherently lovable.[95]
Islam
The Arabic word for prayer is salah. In Islam, five daily obligatory prayers are considered as one of the pillars of the religion. The command of ritual prayer repeatedly occurs in the Quran. The person performs the prayer while they are facing the Kaaba in Mecca. There is the "call for prayer" (the adhan), where the muezzin calls for all the followers to stand together for the prayer. The prayer consists of actions such as glorifying and praising God (such as mentioning ‘Allāhu Akbar’ (God is Great)) while standing, recitation of chapters of the Quran (such as the opening chapter of the book (Al-Fatiha)), bowing down then praising God, prostrating (sujud) then again praising God. It ends with the words: "Peace be with you and God’s mercy." During the prayer, a Muslim cannot talk or do anything else besides pray. Once the prayer is complete, one can offer personal prayers or supplications to God for their needs, known as dua. There are many standard invocations in Arabic to be recited at various times (e.g. after the prayer) and for various occasions (e.g. for one's parents) with manners and etiquette such as before eating. Muslims may also say dua in their own words and languages for any issue they wish to communicate with God in the hope that God will answer their prayers.[16] Certain Shi'a sects pray the five daily prayers divided into three separate parts of the day, providing several Hadith as supporting evidence;[96] although according to Shia Islam, it is also permissible to pray at five times.[97]
Baháʼí Faith
Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote many prayers for general use, and some for specific occasions, including for unity, detachment, spiritual upliftment, and healing among others. Followers of the Baháʼí Faith are also required to recite each day one of three obligatory prayers composed by Bahá'u'lláh. The believers have been enjoined to face in the direction of the Qiblih when reciting their Obligatory Prayer. The longest obligatory prayer may be recited at any time during the day; another, of medium length, is recited once in the morning, once at midday, and once in the evening; and the shortest can be recited anytime between noon and sunset. Baháʼís also read from and meditate on the scriptures every morning and evening.[98]
Religiones orientales
In both Buddhism and Hinduism, the repetition of mantras is closely related to the practice of repetitive prayer in Western religion (rosary, Jesus prayer). Many of the most widespread Hindu and Buddhist mantras are in origin invocations of deities, e.g. Gayatri Mantra dedicated to Savitr, Pavamana Mantra to Soma Pavamana, and many of the Buddhist Dhāraṇī originate as recitations of lists of names or attributes of deities. Most of the shorter Buddhist mantras originate as the invocation of the name of a specific deity or bodhisattva, such as Om mani padme hum being in origin the invocation of a bodhisattva called Maṇipadma. However, from an early time these mantras were interpreted in the context of mystical sound symbolism. The most extreme example of this is the om syllable, which as early as in the Aitareya Brahmana was claimed as equivalent to the entire Vedas (collection of ritual hymns).[99]
Buddhism
In the earliest Buddhist tradition, the Theravada, and in the later Mahayana tradition of Zen (or Chán), prayer plays only an ancillary role. It is largely a ritual expression of wishes for success in the practice and in helping all beings.[100][need quotation to verify]
The skillful means (Sanskrit: upāya) of the transfer of merit (Sanskrit: pariṇāmanā) is an evocation and prayer. Moreover, indeterminate buddhas are available for intercession as they reside in awoken-fields (Sanskrit: buddha-kshetra).
The nirmānakāya of an awoken-field is what is generally known and understood as a mandala. The opening and closing of the ring (Sanskrit: maṇḍala) is an active prayer. An active prayer is a mindful activity, an activity in which mindfulness is not just cultivated but is.[101] A common prayer is "May the merit of my practice, adorn Buddhas' Pure Lands, requite the fourfold kindness from above, and relieve the suffering of the three life-journeys below. Universally wishing sentient beings, Friends, foes, and karmic creditors, all to activate the Bodhi mind, and all to be reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss." (願以此功德 莊嚴佛淨土 上報四重恩 下濟三途苦 普願諸眾生 冤親諸債主 悉發菩提心 同生極樂國)[102]
The Generation Stage (Sanskrit: utpatti-krama) of Vajrayana involves prayer elements.[103]
The Tibetan Buddhism tradition emphasizes an instructive and devotional relationship to a guru; this may involve devotional practices known as guru yoga which are congruent with prayer. It also appears that Tibetan Buddhism posits the existence of various deities, but the peak view of the tradition is that the deities or yidam are no more existent or real than the continuity (Sanskrit: santana; refer mindstream) of the practitioner, environment and activity. But how practitioners engage yidam or tutelary deities will depend upon the level or more appropriately yana at which they are practicing. At one level, one may pray to a deity for protection or assistance, taking a more subordinate role. At another level, one may invoke the deity, on a more equal footing. And at a higher level one may deliberately cultivate the idea that one has become the deity, whilst remaining aware that its ultimate nature is śūnyatā. The views of the more esoteric yana are impenetrable for those without direct experience and empowerment.
Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes the recitation by devotees of prayer-like mantras, a practice often called Nembutsu.[104]:190 On one level it is said that reciting these mantras can ensure rebirth into a Sambhogakāya land (Sanskrit: buddha-kshetra) after bodily dissolution, a sheer ball spontaneously co-emergent to a buddha's enlightened intention. According to Shinran, the founder of the Pure Land Buddhism tradition that is most prevalent in the US,[104]:193[105] "for the long haul nothing is as efficacious as the Nembutsu."[104]:197[106] On another, the practice is a form of meditation aimed at achieving realization.[107]
But beyond all these practices the Buddha emphasized the primacy of individual practice and experience. He said that supplication to gods or deities was not necessary. Nevertheless, today many lay people in East Asian countries pray to the Buddha in ways that resemble Western prayer—asking for intervention and offering devotion.
Hinduism
Hinduism has incorporated many kinds of prayer (Sanskrit: prārthanā), from fire-based rituals to philosophical musings. While chanting involves 'by dictum' recitation of timeless verses or verses with timings and notations, dhyanam involves deep meditation (however short or long) on the preferred deity/God. Again the object to which prayers are offered could be a persons referred as devtas, trinity or incarnation of either devtas or trinity or simply plain formless meditation as practiced by the ancient sages. These prayers can be directed to fulfilling personal needs or deep spiritual enlightenment, and also for the benefit of others. Ritual invocation was part and parcel of the Vedic religion and as such permeated their sacred texts. Indeed, the highest sacred texts of the Hindus, the Vedas, are a large collection of mantras and prayer rituals. Classical Hinduism came to focus on extolling a single supreme force, Brahman, that is made manifest in several lower forms as the familiar gods of the Hindu pantheon[dubious ]. Hindus in India have numerous devotional movements. Hindus may pray to the highest absolute God Brahman, or more commonly to its three manifestations, a creator god called Brahma, a preserver god called Vishnu and a destroyer god (so that the creation cycle can start afresh) Shiva, and at the next level to Vishnu's avatars (earthly appearances) Rama and Krishna or to many other male or female deities. Typically, Hindus pray with their hands (the palms) joined together in pranam.[108] The hand gesture is similar to the popular Indian greeting namaste.
Sikhism
The Ardās (Punjabi: ਅਰਦਾਸ) is a Sikh prayer that is done before performing or after undertaking any significant task; after reciting the daily Banis (prayers); or completion of a service like the Paath (scripture reading/recitation), kirtan (hymn-singing) program or any other religious program. In Sikhism, these prayers are also said before and after eating. The prayer is a plea to God to support and help the devotee with whatever he or she is about to undertake or has done.
The Ardas is usually always done standing up with folded hands. The beginning of the Ardas is strictly set by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. When it comes to conclusion of this prayer, the devotee uses words like "Waheguru please bless me in the task that I am about to undertake" when starting a new task or "Akal Purakh, having completed the hymn-singing, we ask for your continued blessings so that we can continue with your memory and remember you at all times", etc. The word "Ardās" is derived from Persian word 'Arazdashat', meaning a request, supplication, prayer, petition or an address to a superior authority.
Ardās is a unique prayer based on the fact that it is one of the few well-known prayers in the Sikh religion that was not written in its entirety by the Gurus. The Ardās cannot be found within the pages of the Guru Granth Sahib because it is a continually changing devotional text that has evolved over time in order for it to encompass the feats, accomplishments, and feelings of all generations of Sikhs within its lines. Taking the various derivation of the word Ardās into account, the basic purpose of this prayer is an appeal to Waheguru for his protection and care, as well as being a plea for the welfare and prosperity of all mankind, and a means for the Sikhs to thank Waheguru for all that he has done.[109][110]
Religiones iraníes
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrians are not fire-worshippers, as some Westerners wrongly believe. Zoroastrians believe that the elements are pure and that fire represents God's light or wisdom.[111] Zoroastrian worship practices have evolved from ancient times to the present day.Over time, Zoroastrians developed the concept of worshipping in temples, sometimes called fire temples.[112]
Nuevos movimientos religiosos
Wiccan prayers can include meditation, rituals and incantations. Wiccans see prayers as a form of communication with the God and Goddess. Such communication may include prayers for esbat and sabbat celebrations, for dinner, for pre-dawn times or for one's own or others' safety, for healing or for the dead.[113]
In Raëlism rites and practises vary from initiation ceremonies to sensual meditation. An initiation ceremony usually involves a Raelian putting water on the forehead of a new member. Such ceremonies take place on certain special days on the Raelian calendar.[114] Sensual meditation techniques include breathing exercises and various forms of erotic meditation.[115]
In Eckankar, one of the basic forms of prayer includes singing the word "HU" (pronounced as "hue"), a holy name of God. ECKists may do this with eyes closed or open, aloud or silently. Practitioners may experience the divine ECK or Holy Spirit.[116]
Practitioners of theurgy and Western esotericism may practice a form of ritual which utilizes both pre-sanctioned prayers and names of God, and prayers "from the heart" that, when combined, allow the participant to ascend spiritually, and in some instances, induce a trance in which God or other spiritual beings may be realized. Very much as in Hermetic Qabalah and orthodox Kabbalah, it is believed that prayer can influence both the physical and non-physical worlds. The use of ritualistic signs and names are believed to be archetypes in which the subconscious may take form as the Inner God, or another spiritual being, and the "prayer from the heart" to be that spiritual force speaking through the participant.
In Thelema (which includes both theist as well as atheist practitioners) adherents share a number of practices that are forms of individual prayer, including basic yoga; (asana and pranayama); various forms of ritual magick; rituals of one's own devising (often based upon a syncretism of religions, or Western Esotericism, such as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and Star Ruby); and performance of Liber Resh vel Helios (aka Liber 200), which consists of four daily adorations to the sun (often consisting of four hand/body positions and recitation of a memorized song, normally spoken, addressing different godforms identified with the sun).[117]
While no dogma within Thelema expresses the purpose behind any individual aspirant who chooses to perform "Resh", note that the practice of "Resh" is not a simple petition toward the sun, nor a form of "worshiping" the celestial body that we call the Sun, but instead uses the positioning of that source of light, which enables life on our planet, as well as using mythological images of that solar force, so that the individual can perform the prayer, possibly furthering a self-identification with the sun, so "that repeated application of the Liber Resh adorations expands the consciousness of the individual by compelling him to take a different perspective, by inducing him to 'look at things from the point of view of the Sun' [...]".[118]
Sanación de oración
Prayer is often used as a means of faith healing in an attempt to use religious or spiritual means to prevent illness, cure disease, or improve health.
Scientific studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on the healing of sick or injured people. Meta-studies have been performed showing evidence only for no effect or a potentially small effect. For instance, a 2006 meta analysis on 14 studies concluded that there is "no discernable effect" while a 2007 systemic review of studies on intercessory prayer reported inconclusive results, noting that seven of 17 studies had "small, but significant, effect sizes" but the review noted that the most methodologically rigorous studies failed to produce significant findings.[119][120] Some studies have indicated increased medical complications in groups receiving prayer over those without.[121][122]
The efficacy of petition in prayer for physical healing to a deity has been evaluated in numerous other studies, with contradictory results.[123][124][125][126] There has been some criticism of the way the studies were conducted.[122][127]
Some attempt to heal by prayer, mental practices, spiritual insights, or other techniques, claiming they can summon divine or supernatural intervention on behalf of the ill. Others advocate that ill people may achieve healing through prayer performed by themselves.[128] According to the varied beliefs of those who practice it, faith healing may be said to afford gradual relief from pain or sickness or to bring about a sudden "miracle cure", and it may be used in place of, or in tandem with, conventional medical techniques for alleviating or curing diseases. Faith healing has been criticized on the grounds that those who use it may delay seeking potentially curative conventional medical care. This is particularly problematic when parents use faith healing techniques on children.
Efficacy of prayer healing
In 1872, Francis Galton conducted a famous statistical experiment to determine whether prayer had a physical effect on the external environment. Galton hypothesized that if prayer was effective, members of the British Royal family would live longer, given that thousands prayed for their wellbeing every Sunday. He therefore compared longevity in the British Royal family with that of the general population, and found no difference.[123] While the experiment was probably intended to satirize, and suffered from a number of confounders, it set the precedent for a number of different studies, the results of which are contradictory.
Two studies claimed that patients who are being prayed for recover more quickly or more frequently although critics have claimed that the methodology of such studies are flawed, and the perceived effect disappears when controls are tightened.[129] One such study, with a double-blind design and about 500 subjects per group, was published in 1988; it suggested that intercessory prayer by born again Christians had a statistically significant positive effect on a coronary care unit population.[124] Critics contend that there were severe methodological problems with this study.[127] Another such study was reported by Harris et al.[125] Critics also claim that the 1988 study was not fully double-blinded, and that in the Harris study, patients actually had a longer hospital stay in the prayer group, if one discounts the patients in both groups who left before prayers began,[130] although the Harris study did demonstrate the prayed for patients on average received lower course scores (indicating better recovery).
One of the largest randomized, blind clinical trials was a remote retroactive intercessory prayer study conducted in Israel by Leibovici. This study used 3393 patient records from 1990–96, and blindly assigned some of these to an intercessory prayer group. The prayer group had shorter hospital stays and duration of fever.[131]
Several studies of prayer effectiveness have yielded null results.[126] A 2001 double-blind study of the Mayo Clinic found no significant difference in the recovery rates between people who were (unbeknownst to them) assigned to a group that prayed for them and those who were not.[132] Similarly, the MANTRA study conducted by Duke University found no differences in outcome of cardiac procedures as a result of prayer.[133] In another similar study published in the American Heart Journal in 2006,[122] Christian intercessory prayer when reading a scripted prayer was found to have no effect on the recovery of heart surgery patients; however, the study found patients who had knowledge of receiving prayer had slightly higher instances of complications than those who did not know if they were being prayed for or those who did not receive prayer.[121][122] Another 2006 study suggested that prayer actually had a significant negative effect on the recovery of cardiac bypass patients, resulting in more frequent deaths and slower recovery time for those patient who received prayers.[122]
Many believe that prayer can aid in recovery, not due to divine influence but due to psychological and physical benefits. It has also been suggested that if a person knows that he or she is being prayed for it can be uplifting and increase morale, thus aiding recovery. (See Subject-expectancy effect.) Many studies have suggested that prayer can reduce physical stress, regardless of the god or gods a person prays to, and this may be true for many worldly reasons. According to a study by Centra State Hospital, "the psychological benefits of prayer may help reduce stress and anxiety, promote a more positive outlook, and strengthen the will to live."[134] Other practices such as yoga, t'ai chi, and meditation may also have a positive impact on physical and psychological health.
Others feel that the concept of conducting prayer experiments reflects a misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer. The previously mentioned study published in the American Heart Journal indicated that some of the intercessors who took part in it complained about the scripted nature of the prayers that were imposed to them,[122] saying that this is not the way they usually conduct prayer:
Prior to the start of this study, intercessors reported that they usually receive information about the patient’s age, gender and progress reports on their medical condition; converse with family members or the patient (not by fax from a third party); use individualized prayers of their own choosing; and pray for a variable time period based on patient or family request.
One scientific movement attempts to track the physical effects of prayer through neuroscience. Leaders in this movement include Andrew Newberg, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In Newberg's brain scans, monks, priests, nuns, sisters and gurus alike have exceptionally focused attention and compassion sites. This is a result of the frontal lobe of the brain’s engagement (Newberg, 2009). Newburg believes that anybody can connect to the supernatural with practice. Those without religious affiliations benefit from the connection to the metaphysical as well. Newberg also states that further evidence towards humans' need for metaphysical relationships is that as science had increased spirituality has not decreased. Newburg believes that at the end of the 18th century, when the scientific method began to consume[page needed] the human mind, religion could have vanished. However, two hundred years later, the perception of spirituality, in many instances, appears to be gaining in strength (2009). Newberg's research also provides the connection between prayer and meditation and health. By understanding how the brain works during religious experiences and practices Newberg's research shows that the brain changes during these practices allowing an understanding of how religion affects psychological and physical health (2009). For example, brain activity during meditation indicates that people who frequently practice prayer or meditation experience lower blood-pressure, lower heart rates, decreased anxiety, and decreased depression.[135]
Efficacy of prayer for fertility
One study found that prayer combined with IVF treatment nearly doubled the number of women who were successfully pregnant, and more than doubled the number of successful implantations.[136] But three years later it was revealed that the results of the study were fake.[137]
Prevalence of prayer for health
Some modalities of alternative medicine employ prayer. A survey released in May 2004[138] by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, found that in 2002, 43% of Americans pray for their own health, 24% pray for others' health, and 10% participate in a prayer group for their own health.
Ver también
- Affirmative prayer
- Affirmations (New Age)
- Christian devotional literature
- Continual prayer
- Daily Prayer for Peace
- Hoʻoponopono
- Interior life (Catholic theology)
- Jewish prayers and blessings
- Jewish prayer
- List of prayers
- Magical thinking
- Mani stone
- Moment of silence
- Mystic prayer
- National Day of Prayer (US)
- Orans
- Prayer beads
- Prayer in LDS theology and practice
- Prayer in the Catholic Church
- Prayer in school
- Prayer wheel
- Prie-dieu
- Rosary
- Shuckling
- Tibetan prayer flag
Notas
- ^ James also gives descriptions of conversion experiences. The Christian model of dramatic conversions, based on the role-model of Paul's conversion, may also have served as a model for Western interpretations and expectations regarding "enlightenment", similar to Protestant influences on Theravada Buddhism, as described by Carrithers: "It rests upon the notion of the primacy of religious experiences, preferably spectacular ones, as the origin and legitimation of religious action. But this presupposition has a natural home, not in Buddhism, but in Christian and especially Protestant Christian movements which prescribe a radical conversion."[48][citation not found] See Sekida for an example of this influence of William James and Christian conversion stories, mentioning Luther[49][citation not found] and St. Paul.[50] See also McMahan for the influence of Christian thought on Buddhism.[51][citation not found]
- ^ Robert Sharf: "[T]he role of experience in the history of Buddhism has been greatly exaggerated in contemporary scholarship. Both historical and ethnographic evidence suggests that the privileging of experience may well be traced to certain twentieth-century reform movements, notably those that urge a return to zazen or vipassana meditation, and these reforms were profoundly influenced by religious developments in the west [...] While some adepts may indeed experience "altered states" in the course of their training, critical analysis shows that such states do not constitute the reference point for the elaborate Buddhist discourse pertaining to the "path".[55][citation not found]
- ^ William Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thru' narrow chinks of his cavern."[61]
Referencias
- ^ F.B. Jevons, An Introduction to the Study of Comparative Religion (1908), p. 73
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "pray (v.)". etymonline.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 30 December 2014. Via Old French prier, nominalised use of the Latin adjective precaria "something obtained by entreating, something given as a favour", from precari "to ask for, entreat".
- ^ Biblical synonyms or alternatives for προσευχή: εὐχή, δέησις, ἔντευξις, εὐχαριστία, αἴτημα, ἱκετηρία. Richard C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, s.v. εὐχή.
- ^ Strong's Concordance H8605.
- ^ Littlebird, Sarracina (2008), Sacred Movement: Dance as Prayer in the Pueblo Cultures of the American Southwest (PDF), Barnard College Department of Dance, retrieved 11 October 2011
- ^ "The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi – Sufism and Dervishes", WhirlingDervishes.org, archived from the original on 2014-11-04
- ^ Omkarananda, Swami (n.d.), How to Pray, Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas, archived from the original on 2014-11-04
- ^ Anonymous (2013-07-03). "Judaism: Jewish Rituals and Practices – Jewish Worship and Prayer". ReligionFacts.com. ReligionFacts. Archived from the original on 2014-11-04.. This practice is known, in Yiddish, as shuckling.
- ^ Avery, Chel. "Quaker Worship". Quaker Information Center. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ^ Erickson, Millard J. (1998). Christian theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House. ISBN 978-0-8010-2182-4.
- ^ The New Encyclopedia of Islam. p. 20, Cyril Glassé (2003)
- ^ a b Wynne, John (1911). "Prayer". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ See, for example, James 5:14
- ^ Scheckel, Roger J. (January 2004). "The Angelus". The Marian Catechists. Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ "Buddhist Art". Pacific Asia Museum. 2003. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ a b Emerick, Yahiya (2002). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books. pp. 127–28. ISBN 978-0-02-864233-8.
- ^ Image from "The arts and crafts of our Teutonic forefathers" by G.B. Brown (1910), where it is glossed as "Bronze figure of a German, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris". "the existence of other bronze barbarians in similar attitudes of prayer and subjection suggests that the composition was a popular one" (Melissa Barden Dowling, Clemency and cruelty in the Roman world, 2006, p. 151)
- ^ Russell, Claire; Russell, W.M.S. (1989). "Cultural Evolution of Behaviour". Netherlands Journal of Zoology. 40 (4): 745–62. doi:10.1163/156854290X00190.
- ^ "Animism Profile in Cambodia". OMF. Archived from the original on 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ Zaleski, Carol; Zaleski, Philip (2006). Prayer: A History. Boston: Mariner Books. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-0-618-77360-2.
- ^ Rayor, Diane. "The Homeric Hymns". University of California Press. Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ "Religio Romana". Nova Roma. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ Frederic de Forest Allen, Remnants of Early Latin (Boston: Ginn & Heath 1880 and Ginn & Co 1907).
- ^ e.g.: Cato's Mars Prayer, found in De Agri Cultura (141), English translation at: Jonathan Slocum; Carol Justus, eds. (13 May 2014), "Cato's Mars Prayer", Indo-European Texts: Old Latin, Linguistics Research Center at UT Austin, archived from the original on 3 September 2006
- ^ "The Poetic Edda: Sigrdrifumol".
- ^ "although since the poem is often considered one of the youngest poems in the Poetic Edda, the passage has been the matter of some debate." Grundy, Stephan (1998). "Freyja and Frigg" as collected in Billington, Sandra. The Concept of the Goddess, p. 60. RoutledgeISBN 0-415-19789-9
- ^ Hollander, Lee (trans.) (1955). The saga of the Jómsvíkings, p. 100. University of Texas PressISBN 0-292-77623-3
- ^ Gordon, R. K. (1962). Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Everyman's Library #794. M. Dent & Sons[page needed]
- ^ Lambdin, Laura C and Robert T. (2000). Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature, p. 227. Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN 0-313-30054-2
- ^ Wells, C.J." (1985). German, a Linguistic History to 1945: A Linguistic History to 1945, p. 51. Oxford University PressISBN 0-19-815795-9
- ^ Elkin, Adolphus P. (1973). Aboriginal Men of High Degree: Initiation and Sorcery in the World's Oldest Tradition. Inner Traditions – Bear & Company. ISBN 978-0-89281-421-3.
- ^ "Prayer stick". Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition.
- ^ Kurian, George Thomas; III, James D. Smith (2010-04-16). The Encyclopedia of Christian Literature. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7283-7.
- ^ Greenberg, Moshe. Biblical Prose Prayer: As a Window to the Popular Religion of Ancient Israel. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1983 [1]
- ^ Dennett, Daniel C. (2007). "Thank Goodness!". In Hitchens, Christopher (ed.). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6. OCLC 156811900.
Surely it does the world no harm if those who can honestly do so pray for me! No, I'm not at all sure about that. For one thing, if they really wanted to do something useful, they could devote their prayer time and energy to some pressing project that they can do something about.
- ^ Margolick, David (6 August 1990). "In Child Deaths, a Test for Christian Science". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-11-04.
- ^ Hitchens, Christopher (2012). Mortality. New York: Twelve. ISBN 978-1-4555-0275-2. OCLC 776526158.[page needed]
- ^ Bounds, Edward McKendree (1907). The Necessity of Prayer. AGES Software. ISBN 978-0-8010-0659-3.
- ^ Guide to the Perplexed 3:51[not specific enough to verify]
- ^ Sefer ha-Ikkarim 4:18
- ^ The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Paragraph 2708: Vatican. Retrieved 6 January 2021.CS1 maint: location (link)
- ^ The Darkness of God: Negativity in Christian Mysticism by Denys Turner 1998 Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-64561-1
- ^ Hori 1999, p. 47.
- ^ Issues in Science and Religion, Ian Barbour, Prentice-Hall, 1966, pp. 68, 79
- ^ Issues in Science and Religion, Ian Barbour, Prentice-Hall, 1966, pp. 114, 116–19
- ^ Issues in Science and Religion, Ian Barbour, Prentice-Hall, 1966, pp. 126–27
- ^ Sharf 2000, p. 271.
- ^ Carrithers 1983, p. 18.
- ^ Sekida 1985, pp. 196–97.
- ^ Sekida 1985, p. 251.
- ^ McMahan 2008.
- ^ a b Sharf & 1995-B.
- ^ Mohr 2000, pp. 282–86.
- ^ Low 2006, p. 12.
- ^ Sharf & 1995-C, p. 1.
- ^ Hori 1994, p. 30.
- ^ Samy 1998, p. 82.
- ^ Mohr 2000, p. 282.
- ^ Samy 1998, pp. 80–82.
- ^ Samy 1998, p. 80.
- ^ "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thru' narrow chinks of his cavern. by William Blake".
- ^ Mohr 2000, p. 284.
- ^ "Gen. 25: 21". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ^ "Num. 11:2". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ^ "1 Samuel 8:6". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ^ "Job. 42:10". Biblegateway.com. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia, "Prayer," http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=496&letter=P
- ^ Weil, Steven (September 14, 2010), "Why Tefilah Doesn't Mean Prayer: Redefining our Relationship with G-d", ou.org (video presentation), Orthodox Union
- ^ Silberberg, Naftali (n.d.), "Jewish Practice " Mitzvahs & Traditions " Prayer " Insights – Talking With G‑d", Chabad.org
- ^ The Kabbalah of Prayer on Chabad.org
- ^ Matthew 6:9–13
- ^ a b Examining Religions: Christianity Foundation Edition by Anne Geldart 1999 ISBN 0-435-30324-4 p. 108
- ^ Henry Chadwick (1993). The Early Church. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-16042-8.
Hippolytus in the Apostolic Tradition directed that Christians should pray seven times a day - on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight, and also, if at home, at the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. Prayers at the third, sixth, and ninth hours are similarly mentioned by Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and must have been very widely practised. These prayers were commonly associated with private Bible reading in the family.
- ^ Lössl, Josef (17 February 2010). The Early Church: History and Memory. A&C Black. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-567-16561-9.
Not only the content of early Christian prayer was rooted in Jewish tradition; its daily structure too initially followed a Jewish pattern, with prayer times in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. Later (in the course of the second century), this pattern combined with another one; namely prayer times in the evening, at midnight and in the morning. As a result seven 'hours of prayer' emerged, which later became the monastic 'hours' and are still treated as 'standard' prayer times in many churches today. They are roughly equivalent to midnight, 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Prayer positions included prostration, kneeling and standing. ... Crosses made of wood or stone, or painted on walls or laid out as mosaics, were also in use, at first not directly as objections of veneration but in order to 'orientate' the direction of prayer (i.e. towards the east, Latin oriens).
- ^ Kurian, Jake. ""Seven Times a Day I Praise You" – The Shehimo Prayers". Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Mary Cecil, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney (1906). A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Methuen. p. 399.
Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.
- ^ Taavitsainen, Irma (2001). "Middle English Recipes: Genre Characteristics, Text Type Features and Underlying Traditions of Writing". Journal of Historical Pragmatics. 2: 85–113 [103]. doi:10.1075/jhp.2.1.05taa.
- ^ Gould, James B. (4 August 2016). Understanding Prayer for the Dead: Its Foundation in History and Logic. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 57–58. ISBN 9781620329887.
The Roman Catholic and English Methodist churches both pray for the dead. Their consensus statement confirms that "over the centuries in the Catholic tradition praying for the dead has developed into a variety of practices, especially through the Mass. ...The Methodist church ... has prayers for the dead. ...Methodists who pray for the dead thereby commend them to the continuing mercy of God.
- ^ Gould, James B. (2017). Understanding Prayer for the Dead: Its Foundation in History and Logic. The Lutterworth Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-7188-4599-5.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America remembers the faithful departed in the Prayers of the People every Sunday, including those who have recently died and those commemorated on the church calendar of saints.
- ^ a b King, Mike (29 August 2006). Presence-Centered Youth Ministry: Guiding Students Into Spiritual Formation. InterVarsity Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-8308-3383-2.
Luther instructed his followers to make the sign of the cross at both the beginning and end of the day as a beginning to daily prayers. In the Small Catechism, the section on morning and evening prayers, Luther says: "When you get out of bed, bless yourself with the holy cross and say, 'In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.'" This same instruction is given for bedtime.
- ^ See John 16:23, 26; John 14:13; John 15:16
- ^ Parry, Ken; David Melling (editors) (1999). The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern ChristianityISBN 0-631-23203-6 p. 230
- ^ Slater, Thomas (1911). "Reparation". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed, 1989
- ^ "Library – Religion – Christianity – Pentecostalism". Australian Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 2014-11-04.
- ^ Acts 2:1–13
- ^ Acts 10:45–47
- ^ George Barton Cutten, Speaking with Tongues Historically and Psychologically Considered, Yale University Press, 1927.
- ^ Goodman, Felicitas D., Speaking in Tongues: A Cross-Cultural Study in Glossolalia. University of Chicago Press, 1972.
- ^ Hine, Virginia H.: 'Pentecostal Glossolalia toward a Functional Interpretation.' Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 8, 2: (1969) 211–26: quote on p. 211
- ^ Samarin, William J., Tongues of Men and Angels: The Religious Language of Pentecostalism. Macmillan, New York, 1972, quote on p. 73
- ^ Hine, Virginia H.: 'Pentecostal Glossolalia toward a Functional Interpretation.' Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 8, 2: (1969) 211–26: quote on p. 213
- ^ Spanos, Nicholas P.; Hewitt, Erin C.: Glossolalia: 'A test of the 'trance' and psychopathology hypotheses.' Journal of Abnormal Psychology: 1979 Aug Vol 88(4) 427–34.
- ^ Mary Baker Eddy, "Prayer," in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Boston, Trustees Under the Will of Mary Baker Eddy, 1934 [etc.] pp. 1–17
- ^ "Is there no intercessory prayer?". Archived from the original on 1999-08-30. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ^ Muslim cultures today: a reference guide By Kathryn M. Coughlin, p. 91
- ^ Why do we the Shia pray at three times while the Quran tells us to pray at five times? islamquest.net Retrieved 19 Oct 2018
- ^ Smith, P. (1999). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 274–75. ISBN 978-1-85168-184-6.
- ^ Aitareya Brahmana 5.32, Arthur Berriedale Keith, The Aitareya and Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇas of the Rigveda. Harvard University Press, 1920, p. 256.
- ^ Collins, Steven (1982). Selfless Persons. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-521-39726-1.
- ^ Sangharakshita, Bhikshu (1993). A Survey of Buddhism. Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom: Windhorse Publications. pp. 449–60. ISBN 978-0-904766-65-3.
- ^ "Buddhist Prayers".
- ^ Keown, Damien (ed.) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 100. ISBN 0-19-860560-9
- ^ a b c "The Flowering of Faith: Buddhism's Pure Land Tradition" (pp. 185–98) in Smith, Huston; Philip Novak (2003). Buddhism: A concise introduction. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 978-0-06-050696-4.
- ^ Smith and Novak (2003) state that "Pure Land Buddhism has entered America almost exclusively from Japan, and the church Shinran founded is the largest Pure Land presence on this continent" (p. 193).
- ^ This quotation is Smith and Novak's paraphrase of Shinran's teaching.
- ^ Caldwell, Xenia (2016). "All About Importance of Prayers in Religion". ISBN 978-1-283-49986-6
- ^ Stephen Jacobs (2010), Hinduism Today : An Introduction, Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 44
- ^ "Ardas", sgpc.net, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, archived from the original on 2006-08-06
- ^ "Learn and recite the Holy Ardas", sgpc.net, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
- ^ "BBC - Religions - Zoroastrian: Worship". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
- ^ "Zoroastrian Worship, Eternal Flame, Prayer". www.heritageinstitute.com. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
- ^ The Wiccan Prayer Book: Daily, Mark Ventimiglia (2006).
- ^ Palmer, Susan J., Aliens Adored. Rutgers University Press, 2004
- ^ Raël, Sensual Meditation. Tagman Press, 2002.
- ^ Eckankar: Ancient Wisdom for Today. p. 20, 1995
- ^ DuQuette, Lon Milo. The Magick of Aleister Crowley: A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema, p. 12. Weiser, 2003. ISBN 1-57863-299-4.
- ^ Hessle, Erwin. "The Point of View of the Sun". Erwin Hessle. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^ K. Masters, G. Spielmans, J. Goodson "Are there demonstrable effects of distant intercessory prayer? A meta-analytic review." Annals of Behavioral Medicine 2006 Aug 32(1):21–26. [1]
- ^ Hodge, David R. (March 2007), "A Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature on Intercessory Prayer" (PDF), Research on Social Work Practice, 17 (2): 174–87, doi:10.1177/1049731506296170, S2CID 43547918
- ^ a b Saletan, William (April 2006), "The Deity in the Data: What the latest prayer study tells us about God", Slate
- ^ a b c d e f Benson H, Dusek JA, Sherwood JB, et al. (April 2006). "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: a multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer". American Heart Journal. 151 (4): 934–42. doi:10.1016/j.ahj.2005.05.028. PMID 16569567. Lay summary (PDF) – John Templeton Foundation (April 5, 2006).
- ^ a b Galton, Francis (1872). "Statistical Inquiries into the Efficacy of Prayer". Fortnightly Review (68): 125–35. As found in The Prayer-Gauge Debate. Boston: Congregational Publishing Society. 1876. LCCN 39018081. OCLC 1809220.
- ^ a b Byrd, R.C. (1988). "Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population" (PDF). South Med J. 81 (7): 826–29. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.621.290. doi:10.1097/00007611-198807000-00005. PMID 3393937. S2CID 12892611.
- ^ a b Harris, W.S.; Gowda, M.; Kolb, J.W.; Strychacz, C.P.; Vacek, J.L.; Jones, P.G.; Forker, A.; O'Keefe, J.H.; McCallister, B.D. (1999). "A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit". Arch Intern Med. 159 (19): 2273–78. doi:10.1001/archinte.159.19.2273. PMID 10547166.
- ^ a b O'Laoire, S (1997). "An experimental study of the effects of distant, intercessory prayer on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression". Altern Ther Health Med. 3 (6): 38–53. PMID 9375429.
- ^ a b Posner, Gary P. (Spring 1990), "God in the CCU? A critique of the San Francisco hospital study on intercessory prayer and healing", Free Inquiry. Online reprint by Internet Infidels at Infidels.org.
- ^ "Pell adamant prayer cures cancer". The Age. Melbourne. 2009-12-21.
- ^ Anonymous (July 20, 2005), "Skeptico – Prayer still useless", skeptico.blogs.com (blog), archived from the original on 2014-11-04
- ^ Tessman I and Tessman J "Efficacy of Prayer: A Critical Examination of Claims," Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2000,
- ^ Leibovici, L (2001). "Effects of remote, retroactive intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients with bloodstream infection: randomized controlled trial". BMJ. 323 (7327): 1450–51. doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7327.1450. PMC 61047. PMID 11751349.
- ^ Aviles, JM; Whelan, SE; Hernke, DA; Williams, BA; Kenny, KE; O'Fallon, WM; Kopecky, SL (2001). "Intercessory prayer and cardiovascular disease progression in a coronary care unit population: a randomized controlled trial". Mayo Clin Proc. 76 (12): 1192–98. doi:10.4065/76.12.1192. PMID 11761499.
- ^ Krucoff, MW; Crater, SW; Gallup, D; Blankenship, JC; Cuffe, M; Guarneri, M; Krieger, RA; Kshettry, VR; Morris, K; Oz, M; Pichard, A; Sketch, MH Jr; Koenig, HG; Mark, D; Lee, KL (2005). "Music, imagery, touch, and prayer as adjuncts to interventional cardiac care: the Monitoring and Actualisation of Noetic Trainings (MANTRA) II randomised study". Lancet. 366 (9481): 211–17. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)66910-3. PMID 16023511. S2CID 18281837.
- ^ Mind and Spirit Archived 2009-02-01 at the Wayback Machine. from the Health Library section of CentraState Healthcare System. Accessed May 18, 2006.
- ^ Newberg, Andrew. Interviewed by Barbra Bradley Hagerty. "Prayer May Re-Shape Your Brain". www.npr.org "All Things Considered." 20 May 2009. National Public Radio. Web. 30 June 2010. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyID=104310443
- ^ Cha, KY; Wirth, DP (2001). "Does prayer influence the success of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer? Report of a masked, randomized trial". Journal of Reproductive Medicine. 46 (9): 781–787. PMID 11584476.
- ^ "The Columbia University Study flawed and fraud". Skeptical Inquirer, September/October 2004. September 2004. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2004-10-18. Retrieved 2004-06-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
enlaces externos
- Media related to Prayer at Wikimedia Commons
- Quotations related to Prayer at Wikiquote