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Definition: Pray |
PrayVerb1. Address God; say a prayer. 2. Call upon in supplication; entreat; "I beg you to stop!". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "pray" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
Note: Pray \Pray\, intransitive verb [imperfect & past participle. Prayed; Praying.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Satire | PRAY, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. Source: Devil's Dictionary. |
Slang in 1811 | PRAY. She prays with her knees upwards; said of a woman much given to gallantry and intrigue. At her last prayers; saying of an old maid. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Prayer is an attempt to communicate with a deity or deities; prayer in western civilization is usually directed to God.
The existence of prayer is attested in written sources as early as 5000 years ago, and anthropologists believe that the earliest intelligent humans practised something that we would recognize today as prayer.
There are many types of prayer. Four of the most basic types of prayer are thanksgiving, confession of one's sins, praise of the divine, and petitioning for help or fulfilment of need.
Biblical views of prayer
The Bible contains many examples of prayer and various instructions and teachings about prayer. The book of Psalms is composed of prayers, song verses and poems by various authors, and some of its prayers in particular have been used by Jews and Christians for years, in corporate prayer and individual prayer, and used both verbatim and as inspiration for new prayers and songs.
In the Tanach (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament) various forms of prayer appear; the most common form is petition. This in many ways is the simplest form of prayer. Some have termed this the "social approach" to prayer. In this view, a person directly confronts God in prayer, and asks for their needs to be fulfilled; God really does listen to prayer, and may or may not choose to answer. This is the primary approach to prayer found in the Tanach (or Old Testament), the New Testament, most of the Church writings, and the Talmud.
This "petition approach" to prayer is supported for example by Matthew 21:22, where Jesus is reported as saying "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Also "the way to my father is through me"
Most modern day prayerbooks by monotheistic religions contain many prayers that were originally written as petitions. However, many modern believers may recite the same prayers with a different understanding of prayer (see below) in mind.
Prayer in Eastern Religions
The religion of Buddhism, well known for being non-theistic, utterly discards worship and places devotional emphasis on the practice of meditation alongside scriptural study. Although God and deities are recognized as present, Gautama Buddha claims it is mankind who by their own free will, possess the greatest capacity and potential to liberate themselves and are urged to do so without exterior assistance. Therefore, prayer is not as central to devotion as in its neighbouring asiatic faiths.
In religions such as Hinduism and Jainism, prayer has a greater significance and role for salvation. Hindus in India have numerous devotional movements. Stemming from the highest Creator God called Brahma, prayer is focused on His many manifestations, including the most popular deities Shiva, Vishnu, Rama and Krishna. Although Jains believe that no spirit or divine being can assist them on their path, they do hold some influence, and on special occasions, Jains will pray and meditate for right knowledge to the twenty-four Tirthankaras (saintly teachers).
Prayer in Paganism
In Graeco-Roman paganism, ceremonial prayer was highly formulaic and ritualized. The Iguvine Tables contain a supplication that can be translated, "If anything was said improperly, if anything was done improperly, let it be as if it were done correctly."
The formalism and formulaic nature of these prayers led them to be written down in language that may have only been partially understood by the writer, and our texts of these prayers may in fact be garbled. Prayers in Etruscan were used in the Roman world by augurs and other oracles long after Etruscan became a dead language. The Carmen Arvale and the Carmen Saliare are two specimens of partially preserved prayers that seem to have been unintelligible to their scribes, and whose language is full of archaisms and difficult passages.
Roman prayers and sacrifices were often envisioned as legal bargains between deity and worshipper. The Roman formula was do ut des: "I give, so that you may give in return." Cato the Elder's treatise on agriculture contains many examples of preserved traditional prayers; in one, a farmer addresses the unknown deity of a possibly sacred grove, and sacrifices a pig in order to placate the god or goddess of the place and beseech his or her permission to cut down some trees from the grove.
Philosophical re-interpretations of prayer
Post-Biblical theologians considered the philosophical problems involved in prayer (see below). Over time a number of re-interpretations of prayer evolved. These were developed in great detail by the medieval neo-Platonic and neo-Aristotelian philosophers, and have influenced how many people still pray today. At the moment, the descriptions below list some Jewish sources, but each of these views of prayers also has Christian and Muslim proponents as well; there was much intellectual cross-fertilization between Jews, Christians and Muslims during parts of the middle-ages, and so there appears to be some convergence among the philosophers of that era.
The educational approach
In this view, prayer is not a conversation with God. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence God. Among Jews, 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). Among Christian theologians...(please add examples here) Among Muslim theologians....(please add examples here).
The Kabbalistic view of prayer
People involved with kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) often reject rationalist reinterpreations of prayer outright, but they also reject the social approach, in which prayer is viewed as a dialogue with God. Instead, this approach ascribes 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. For Kabbalists, every prayer, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word of every prayer, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. In Kabbalah and related mystical belief systems, adherents claim intimate knowledge about the way in which God relates to us and the physical universe in which we live. For people with this view, prayers can literally affect the mystical forces of the universe and repair the fabric of creation.
Among Jews, this approach has been taken by the Hassidei Ashkenaz, the Zohar, the Kabbalist school of though created by the Ari, the Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon, and rabbis such as Yaakov Emden and Kalonimus Shapira. In the 1800s some European Christians were influenced by Kabbalah...(please add information here)
The rationalist approach
In this view, ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on God through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists; it became popular in Jewish, Christian and Islamic intellectual circles, but never became the most popular understanding of prayer among the laity in any of these faiths. In all three of these faiths today a significant minority of people still hold to this approach.
The experiential approach
In this approach, the purpose of prayer is to enable the person praying to gain a direct experience of God. This approach is very significant in Christianity and widespread in Judaism (although less popular theologically). In Eastern Orthodoxy, this approach is known as hesychasm. It is also widespread in Sufi Islam, and in some forms of mysticism. It has some similarities with the rationalist approach, since it can also involve contemplation, although the contemplation is not generally viewed as being as rational or intellectual. It also has some similarities with the Kabbalistic view, but it lacks the Kabbalistic emphasis on the importance of individual words and letters.
Prayer practices
The actual act of praying can take on many different outward forms. Most religions or religious subgroups have certain forms that they recommend, usually more than one; occasionally, there may be specific forms that are forbidden. Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction, i.e. towards Mecca or towards the East.
A variety of body postures may be assumed, often with specific meaning associated with them: standing; sitting; kneeling; prostrate on the floor; eyes opened; eyes closed; hands folded or clasped; hands upraised; and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously as they are prayed. They may be said, chanted, or sung. They may be with musical accompaniment or not. There may be a time of outward silence while prayers are offered mentally. Often, there are prayers to fit specific occasions, such as the blessing of a meal, the birth or death of a loved one, other significant events in the life of a believer, or days of the year that have special religious significance.
Jewish prayer
Prayers said by Jews are described in the entry on Jewish services. The prayers of the Jewish services are collected in a prayerbook called the Siddur. The entry on the siddur describes the different types of Jewish prayerbooks and how they have evolved over time.
The most imporant Jewish prayers are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") and the Amidah ("the standing prayer").
Christian prayer
Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity and the many branches of Protestant Christianity each have distinctive liturgies. Some of the more commonly recited Christian prayers include the following:
- Lord's Prayer -- Psalms -- Book of Common Prayer -- Jesus Prayer
- Traditional prayer aids include the rosary and the prayer rope.
- Prayer to saints: in Catholic and Orthodox tradition, prayers of petition may be addressed to saints. It is understood that the saints answer such prayers by means of their own prayers to God on behalf of the petitioner.
Islamic Prayer
Muslims pray a brief prayer service in Arabic, facing Mecca, five times a day. (More to be written.)
Bahá'í Prayer
Baha'is are required to recite each day one of three obligatory prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah. The believers have been enjoined to face in the direction of the Qiblih when reciting their Obligatory Prayers.
One, the longest obligatory prayer, may be recited at any time of day; another, of medium length, is recited once in the morning, once at midday, and once in the evening; and the shortest is recited at noon. This is the text of the short prayer:
Baha'is also read from and meditate on the scriptures every morning and evening. There are also many other revealed prayers in the Baha'i scriptures, most for general use at the choice of the individual and some for specific occasions.
- I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
In the past 200 years a new form of prayer has emerged among Christians, called praying in tongue (see Glossolalia). According to adherents of this practice, the Holy Spirit comes into the body of the prayer and speaks on the Christian's behalf in a celestial language. The person praying will later deny any knowledge of what they said while praying.
Philosophical paradoxes of prayer
There are a number of philosophical paradoxes involving prayer to an omnipotent God, namely:
These questions have been discussed in Jewish, Christian and Muslim writings from the medieval period onward. The 900s to 1200s saw some of the most fertile discussion on these questions, during the period of Neo-Platonic and Neo-Aristotelian philosophy. Discussion of these problems never ceased entirely, but they did fall mostly from the public view for several centuries, until The Enlightenment reignited philosophical inquiry into theological issues. (More to be written.)
- If a person deserves God to give him the thing he prays for, why doesn't God give it to him, even without prayer? And if a person is not deserving of it, then even if that person does pray and request it, should it be given just because of his prayer?
- Why should it be necessary to pray with speech? Doesn't God know the thoughts of all people?
- If God is omniscient (all-knowing) then doesn't God know what we are going to ask Him for even before we pray?
- How can a human being hope to change God's mind? Why should human prayers affect God's decisions?
- Do human beings actually have the ability to praise an omniscient and omnipotent God? Praising God is difficult to do without describing God, yet how can a finite human being know anything about God's ultimate nature? This question was the subject of heated debate among many religious philosophers; one such debate took place in the 14th century between Gregory Palamas and Barlaam of Calabria.
All of these questions have been discussed in many Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious texts. Many of these texts offer proposed resolutions to some or all of these paradoxes.
Prayer and Medicine
Several studies have claimed that patients who pray for their health or are being prayed for recover faster. Critics have attributed this to the placebo effect. Typically, the scientific establishment ignores studies of the occult and esoteric, but in 1999, media reports on prayer studies prompted a comprehensive review of such studies in The Lancet. The result: "Even in the best studies, the evidence of an association between religion, spirituality, and health is weak and inconsistent." 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 (five people praying once a week for 26 weeks), and those who were not. In 2003, a second MANTRA study by Duke University contradicted the first MANTRA study's findings that intercessory prayer improved recovery rates in heart patients.
See also: Qi, Qigong, public prayer, prayer in school and moment of silence
External links
- Faith-Medicine Connection Challenged
- Proponents and Skeptics in "The Atlantic" magazine article"
- Avilles et.al.: Intercessory prayer and cardiovascular disease progression in a coronary care unit population: a randomized trial, Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2001, vol 76, pp. 1192 - 1198, online: http://www.mayo.edu/proceedings/2001/dec/7612a1.pdf
- Second MANTRA study finds that prayer has no medical benefit
- R.P. Sloan, E. Bagiella, T. Powell: Religion, spirituality, and medicine. Lancet 1999: 353, no 9153. Online: http://www.eatingbythebook.com/connect/0007.html
References
Moshe Greenberg, Biblical Prose Prayer as a Window to the Popular Religion of Ancient Israel
Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man's Quest for God Scribner, NY, 1954
Seth Kadish, Kavvana: Directing the Heart in Jewish Prayer, Jason Aronson Inc., 1997
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Prayer."
Synonyms: PraySynonyms: beg (v), implore (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Advice | Phrase: "give every man thine ear but few thy voice"; "I pray thee cease thy counsel"; "my guide, philosopher, and friend"; "'twas good advice and meant, my son be good"; verbum sat sapienti; vive memor leti; "we, ask advice but we mean approbation". |
Request | Verb: request, ask; beg, crave, sue, pray, solicit, invite, pop the question, make bold to ask; beg leave, beg a boon; apply to, call to, put to; call upon, call for; make a request, address a request, prefer a request, put up a request, make a prayer, address a prayer, prefer a prayer, put up a prayer, make a petition, address a petition, prefer a petition, put up a petition; make application, make a requisition; ask trouble, ask one for; claim; (demand); offer up prayers; (worship); whistle for. |
Adverb: prithee, do, please, pray; be so good as, be good enough; have the goodness, vouchsafe, will you, I pray thee, if you please. | |
Worship | Pray, invoke, supplicate; put up, offer up prayers, beseech; (ask); say one's prayers, tell one's beads. |
Interjection: hallelujah, allelujah! hosanna! glory be to God! O Lord! pray God that! God grant, God bless, God save, God forbid! sursum corda. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Pray |
| English words defined with "pray": beadsman, Bedehouse, bedesman ♦ Caaba ♦ Displayed ♦ Enclitic ♦ I pray ♦ Prayed, prayer meeting, prayer service, prayerful, Praying, Prithee ♦ Spring of pork ♦ To call down, To lift up the hand. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "pray": Age hoc ♦ BEG, BEHAVIOR, Bidding Beads, BONDSMAN ♦ Carmelite, Choriambic Metre ♦ Dying Sayings ♦ Father Thames, FRANKALMOIGNE, Frateretto ♦ GRAPE ♦ HEAD ♦ -head ♦ INAUSPICIOUSLY, INDIGESTION, INSURANCE ♦ Jehucal ♦ Kebla-Noma ♦ looking ♦ Patelin, Peace, plug and play, plug and pray ♦ respite ♦ SCIMETAR, scrap, Sherezer, Soul Cakes, Storms. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "pray": Priedieu. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Look, listen, kneel, pray. Commercials (Twelve Monkeys; writing credit: David Webb Peoples) Pray I don't alter it any further (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back; writing credit: George Lucas; Leigh Brackett) All you can do is pray for a quick death, which you aren't going to get. (Reservoir Dogs; writing credit: Quentin Tarantino) Then I heard him praying, now I lay me down to sleep I pray to the lord my soul to keep (The Way of the Gun; writing credit: Christopher McQuarrie) We must pray the other teenagers of Sherwood, Ohio, know the name of that righteous dude who can solve their problems: it's Jesus Christ, and he's in the Book (Heathers; writing credit: Daniel Waters.) | |
Lyrics | And I pray that you will be (Ready Or Not; performing artist: After 7) And on my deathbed I will pray (Like A Stone; performing artist: AUDIOSLAVE) I have a prayer to pray (Hook; performing artist: Blues Traveler) I pray to God you'll give me one more chance, girl (I'll Be There For You; performing artist: Bon Jovi) You will always listen as I pray ("One Sweet Day"; performing artist: Boyz II Men/Mariah Carey) | |
Clever | You can't pray a lie. (references; author: Mark Twain) Serve locally. Pray globally. (references; author: unknown) If you have time to worry, you have time to pray. (references; author: unknown) If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has. (references; author: unknown) Pray as if everything depended on God; act as if everything depended on yourself! (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Pray for the Wildcats (1974) Count Three and Pray (1955) | |
Song Titles | Pray (performing artist: M.C. Hammer) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | "And we pray that you sinners out there will see the light" / Herblock. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | "What do they expect us to do - listen to the kids pray at home?" / Herblock. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Thousands pray for success of conference. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | John Lewis and others pray during demonstration. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Hundreds of students gathered at Ball Circle on the campus of Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Va., late Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001, to pray and reflect by candlelight on the day's events around the country / AP Photo, The Free Lance-Star, Reza A. Ma. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Going to church to pray for rain. Grassy Butte, North Dakota. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living. Mother Jones 1902. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Pray" by Markus . Commentary: "Without words." | "Pray for wave" by Jana Werner Commentary: "The surfer paradise - Sunset beach in Oahu." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Author Unknown | Why worry when you can pray. |
Carl Erskine | I never pray to win, I just pray to be in my best form. |
Francois Villon | But pray God that he absolve us all! |
Geoffrey Chaucer | We know little of the things for which we pray. |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy | Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. |
Juvenal | You should pray for a sound mind in a sound body. |
Martin Luther | When I am angry I can pray well and preach well. |
Samuel Pepys | I pray God to keep me from being proud. |
Socrates | I pray Thee, O God, that I may be beautiful within. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. | 1963 | With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1962) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Emma | Austen, Jane | If it be not inconvenient to you, pray let us go in, that I may prove myself to belong to the place, to be a true citizen of Highbury |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | She had never been taught to turn towards Providence and to pray. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | I pray to God, and do you pray with me, that we may repent of our sins |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | I pray you tell me. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | I pray the Lord my soul to keep |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | To what end, pray, is so much stone hammered |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Civil Liberties | Israel and the occupied territories | In May 2000, the High Court ruled that women could pray aloud and wear prayer shawls at the Western Wall. (references) |
Iraq | The ration cards, part of the U.N. oil-for-food program, reportedly are checked when the bearer enters a mosque and are printed with a notice of severe penalties for those who attempt to pray at an unauthorized location. (references) | |
Iraq | In June 1999, several Shi'a opposition groups reported that the Government instituted a program in the predominantly Shi'a districts of Baghdad that used food ration cards to restrict where individuals could pray. (references) | |
Minorities | Ethiopia | Church leaders asked that the construction stop, and when the Muslims refused, church leaders called upon neighborhood Christians to pray in front of the site. (references) |
Armenia | The Government does not create any obstacles for Muslims who wish to pray there. (references) | |
Travel | Saudi Arabia | Five times a day Muslims are obliged to pray in the direction of the holy city, Makkah. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | INSURANCE, n. An ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table. INSURANCE AGENT: My dear sir, that is a fine house -- pray let me insure it. HOUSE OWNER: With pleasure. Please make the annual premium so low that by the time when, according to the tables of your actuary, it will probably be destroyed by fire I will have paid you considerably less than the face of the policy. INSURANCE AGENT: O dear, no -- we could not afford to do that. We must fix the premium so that you will have paid more. HOUSE OWNER: How, then, can I afford that? INSURANCE AGENT: Why, your house may burn down at any time. There was Smith's house, for example, which -- HOUSE OWNER: Spare me -- there were Brown's house, on the contrary, and Jones's house, and Robinson's house, which -- INSURANCE AGENT: Spare me! HOUSE OWNER: Let us understand each other. You want me to pay you money on the supposition that something will occur previously to the time set by yourself for its occurrence. In other words, you expect me to bet that my house will not last so long as you say that it will probably last. INSURANCE AGENT: But if your house burns without insurance it will be a total loss. HOUSE OWNER: Beg your pardon -- by your own actuary's tables I shall probably have saved, when it burns, all the premiums I would otherwise have paid to you -- amounting to more than the face of the policy they would have bought. But suppose it to burn, uninsured, before the time upon which your figures are based. If I could not afford that, how could you if it were insured? INSURANCE AGENT: O, we should make ourselves whole from our luckier ventures with other clients. Virtually, they pay your loss. HOUSE OWNER: And virtually, then, don't I help to pay their losses? Are not their houses as likely as mine to burn before they have paid you as much as you must pay them? The case stands this way: you expect to take more money from your clients than you pay to them, do you not? INSURANCE AGENT: Certainly; if we did not -- HOUSE OWNER: I would not trust you with my money. Very well then. If it is certain, with reference to the whole body of your clients, that they lose money on you it is probable, with reference to any one of them, that he will. It is these individual probabilities that make the aggregate certainty. INSURANCE AGENT: I will not deny it -- but look at the figures in this pamph -- HOUSE OWNER: Heaven forbid! INSURANCE AGENT: You spoke of saving the premiums which you would otherwise pay to me. Will you not be more likely to squander them? We offer you an incentive to thrift. HOUSE OWNER: The willingness of A to take care of B's money is not peculiar to insurance, but as a charitable institution you command esteem. Deign to accept its expression from a Deserving Object. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Bill Maher | If you celebrate Christmas religiously, folks, you pray to a young man from the Middle East who today probably would get stopped at the airport. |
David Berkowitz | I don't know. I don't know. I pray everyday for those that lost loved ones. And I pray that God would touch their lives and allow them to heal as much as possible. |
Deepak Chopra | Well, I think we have a clash right now between two paradigms. The first paradigm says, you know, it's based on Christian theology which says, I'm a sinner, I must atone for my sins. I must pray for forgiveness. I must seek redemption. |
James Dobson | Prayer to me is an outgrowths of a relationship. It's not ritual. It's not just chants. I'm talking to God. I'm talking to him as a friend and the amazing thing is he listens to me and to others who pray. |
Mattie Stepanek | You pray and you talk to them. Wars should be fought with words, not bombs, not weapons. And calm words. I think that wars should be fought over a chessboard and a cup of something to drink. |
Paul Harvey | Probably, he's some of an exhibitionist. But, also, when we pray for guidance, and doors continue to open instead of close, a person comes to think of his job as an obligation. To enlighten and inform. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Martin van Buren | 1837-1841 | Beyond that I only look to the gracious protection of the Divine Being whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us all. |
Abraham Lincoln | 1861-1865 | Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. |
Dwight Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people regardless of station, race, or calling. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | We can fight, if we must, as we have fought before, but we pray that we will never have to fight again. |
Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | Today, I ask your prayers that in the years ahead I may have God's help in making decisions that are right for America, and I pray for your help so that together we may be worthy of our challenge. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | Let us learn together and laugh together and work together and pray together, confident that in the end we will triumph together in the right. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | I hope and pray the bipartisan spirit that guided you in this endeavor will inspire all of us as we face the challenges of the year ahead. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Pray" is generally used as a lexical verb (base form) -- approximately 52.48% of the time. "Pray" is used about 1,488 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 52.48% | 781 | 8,852 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 38.39% | 571 | 11,044 |
| Adverb (general) | 9.06% | 135 | 27,360 |
| Unclassified Items | 0.07% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 1,488 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "pray" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Pray | Last name | 2,000 | 6,297 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "pray". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Hosannah | N/A | N/A | Save I pray thee |
| Hosanna | N/A | Biblical | Save I pray thee |
| Osanne | N/A | French | Save I pray thee |
| Ozanne | N/A | French | Save I pray thee |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
1. Pray, MT |
Expressions using "pray": allelujah! hosanna! glory be to God! O Lord! pray God that! God grant ♦ i pray ♦ i pray thee ♦ i pray to god ♦ plug and pray ♦ pray be covered! ♦ pray be seated! ♦ pray for ♦ pray for peace ♦ pray for smb. smth. ♦ pray god ♦ pray god for rain ♦ pray tell me! ♦ pray to ♦ pray to god ♦ pray to god to forgive him ♦ quest for pray ♦ To pray in aid. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "pray": pray-ers, pray-for-peace, pray-ins. | |
Ending with "pray": plug-and-pray. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "pray"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | bid. (various references) | |
Albanian | lutem (appeal, be at one's devotions, beg, entreat, implore, petition, plead, please, short circuit, solicit, supplicate), lus (ask, beg, beseech, mump, request, solicit), ju lutem (you are welcome), falem (be acquitted of, be given, be switched off, greet, supplicate, thank, worship), fal (amnesty, condone, excuse, forgive, give, give away, incline, lend, pardon, remit, set, switch off). (various references) | |
Arabic | تضرع (beg, beseech, entreat, entreaty, invocation, plead, pleading, prayer, supplicate, supplication), صلى ليغفر له الله, صلى للمطر, صلى (say a prayer, worshipper), إبتهل (invoke). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | умолявам (adjure, beg, beseech, conjure, entreat, implore, invoke, obtest, plead, supplicate), чета молитви, моля се (be at one's devotions, petition), моля (adjure, ask, beg, implore, invoke, please, request, solicit, supplicate), помолвам се (say one's prayer). (various references) | |
Chinese | 蘄 (implore, place name), 祝祷 (Prayed, Praying), 祈 (implore, please), 禱 (prayer, supplication), 禨 (omen). (various references) | |
Czech | modlit se. (various references) | |
Danish | bede (ask, ask for, beet, beg, bid, request). (various references) | |
Dutch | bidden (beg, beseech). (various references) | |
Esperanto | preĝi. (various references) | |
Faeroese | biðja (ask, ask for, beg, bid, request). (various references) | |
Farsi | نمازخواندن , خواستارشدن (Demand, Request), دعاکردن (Bless), درخواست کردن (Apply, Beg, Bone, Petition, Plead, Request, Solicit, Supplicate), بدرگاه خدااستغاثه کردن . (various references) | |
Finnish | rukoilla. (various references) | |
French | prier. (various references) | |
German | beten (say grace, say smb.'s prayers, to pray), Bitte bedenken Sie doch! (consider!). (various references) | |
Greek | προσεύχομαι (pray for, to pray). (various references) | |
Hebrew | לפלל (entreat, plead, supplicate, think), לעתור (beg, entreat, petition, plead, supplicate), להתפלל, להתחנן (appeal, ask for mercy, beg, beseech, entreat, implore, supplicate), להעתיר (entreat, supplicate), התפלל, נא (behold, let us, please). (various references) | |
Hungarian | könyörög (beg, beseech, deprecate, entreat, implore, supplicate, to appeal, to beg, to conjure sy's help, to entreat, to implore, to supplicate), kér (adjure, ask, ask for it, beg, beseech, demand, implore, petition, plead, to apply to sy for sg, to ask for quarter, to conjure, to cry quarter, to demand, to desire, to entreat, to implore, to request, to require, to solicit, to supplicate), imádkozik (to pray, to say prayers, to worship). (various references) | |
Indonesian | memohon (appeal, beseech, entreat, implore), doa (prayer, supplication), beribadah (worship), berdoa (say prayers, supplicate). (various references) | |
Irish | guigh. (various references) | |
Italian | pregare (ask, beg). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | プレート電流 (placement test, plain, plain soda, plain yoghurt, plane, planing, plate current, play, play ball, playback, playboy, player, playgirl, playground, play-mode, prayer, precious, pre-incubation, preschool, prescoring, president, press, press campaign, press center, press club, press conference, press release, pressed ham, prestige, presto, prey, progressive, pro-Olympic), プルトニウム爆弾 (place, placekick, plate, plate tectonics, play, play spot, playgirl, play-off, plutonium bomb, ticket agency). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | プレー (play), プレイ (play, prey). (various references) | |
Korean | 기도하십시요. (various references) | |
Malagasy | mirary. (various references) | |
Malay | bersembahyang. (various references) | |
Manx | goaill padjer (praying). (various references) | |
Maori | inoi-a (to pray). (various references) | |
Maya | payal-chi' (to pray). (various references) | |
Papiamen | resa. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | aypray.(various references) | |
Polish | modlić się. (various references) | |
Portuguese | rezar (say), orar (orate). (various references) | |
Romanian | stãrui sã facã ceva, se ruga (beg), se închina (worship), ruga (ask, beg, court, desire, entreat, implore, invite, petition, request). (various references) | |
Russian | умалять (belittle, derogate, derogate from, detract, disparage), молиться (be at one's devotions, offer prayers), молить (adjure, appeal, entreat, prayed, supplicate), молитва (orison, petition, prayer), просьба (appeal, application, desire, entreaty, obsecration, petition, plea, request, supplication), просить (ask, asked, beg, beseech, crave, plead, pleaded, pled, supplicate). (various references) | |
Scottish | guidh (beseech, entreat, wish earnestly), grìos (abet, beseech, encourage, entreat, solicit). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | preklinjati (adjure, beg, beseech, conjure, entreat, implore, supplicate), moliti (adjure, ask, beseech, request, sue). (various references) | |
Spanish | rezar (live, offer up, read, say, tell, treat), rogar (ask, ask for, beg, bid, call for, cry, invite, petition, request, treat), orar (ask, ask request, beg, request). (various references) | |
Sranan | begi (ask, ask for, beg, bid, prayer, request). (various references) | |
Swedish | bedja (ask, ask for, beg, beseech, bid, entreat, invite, plead, request, supplicate). (various references) | |
Turkish | yalvarmak (adjure, appeal, beg, beseech, conjure, crave, desire, entreat, implore, intercede, invoke, plead, sit up and beg, solicit, supplicate), rica etmek (adjure, appeal, ask, beg, beseech, bespeak, conjure, desire, entreat, implore, intercede, petition, plead, request, Sue, sue for, supplicate), namaz kılmak, ibadet etmek (worship), dua etmek (invoke, say one's prayers), af dilemek (apologize, beg pardon of). (various references) | |
Turkmen | цzelenmek (beg, plead), doga okamak, dilemek (ask, wish). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | молитися (bend the knee, worship), прохати (appeal, supplicate). (various references) | |
Welsh | gweddi%o, erfyn (appeal, beg, beseech, expect, implore), erchi (ask, bid, command, demand), eiriol (advocate, intercede, plead), eidduno (desire, wish), atolygu (beseech). (various references) | |
Zulu | -thandaza. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | ôrâ, bosoramus, horem, Mantis religiosa, obsecra, obsecramus, obsecrandum, obsecrans, obsecrantes, obsecrat, obsecratus, obsecraverint, obsecravit, obsecret, obsecro, ora, orabam, orabant, orabas, orabat, orabis, orabit, orabitis, orabitque, orabo, orabunt, oramus, orando, orandum, orans, orante, orantes, orare, orarent, oraret, oras, orassent, orasset, orat, orate, oratis, oraverimus, oraverint, oraverit, oraverunt, oravi, oravimus, oravit, orem, oremus, orent, orentque, oret, oretis, oretur, orionem, oro, orto, Paratenodera sinensis, precamini, precamur, precamurque, precandum, precans, precantem, precare, precarentur, precari, precatus, precatusque, precor, precorque, rogare, supplices, venerant, veneras, venerat, venero. (various references) |
| Avestan | 200-600 | jaidhyañtâi. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | gebiddan. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5, Verse 17 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | AdialeiptwV proseucesqe |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Sine intermissione orate |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | Gebiddað eow æfre; |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | In alle thingis do ye thankyngis. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Praye cotinually. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Pray without ceasing. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Pray without ceasing. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Keep on with your prayers. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5, Verse 17 |
| Bulgarian | Братя, молете се за нас. |
| Cebuano | pag-ampo kamo sa walay paghunong, |
| Chinese | 不 住 的 禱 告 ． |
| Croatian | Bez prestanka se molite! |
| Danish | beder uafladelig, |
| Dutch | Bidt zonder ophouden. |
| Finnish | Rukoilkaa lakkaamatta. |
| French | Priez sans cesse. |
| German | betet ohne Unterlaß, |
| Haitian Creole | Pa janm sispann lapriyè. |
| Hungarian | Szüntelen imádkozzatok. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | dan berdoalah senantiasa. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | dan berdoa dengan tiada berkeputusan; |
| Italian | pregate incessantemente, |
| Latvian | Lûdziet Dievu bez mitçðanâs! |
| Maori | Kei whakamutua te inoi. |
| Norwegian | bed uavlatelig, |
| Portuguese | Orai sem cessar. |
| Rumanian | Rugayi-vq nekncetat. |
| Russian | оЕРТЕУФБООП НПМЙФЕУШ. |
| Shuar | Tuke tsawant iniaitsuk Yus áujsatarum. |
| Spanish | Orad sin cesar. |
| Swahili | salini kila wakati |
| Swedish | Bedjen oavlåtligen. |
| Ukrainian | Безперестанку моліться! |
| Uma | tida mosampaya, |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "pray": prayed, prayer, prayerful, prayerfully, prayerfulness, prayerfulnesses, prayers, praying, prays. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "pray": outpray, respray, spray, whipray. (additional references) | |
Words containing "pray": outprayed, outpraying, outprays, resprayed, respraying, resprays, sprayed, sprayer, sprayers, spraying, sprays, unsprayed, whiprays. (additional references) | |
| |
"Pray" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: pardy, Parnaby, Paruyr, pary, parye, pauy, Payg, payu, peay, peazy, phay, phracy, Phray, pjay, pjrey, plra, pra, Praby, prac, prad, prady, Prag, prah, Prai, praik, prail, prait, pral, prao, Pras, Praty, prau, praw, prax, praya, praye, Prayut, Praz, preaty, preay, preie, prej, prely, prexy, pridy, prigy, prij, prizy, Prla, profy, proie, prta, prty, ptracy, pyar. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "pray" (pronounced prā") |
| 3 | p r ā" | prey, spray. |
| 2 | -r ā" | astray, betray, Brae, Bray, defray, dray, fray, Gray, grey, hooray, hurray, portray, puree, Ray, re, soiree, stray, tray, Trey. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-p-r-y" | |
-1 letter: par, pay, pry, pya, rap, ray, rya, yap, yar. | |
-2 letters: ar, ay, pa, ya. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-p-r-y" | |
+1 letter: apery, grapy, harpy, pardy, parry, party, payer, payor, prays, pyran, raspy, repay, spray. | |
+2 letters: apiary, crappy, drapey, frypan, grapey, japery, napery, paltry, panfry, pantry, papery, papyri, parity, parlay, parley, parody, partly, pastry, payers, payors, pearly, phylar, piracy, piraya, player, prayed, prayer, prepay, psywar, pyrans, pyrola, pyuria, raptly, repays, replay, sharpy, sparky, sparry, sprays, vapory, yapper, yauper, yawper. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Spoken 14. Quotations: Speeches 15. Usage Frequency 16. Names: Frequency | 17. Names: Derived from 18. Cities 19. Expressions 20. Expressions: Internet | 21. Translations: Modern 22. Translations: Ancient 23. Bible Trace 24. Derivations | 25. Rhymes 26. Anagrams 27. Bibliography |
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