A June 2008 report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life examined the prayer and meditation practices of more than 35,000 Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and people not affiliated with any specific religious tradition.

• Fifty-eight (58) percent of those surveyed said that they pray at least once a day outside of religious services.

• Seventy-five (75) percent pray at least once a week.  

Even with so many people praying, prayer continues to raise numerous questions for us. Questions such as:

What is prayer?

Why should I pray?

How do I pray?

What about different forms of prayer?

 Is God really listening?

Why do so many prayers seem to go unanswered?

How do I discern God's response to my prayers?

On this page, we've tried to provide links and resources that may be helpful in addressing these questions.

Prayer resources from explorefaith.org include:

• how to pray
• different ways of "doing prayer"
• prayers for different situations and circumstances
• some thoughts on discernment
• a guide to centering prayer
• a guide to the Liturgy of the Hours
• a guide to the labyrinth as a tool for prayer and meditation
  • locate a labyrinth
• how prayer unites people across many faith traditions

Find an exploration of prayer on Speaking of Faith: a radio program from American Public Media 

Beliefnet, an independent spiritual website unaffiliated with any specific spiritual organization or movement, offers:

• an online library of prayers
• Prayer of the Day
  
• ideas for incorporating prayer into your daily routines

World Prayers is a unified nonprofit archive of great prayers from all spiritual traditions around the world for the purpose of inspiration, study and cross cultural appreciation.

Brethren beliefs and practices related to prayer

Outreach through prayer

• ECOB prayer chain and prayer practices 
• Thoughts from Philip Yancey on praying for others
• Prayer Shawls and Prayer Shawl Ministries
• PrayerMates - a prayer outreach program
• Ecumenical Prayer Cycle from World Council of Churches - praying for peoples and churches around the world
  

 PRAYING THROUGH THE YEAR

COB Prayer Calendar

May 7, 2009: Natl Day of Prayer

Sep 21, 2009: International Day of Prayer for Peace

World Day of Prayer

One Great Hour of Sharing - Prayer Concerns

* * * * * * *