Prayers exist in many religions.
Those of us raised in Christian households (or those of you who have heard “Enter Sandman” by Metallica) probably know the one that goes something to the effect of “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take.”
If you think about it, the meaning is quite beautiful. In a Christian perspective, it is important that one’s soul reaches Heaven. By reciting that prayer before they go to sleep, they’re hoping that if they pass in their sleep their soul will reach Heaven.
Catholic followers will pray on rosaries with different color / shaped beads letting them know how many prayers they’ve said and when it’s time to say a different prayer. My maternal grandfather regret the lives he had to take during World War II and spent the rest of his life praying on his rosary in the front yard of his house every morning. He even groped around on his death bed for his rosary.
Muslims pray five times a day: dawn, noon, afternoon, dusk, and night. They will kneel on a rug, face the direction of Mecca, and pray at specific times. There are even clocks that will remind them to when to pray nowadays.
Buddhists, while I am in no way an expert on the subject, require that monks recite a prayer over a piece of fruit being cut for them by the one offering it as alms so they don’t destroy the seed. They also have beads to count the number of mantras they chant.
Back in middle school I think I happened upon a prayer or spell that had something to do with imagining that you were really warm when you felt cold. I still catch myself using it every now and again because I feel like it works. I hate feeling cold.
I used to think prayer was useless, but the more I think about it the more I’m certain it’s important. Many people around the world pray. If you think about it, it’s a sort of magic that works using one very important ingredient: desire. Like other magics, its purpose is to manifest your will on a situation. The key difference, in my mind, is that as opposed to a full ritual it only requires your sincerest wishes and taking time to recite the prayer(s). Maybe an implement like a rosary or prayer cord is used.
There are so many different reasons why people pray.
The desire to see someone’s loved one cured of a serious ailment.
The desire to overcome life’s turmoils.
The desire to get a promotion at work.
No matter what the reason I find the act to be fascinating and beautiful. It’s a very personal act and you can really write your own prayer for any purpose. Or you could use an existing prayer that has significance to you. There’s even a book of Demonolatry prayers called Ater Votum that can be found on this website. Go to the tab Library & Archives, wait for it to cascade, then follow it to the Files & E-Books (Downloads) section. The name of the link you’re looking for is Ater Votum Demonolatry Prayer. Click on the word PDF.
It contains many practical prayers that a modern practitioner may find useful. I implore you to check it out, and maybe you’ll find something that strikes your fancy when you’re in need. Somewhere in recent years I’ve fallen out of the practice of prayer, but there was once I time where I would pray in the morning, when I had ample free time to think (on the bus, for example), and in the evening before bed. I actually made a prayer last night before trying to do an elemental balancing meditation. I was in quite a bit of pain and haven’t been able to find a remedy for it. (Feel free to laugh, but I’m serious! It’s gotten so bad that I’ve been brought to tears and taken to the ER before. When doctors looked at me they tried to maim me instead of help!)
I held my hands against the spot that ached and said the following:
Leviathan please take this pain.
Lucifer please take this pain.
Belial please take this pain.
Flereous please take this pain.
Satan please take this pain.
Verrine, I implore you to hear my plea. I wake with this pain and then I can’t sleep. I don’t know what’s wrong with me and modern medicine hasn’t worked. Please help me heal and take this pain from me tonight.
The order of the Demons I invoked is sort of wonky, I know, but at the time it was 2AM and I was in a lot of pain. Anyway, after I said my prayer I started to do an elemental balancing meditation and fell asleep in the middle of it. I woke up feeling great, albeit I ended up sleeping in. And a different problem I’ve been experiencing was healed as well…but that problem was probably remedied by a medicine I started taking. There’s definitely something to prayer and I know I’ll never take it for granted again.