Even if you don’t believe in (and/or don’t like) prayer, there is no reason to be prejudice against prayer or against people who pray.  Why?  Because . . .

1)  The vast majority of people who tell you they are praying for you, genuinely care about you.  They mean well.  Their prayers for you are expressions of sincere love on your behalf.

2)  If prayer is not communication with a real God, then it can’t hurt you.  So why be bothered by someone mentioning prayer and/or telling you that they are praying for you, if you don’t believe that prayer is real?

3)  Our society emphasizes “tolerance” and “open-mindedness” towards so many things, so why not be fair and express the same for people who pray?

4)  A Brandeis University study found that 90 percent of Americans pray every day to “a God who is accessible, listening, and a source of emotional and psychological support, who at least sometimes answers back.”  Regardless of the percentage, a huge number of Americans (and people in other countries) pray.  So why waste time and energy being prejudice against such a large group of people?

5)  Prayer helps the people who pray.  It helps release their tension and stress.  It gives them peace and joy.  It helps them to feel love and compassion.  T.M. Luhrmann, an anthropologist trained in psychology and the author of Of Two Minds, recently said in an interview:  “I think the evidence suggests people who have a strong relationship with a loving God are healthier and more effective. In one of the researches I did, the more someone affirms the sentence ‘I feel God’s love for me directly,’ the less stressed they are and the less lonely they are.”  Prayer helps them ‘feel God.’