Why Do I Pray?

“Tyger, Tyger, burning bright…”

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1. Prayer. 

2. More prayer

3. Yet more prayer.

4. I don’t believe in God but I believe in prayer.

5. I know that’s a contradiction.

6. Question: So who’s waiting to hear my prayers?

7. Answer: I don’t know.

8. God was invented…

9. …by a caveman who’d been exiled by his tribe.

10. Wouldn’t you invent prayer if you were sitting on the plain guarded by one small campfire while your predators circled in the dark?

11. Prayer grew in size with each successive human—with every frightened human.

12. Are you frightened? I’m frightened.

13. Each prayer is made of billions of words—every word that has ever been said in any language—in every language.

14. I know how to say listen to me in my tribal language. Do you know how to say it in your tongue?