Ok. I understand you point of the worthlessness of praying to a non existant being but what about the comfort people experience from prayer when facing a traumatic event. I have worked with dying patients where the family has experienced a great deal of comfort through religious practice.

I'm not so sure. When we "pray," we focus our attention. When we focus our attention, we give our mind direction. We're also communicating with 'ourselves' regarding the condition we're praying over. There is a part of us that may understand that problem and knows how to help us get it resolved (or at least get us on the right track). So while praying to God or any of the saints won't work, prayer does work if we're listening.

And if it's praying for the health of another, or issues that our out of our control, prayer can help us to maybe accept the inevitable, or help us to go through the difficult situation we're going through. By focusing our attention on a situation, and looking for ways to understand, we can learn new ways of working with life.

Who knows? I don’t know everyone who has ever prayed. I do know that many people get solace from praying. It just depends on your outlook!

It might help them fall asleep … pretending someone else ‘has it under control.’ But when they wake, same problems - maybe worse..

Prayer can produce the placebo effect. If someone is convinced it will work, it will in some way.

Even if no one is listening, it can reduce anxiety, stress and provide hope with the belief that a higher power is taking control.

During the years I prayed, it had a huge impact on my ability to cope with tragic events. I've since learned different coping strategies since then, and feel much stronger as a result.