Prayer is a form of religious meditation. Many of its forms are functionally identical to classic meditation techniques, sharing the same mechanism: the intentional governing of attention.
The primary confusion stems from a misunderstanding of the terms and their goals. Prayer is often seen as talking to a higher power, while meditation is often seen as listening or achieving internal silence, but both are practices of contemplation.
The Etymology: To Ask vs. To Ponder
The origins of the words themselves highlight the distinction and the overlap.
- Prayer: This word comes from the Latin precari, which means “to ask, to beg, to entreat.” This etymology defines the most common form of prayer: petitionary prayer, where one is asking for intervention, guidance, or blessing.
- Meditation: This word comes from the Latin meditari, which means “to ponder, to reflect upon, to contemplate.” This defines the practice as an internal, cognitive act of sustained focus on a chosen subject.
Types of Prayer
There are many types of prayer, including petitionary, contemplative, repetitive, adoration, thanksgiving, and confession. Each of them overlaps with the definition of meditation.
Petitionary prayer
Petitionary prayer is the act of asking for a specific outcome, such as health, prosperity, blessing, or guidance. This is a form of focused Intention-Setting Meditation. The practitioner must hold a clear, detailed, and sustained mental and emotional state of their desired reality. This is the exact same mechanism used in secular practices like creative visualization, affirmations, manifestations, or subconscious mind programming (e.g. self-hypnosis or sigil magic), where the goal is to imprint a specific intent and make it happen.
Contemplative prayer
Contemplative prayer is the act of silently resting one’s attention on the nature of the divine. The practitioner is not asking for anything, but is pondering or simply being with the divine presence. This act of sustained, sacred focus is the literal definition of meditari (to contemplate). In this form, the practitioner is meditating on the divine, using their faith as the object of their focus. This mental uniting with a deity is functionally the same as the meditative goal of Samadhi, or absorption.
Repetitive prayer
Repetitive prayer is the act of using a sacred word, phrase, or tactile object as a single point of focus. This practice is functionally identical to Mantra Meditation or Focused-Attention Meditation. The sacred word or bead serves as a mental anchor, training the mind to disengage from the Default Mode Network (the “chatter” brain) and return to the present. The neurological effect of training this focus is the same, regardless of the theology.
- In Catholicism, the use of a Rosary uses beads as a tactile anchor for the Ave Maria.
- In Sufism, Dhikr (remembrance) involves repeating the names of god, often with prayer beads (misbaha).
- In Eastern Orthodoxy, the Jesus Prayer is repeated continuously to bring the mind to a state of stillness.
Adoration prayer
This form of prayer involves no requests, but focuses purely on the love, awe, and magnificence of the divine. It is an act of pure praise. This is functionally identical to practices like Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta) or Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion). The practitioner is actively cultivating and sustaining a specific, high-frequency emotional state (reverence, love), which trains the mind to generate positive affect at will.
Thanksgiving prayer
Thanksgiving is the conscious act of identifying and feeling gratitude for blessings, life, or divine action. This is a form of Gratitude Meditation. It is a cognitive practice that requires the practitioner to contemplate (meditari) their life, scan for positive aspects, and shift their mental focus from a state of lack to a state of abundance.
Confession prayer
Confession involves a structured self-inventory of one’s past actions, thoughts, and failings, followed by a release and a request for forgiveness. This is a form of Insight Meditation, self-inquiry, and non-attachment. The practitioner must consciously scan their memories, compare them against a moral framework, and then actively practice “letting go” or non-attachment to those past errors.
Conclusion: Prayer Is a Religious Meditation
Any disciplined form of prayer that involves contemplation and focused attention is, by definition, a form of meditation.
Meditation is the technique (governing attention). Prayer is the intent (communicating with or contemplating the divine).
Therefore, prayer is not separate from meditation. It is a sacred and widespread form of it. It is the application of meditative techniques for a devotional purpose.
