An Instinct to Pray

Reading the LA Times often offers fodder for my posts, and today was no different. Connie Kang offered a piece entitled "Prayer: A Human Imperative that Crosses Religious Lines." The article is based on interviews with several religious leaders from Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim traditions. I'm not sure its the best article ever on this subject, and it sticks with western traditions, but what intrigued me was the quote from Rabbi Elliot Dorf who said that while our prayers might not always come out of a fully developed theology, "the instinct to pray is universal and natural to all."

The instinct to pray, isn't that an interesting idea? It seems in line with Augustine's idea, which is quoted here, that our souls do not find rest until they rest in God. What is prayer? Is it simply an evolutionary adaptation, or does it speak of something divinely implanted in us? I choose the latter for myself!

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