The act of communicating in words or in silence with the transcendent God. Ot prayer includes petition, intercession, confession, and thanksgiving, and set hours and days are prescribed for prayer. Prayer is not regarded as a method for compelling God to act but asking that his will be done and his kingdom come.
Prayer can be individual or corporate, audible or silent.
The forms of prayer in the ot include petitions for guidance, requests for divine help, intercessions, praise and thanksgiving, and confession. The ot assumes that prayer can be offered at any time and place. The Temple was a place of prayer, as were the synagogue and home in the postexilic era. As in the ot, the prayers of the nt are of several kinds. Christ and the Spirit take on special roles in the prayers of the nt.