One can only marvel at the variety of requirements necessary for those who wish to engage in such activity and similarly marvel at the tastes and requirements of the various deities supposedly involved. One must remember that in most religions, the deities themselves are alleged to have outlined just how they should be accessed. The wording is usually arranged in such a way as to express unworthiness, emptiness, or being lost. One must also willingly submit to the idea that the uncertainties of life are so overwhelming, so devastating, that the need for assistance from this imaginary being twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week is positively and absolutely necessary. The simple act of existence is in itself dependent on this being's willful and conscious intent.
Prayers also consist of a fair amount of prerequest flattery.
This flattery consists of demonstrating one's willing servitude to this being, its majesty, power, and control - that we are in debt to this being for the simple act of breathing. Following this disgusting display of self-debasement is the usual request for guidance, inspiration, and the direct involvement of this being in the supplicant's personal situation or its intervention in someone else's personal life according to the preferences of the supplicant. Some religions refuse to pray in groups, while others cannot pray except in groups. Some religious adherents pray quietly, while others display hysteric exuberance. Still other religions pray privately and reverently, while others seek to exhibit Broadway-calibre entertainment spectacles for the sake of the unimpressed.