Megan I so admire your open mindedness and disregard for conventionality or status quo. Thank you for your well written essay. I am in agreement with your assessments, and, for me, there are some linguistic semantics I evoke for me that allow me some conversational latitude. The first is I question assumptions about the definition of prayer. I think the word has been hijacked by ideologically altogether human religious zealotry. Your essay raises this idea when examining meditation. I choose to think when I am kind, do pragmatic and caring work for others, pursue service, donate energy/time/money, pick up the trash someone else has left or sooth an upset grandchild that the whole thing is a prayer. I want the word back from what I perceive as the logos hijackers, maybe I am swinging at windmills. When I am as open minded as I can be, focused on being present in the moment, notice the other person or contemplate what would be the wisest course of action then follow through and do the action I throw that in a wide bucket I call real prayer. Maybe I am too obscure and weird about not wanting to give up a word I like while agreeing with your essay.

I try not to cringe when someone cured of cancer praises God for answered prayer but rather just joy in their good outcome. My thought tend to go to the parents of the innocent 4 year old dying of Leukemia who whole heartedly pursued every avenue of prayer or any other word we choose to use for the full spectrum of investment in care and psyche.