Every religion has its own way of praying, but the fundamental tenants of all religions share a common ground: prayers are a way to ask for blessings upon us and our loved ones. Prayers are an action or an act which seeks to invoke an interaction with an outside object of faith through personal supplication. At its most simple, the word prayer refers to a simple act of intercession or supplication directed towards a deceased ancestor or deity. With Christianity specifically, we pray to Christ or God in the spirit of petitioning for His love, provisions, and mercy.

There are many different styles and reasons for praying. Each religion has had a different take on what it means to pray, but all have essentially found one way of going about it: pray as if Christ was available at all times. Even though we don't feel like quoting scriptures when we're praying, the underlying act of asking is still prayer. Christians have been doing it since the beginning of time, and it's just now gaining in popularity with the growing number of non-Christians.

Thanksgiving is a prime example of prayer and the act of asking for things from God. Thanksgiving contains within it the essence of everything else that's religious, but it's also the best illustration of all the ways that prayer works. Thanksgiving's most important symbol is the turkey; it's a symbol of thanksgiving because it's the food that Christ provided for His followers. Thanksgiving's most basic idea, however, is the idea of thanking the Lord for whatever He has given us. Christians have been doing this for centuries, and the reason for that is that they know that God will provide. There is no telling what He might have in store for us in the future, so our only real option is to keep our mouths shut and our hearts open.

It's not hard to give thanks in Thanksgiving: all you need to do is start by saying your daily prayer (which is almost always the same), then eat a good meal and thank the people you'll be eating it with. This gives thanks to God without even having to say a prayer. You can go on to say a few more words if you'd like, or just close your eyes and pray. Prayers in fact make up the most important part of Thanksgiving. People who don't have any religious background and who are completely secularized forget the role of prayer in Thanksgiving.

When non-believers see Christians praying for Thanksgiving, they tend to think that praying automatically means giving thanks. They'd expect, of course, that Prayers would teach us something about God. However, the truth is that when you're praying for someone else, you're teaching them about God. You're teaching them that when you're praying for someone, you're not thinking about yourself but about someone else - and that's one of the biggest lessons there is to learn about God.

When we pray, we're really teaching God about our own value as individuals. Through prayer, we know that there is indeed a higher power than ourselves who will watch over us and help us. We learn that there's a point beyond our individual lives where the real world and the afterlife don't matter. Our true value and purpose lies with the Lord.