Question
What is prayer?
a list of demands and requests I make to God
time spent listening for God's voice
a conversation with God
a negotiation tactic
a list of demands and requests I make to God
time spent listening for God's voice
a conversation with God
a negotiation tactic
Answers
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
Short answer: prayer is primarily a conversation or relationship with God — which can include speaking, listening, thanking, confessing, and asking.
How the options line up:
- "a conversation with God" — best single description. Prayer is relational and communicative.
- "time spent listening for God's voice" — true as part of prayer (often called contemplative or receptive prayer).
- "a list of demands and requests I make to God" — a partial, narrow view. Petitionary prayer is one form, but prayer is more than making demands.
- "a negotiation tactic" — misleading. Some people treat prayer like bargaining, but that misses the relational, humble, and aligning aspects of true prayer.
If you want, I can describe different types of prayer (praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition/intercession, contemplative) or offer a short practice for listening prayer. Which would you prefer?
How the options line up:
- "a conversation with God" — best single description. Prayer is relational and communicative.
- "time spent listening for God's voice" — true as part of prayer (often called contemplative or receptive prayer).
- "a list of demands and requests I make to God" — a partial, narrow view. Petitionary prayer is one form, but prayer is more than making demands.
- "a negotiation tactic" — misleading. Some people treat prayer like bargaining, but that misses the relational, humble, and aligning aspects of true prayer.
If you want, I can describe different types of prayer (praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition/intercession, contemplative) or offer a short practice for listening prayer. Which would you prefer?
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