Prayer is an active effort to communicate with God or Holy spirit either to offer praise, to make a request, seek guidance, confess sins, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions. The words of the prayer may either be a set hymn or incantation, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person's own words.
      Praying has many different forms. Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Prayer can be incorporated into a daily "thought life", in which one is in constant communication with God. Some people pray throughout all that is happening during the day and seek guidance as the day progresses. Ultimately prayer is a relationship between the created and the creator. There can be many different answers to prayer, just as there are many ways to "hear" the answers. Some may be audible, others may interpret healing, or specific physicals signs as answers to their prayer. How the answer is given and in what time frame it is given can be as varied as the requests themselves. Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: anointing with oil; ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction making the sign of the cross. One less noticeable act related to prayer is fasting.
      A variety of body postures may be assumed, often with specific meaning associated with them: standing; sitting; kneeling; prostrate on the floor; eyes opened; eyes closed; hands folded or clasped; hands upraised; holding hands with others; a laying on of hands and others. Prayers may be recited from memory, read from a book of prayers, or composed spontaneously as they are prayed. They may be said, chanted, or sung. They may be with musical accompaniment or not. Prayer may be unconscious.
       There may be a time of outward silence while prayers are offered mentally. Often, there are prayers to fit specific occasions, such as the blessing of a meal, the birth or death of a loved one, other significant events in the life of a believer, or days of the year that have special religious significance.