Barna research says slightly more than four out of five adults in the U.S. (84%) claim they had prayed in the past week. That has been the case since Barna began tracking the frequency of prayer in 1993.
U.S. News and the Internet site Beliefnet funded a poll to learn more about why, how, where and when people pray. Here is a summary of the findings:
- 75% percent were Christian.
- 64% say they pray more than once a day.
- 56% say they most often pray for family members, with 3.3% saying that they pray for strangers.
- A little over 38% say that the most important purpose of prayer is intimacy with God.
- 41% say that their prayers are answered often.
- 1.5% say that their prayers are never answered.
- Over 73% say when their prayers are not answered, the most important reason is because they did not fit God’s plan.
- 5% say that they pray most often in a house of worship.
- 79% say that they pray most often at home.
- 67% say that in the past six months, their prayers have related to continually giving thanks to God. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, 12/24/04)
