In 1952 , the U.S. Congress and President Harry Truman established a National Day of Prayer and encouraged all Americans , regardless of religion , to celebrate their faith through prayer . Prayer is a part of everyday liveliness for many people all over the human beings . According to Pew Research study , more than half of Americans account they pray daily . An additional 23 percent implore weekly or monthly , and 76 percent of Americans believe prayer is an important part of each day [ source : Lipka ] .
Prayer is an integral part of many faith and cultures . It can be a supplication for aid , an expression of gratitude , a way to hero-worship and a means to find companionship with others . Along with the many different iteration of prayer , there are many rituals that surround the act of appeal . One of the most prevalent is closing one’seyes .
Why do so many people close their eyes to beg ? In the Bible , there are descriptions of prayers made standing , posing , kneel or with arms raised , yet there are n’t any poetry that insist the eyelids exclude during prayer . There are , however , a number of verses that key out people praying in private , which may offer a cue . For many , supplicant is a private topic , an intercession between a somebody and God or another higher power . Closing your center as you do it is a fashion to block out distractions and concentrate on the conversation . or else of using your eye to communicate with others , you shut them and turn your thoughts inward .
By closing your eyes during entreaty , you may be continuing a ritual whose roots are infuse in story . Long ago , looking straightaway at a top executive or any swayer was reckon insolent . The proper response when seem before a ruler was to conclude your optic or , if you were palpate really daring , wait downward . miscarry to do so could launch an inauspicious chain of events that might end with a sleepover in the donjon or a date with the closure by compartment .
Adopting a deferential airs – in other discussion , closing your eye – during prayer became an appropriate way of life to show humility , something that was specially important when asking for mercy . Today , it ’s a usual posture for prayers of all kinds .
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