Praying Hands by Albrecht DürerChristians in prayer WikiA kneeling position with raised hands expressed “supplication” in classical antiquity. The word for “prayer” and for “supplication” is identical in ancient languages (oratio, προσευχή, תְּפִלָּה etc.), with no terminological distinction between supplications addressed to human as opposed to divine powers. Statuette known as “Praying German” or “supplicating barbarian”. It is not known if this figure was originally set in a context of religious prayer or of military surrender.The valkyrie Sigrdrífa says a pagan Norse prayer in Sigrdrífumál; illustration by Arthur RackhamOld woman praying by Théophile LybaertDavid Prays for Deliverance, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von KarolsfeldShakta Hindus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, pray to the goddess during Durga Puja, October 2003A Sikh holy man, doing Sikh prayer (Ardās)Many Thelemites recite “Resh” (Liber Resh vel Helios, or “Liber CC”) facing the direction of the ever-present sun as it rises in the East, triumphs in the (northern-hemisphere) South, sets in the West, and “hides” in the North. Image shows a close-up of the Stele of Revealing.To pray over an individual while laying hands on them is a form of faith healing in Christianity.
