Speaking of faith is supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, investing in ideas, returning results,

PewTrusts.com. Additional support is provided by the John Templeton Foundation and the Corporation

for Public Broadcasting. This is Speaking of Faith, conversation about belief, meaning ethics,

and ideas. I'm Krista Tippett. Today, Patterns of Prayer. Prayer is a universal aspect of religion

found in primitive and modern cultures alike. It is a primary expression of the human longing

to come into contact with the sacred, and it is an undeniable part of American life. In times of

crisis and celebration, Americans pray. In fact, sales of prayer books of every variety have been

exploding for years. Even Western medicine is looking at prayer and meditation as it expands

its definition of healing. Today, we'll explore patterns of prayer in a variety of traditions

and in the first person. The word prayer comes from a Latin root, meaning to entreat. This is

an eighth century prayer in Latin. Venny, Sancte, Spiritus. Come Holy Spirit, sung by the Spanish

monks of Santo Domingo de Silos. Seven times a day, every day of the year, like their brothers in

faith for over 1500 years, these monks pray through Gregorian chant. Americans bought this recording

by the millions in the late 1990s. In their practice of prayer, many modern Americans are increasingly

drawn to ancient teachings. And theologian Roberta Bondi is part of this movement. She's written

beloved, known on-sense books about how she learned to pray when she discovered the writings of

the earliest Christian monastics. Sometimes it seems when I'm talking to people about prayer that

one of the main points I have to keep making over and over is there is no right way. The important

thing is to find your way. And this was something that I learned from the Abbas and Amas of the

ancient desert. The Abbas and Amas were Christians from all walks of life, who around the fifth and

sixth centuries retreated from a church which they felt had been corrupted by its own power.

They went into the deserts of Egypt and Syria to pray. Politicians, generals, and peasants

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