American religious life is, probably more than we realize or wish to acknowledge, self-obsessed. When we pray, for instance, we’re usually thinking about ourselves and those closest to us, according to a new survey from LifeWay Research about the frequency and content of prayer.
More than eight in ten pray for family and friends, while seven in ten pray for their own difficulties and problems. And three times as many people pray for their future success (36 percent) as for their political leaders (12 percent), though the latter, not the former, is explicitly commanded in scripture.
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