A good many years ago, in the monthly meeting of our book club in Waynesville, North Carolina, the subject of prayer came up during a discussion of Anne Tyler’s “Saint Maybe.” A doctor, an intelligent and well-spoken man with a wry sense of humor, asked of us, “What exactly is prayer? I mean, what do you do when you pray?”
His question was sincere. He had grown up in a non-religious household, and as it turned out, had never prayed in his life.
