對神說的話與這件事
這一組是字的本義所在：先是那些話，再是說那些話的行為，最後是一群人固定一起做這件事的場合。三個意思其實是同一個畫面拉遠、再拉遠。
a prayer (words) · noun · B1
The words you say when you speak to God or a god.
禱告詞
核心畫面
Picture someone speaking to God: hands together, words either said aloud or kept inside. Those words are the prayer. From that one picture English lets the word slide outward - to the act of speaking, to the meeting where a group does it together, and then out of religion altogether, to any wish held so hard that it feels like asking heaven for it.
可以想成 prayer 的畫面是一個人在對神說話：手合起來，話有時出聲、有時只在心裡。那些話本身就是 prayer。…更多收起
可以想成 prayer 的畫面是一個人在對神說話：手合起來，話有時出聲、有時只在心裡。那些話本身就是 prayer。從這個畫面出發，這個字往外滑——滑到「說這些話的行為」，滑到「一群人一起做這件事的聚會」，最後滑出宗教之外，變成任何一個抱得很緊、像是在向上天要的願望。Three branches
抱得很緊的願望
把宗教的外框拿掉，只留下「很想要、只能盼」的那份心情。禱告本來就是把最想要的事說出口，所以英文直接借它來講一個強烈的心願。
hope / wish · noun · B1
A strong, serious hope that something you want will happen.
心願
把禱告當成最後的指望
在這兩個固定說法裡，prayer 代表「人已經無計可施、只剩下求」的那個位置。連這個都沒有，就是一點機會也沒有；反過來，來的東西剛好對上那個求，就是天上掉下來的救星。
not have a prayer · noun · B1
If you do not have a prayer, you have no chance at all of succeeding.
毫無機會
原始詞典資料7 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
prayernoun詞源 1/pɹɛə/
- 1
A practice of communicating with one's God, or with some spiritual entity.
- Through prayer I ask for God's guidance.
- In many cultures, prayer involves singing.
- 2
An act of praying.
- Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.
- In that spirit, we’ll close with the wish we always offer at the end of our annual review, although this time it’s more of a prayer: Happy new year.
- 3
The specific words or methods used for praying.
- Christians recite the Lord's Prayer.
- For Baha'is, there's a difference between obligatory prayers and devotional prayers.
- 4
A meeting held for the express purpose of praying.
- Grandpa never misses a chance to go to prayer.
- 5
A request; a petition.
- This, your honor, is my prayer; that all here be set free.
- 6
The remotest hope or chance.
- That team doesn't have a prayer of winning the championship.
prayernoun詞源 2/ˈpɹeɪə(ɹ)/
- 1
One who prays.
- If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar / A hope-er^([sic]), a pray-er^([sic]), a magic bean buyer…
- Out of the 37 respondents, seven are infrequent prayers who prefer to leave the precise details of their prayer life ambiguous.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。