What is prayer? The question is rather straightforward, but with a bit of consideration you might find there is no easy answer. In Why People Pray , Rabbi Mordecai Schreiber examines this elusive nature of prayer, as well as the history of formal prayer and how it has been shaped--and continues to be shaped--by an era of unprecedented globalization. At the heart of Why People Pray is that very question:  why do we pray? What is it that compels us to have faith, or to give it up? Why do we continue to believe in a higher power in spite of discrimination, conflict, illness, and loss? Rabbi Schreiber's book introduces a fascinating new supposition:  that people of all faiths and all nationalities could conceivably find ways to pray together; using prayers that are universal to all while simultaneously preserving the integrity of each individual faith. He proposes a new approach to prayer, in which the spiritual adherents of the world's religions come together to formulate a universal expression of prayer that does not replace existing creeds, but rather transcends all creeds and gives voice to humanity's yearning for peace, freedom, and social justice.