I really enjoyed reading Thomas' post about the 'sweat' ritual of the Indians of South Dakota. The sweat ritual sounds really different and exciting. During our meditation today I thought about the purpose of prayer other than for personal requests or repentance. I think that the 'quiet time' used for prayer further solidifies the idea that God is real. In our busy lives we try not to waste time and we like to feel like we are always accomplishing something important. When taking the time to be quite and peaceful it makes sense that we would be justifying this moment with a connection with something bigger than ourselves or feeling the presence of God. I think that prayer as a ritual and routine definitely strengthens faith or belief in God because we maintain a relationship with the idea that we are connecting with something bigger on a regular basis.