There are many different ways to pray... and many different reasons to. So what is "the power of prayer" to you?

Read on to find out what's on the show, or click the "Listen" button to hear the podcast. (Originally aired Jan. 7, 2012)

 

Professional athletes are famous for their pre-game rituals. Lucky socks, put the left shoe on first, be the last person to leave the change room...you know the drill. But for Winnipeg Blue Bomber Obby Khan, that pre-game ritual always involves a prayer. And for a big match - like, say, the Grey Cup final -  he asked for a little help from his friends. He'll tell us about it.

Heather Hogan grew up loving God. The first words she learned to read were from the Bible,
and by the time she was 10 years old she was reciting complete passages from memory. And she'll tell us why she prayed for the exact same thing every night for more than eight years... before she realized her prayer had already been answered.

Sybil MacBeth has worked as a dancer and a math teacher. And these days she spends most of her time teaching at religious retreats and doing workshops for large organizations. But she's not teaching math or dance. A few years ago, Sybil came up with a specific method of prayer... through drawings. She'll explain how it works. (Below: Sook-Yin's prayer drawing: "Here's a prayer drawing I did for my pal Tori, after we had an argument. I felt a lot better. Squiggle, Sook-Yin.")



He whirled with dervishes, meditated with Buddhists, and had pizza with Franciscan friars. So what did Eric Weiner learn about prayer on his quest for the divine? Sook-Yin will talk with the author of Man Seeks God: My Flirtations With the Divine.

When did you last pray? Sook-Yin takes to the street to find out.

Sometimes, prayer has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. Heather Gold was a geek girl who's job was to cruise the streets of San Franciso on a scooter... pulling an advertisement on a trailer behind her. But one day Heather crashed into a whole new type of prayer...

Prayer - it isn't just for church any more. Sook-Yin will tell us about the most unusual place she prayed... with fellow former MuchMusic VJ Bradford Howe.

Now imagine having to find a place to pray, five times a day.. every day. Wherever you happen to be. That's part of the daily routine for Canadian Muslims, including writer and filmmaker Zarqa Nawaz. She's the creator of the CBC TV comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie,
and she's had her share of funny moments in life - especially when it comes to finding a place to pray five times a day. She'll tell us about the most unusual place she prayed.

Scott Thompson made millions of people laugh as of the founders of the ground-breaking Canadian sketch comedy group, Kids in the Hall. But a few years ago,he was diagnosed with cancer. Not such a laughing matter. He'll tell us about the surprising way prayer fit into his recovery. (Below: Scott and Sook-Yin praying in her office. Scott  took a moment out to thank God for "casting Sook-Yin in her prime for Shortbus.")




Prayer can inspire us to do many things. For lawyer Chris Tait, it motivated him to resist. When he was a high school student in tiny MacGregor, Manitoba - in the centre of the province's Bible belt - Chris refused to stand for the Lord's Prayer. What happened next put Chris in the headlines - and it led him on a crusade that continues to this day. He'll tell us about it.

Sook-Yin will tell us how, as a young Roman Catholic, she went a wee bit overboard with praying.

Andrea Menard is a multi-talented Metis songstress who has a rather unique outlook on prayer. That's because she considers all of her music to be a form of prayer. She'll tell us why - and play us one song that she fells particularly speaks to a greater power.

There's a saying that there are no atheists in a foxhole - the idea being that when we're really, truly tested, we all turn to a higher power. Of course, you never know the truth of that until you're tested... like Diane Flacks was. Her second son, Jonny, was born with some critical medical conditions, and he spent his first six months in the neo-natal intensive care unit at Sick Kids Hospital. And that's where Diane saw the power of prayer... but also learned what it meant to her.

And here's this week's playlist:

Phil Collins - "In the Air Tonight"
Jill Barber - "Oh My My"
Zeus - "Marching Through Your Head"
Sarah and Christian Dugas - "Another Day"
Ali Farka Toure - "Thanks To God"
The Hidden Cameras - "Miracle"
Madonna - "Like a Prayer"
Andrea Menard - "Sparkle" (live in studio)
Christa Couture - "I Don't Play Piano"