Is it okay to pray without being religious?

An agnostic reader with health worries wants to do no harm

Dear Isabel,

I consider myself agnostic. I don't discard the existence of a God, but I'm also not sure and don't follow a single religion.

I'm going through a real bad time, and have a bunch of anxiety about upcoming health tests.

I want to pray that I will be okay, that my tests will be negative, but I'm not sure if this would make things worse because I’m not religious. I've even considered asking others to pray for me but again, I don't know if that's a bad thing.

Need Help

Dear Help,

I appreciate your wish to be respectful of other people’s beliefs. Nothing in your letter strikes me as disrespectful—just the opposite. You are in need and you are wondering about something that other people do in such situations.

So I don’t think you are at risk of making things worse, whether by praying yourself or asking someone to pray for you. If it helps, many people who do have faith in a God have doubts about prayer—or just doubts, period. In a famous passage in the Bible, someone tells Jesus, “I believe—help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) I think it’s quoted so often because most people experience a myth of believing and doubting.

I’m sorry you are going through such a bad time. I hope—and with your permission, I’ll pray—that your health problems will resolve soon.

Wishing you well,

Isabel