ok will say how this prayer brainwave came about to me
on a trek. there was a steep incline, fort on top, and path leading to the fort. I was on top of the fort, watching a group come up the path. One oversmart guy thought he could skip the path, and just go straight up the incline to the fort... where I was seeing him from. None of his group members had the sense to stop him. See him coming up fast, and it's easy to go up a steep slope, but it's a one-way road, once you start like that you can only slide down. But he made it almost to the top, about five meters from the edge of the fort wall, he stopped at a particularly steep area, difficult to go on. Then he saw behind him how steep it was. Then he went sideways to try a slightly diff route, and slipped. Donno if he panicked and then he slipped, or he panicked after he slipped. He slipped for a little distance and grabbed the hill side with his fingers used like claws. Then he started looking around helplessly, and I saw him praying. No folded hands or anything, but you could clearly see him wishing he was out of that place. He turned around, sat down, wiped sweat from face and looked skywards. This was not a conscious motion, but a very animal-like one. And then after about two-three minutes, he slowly and carefully, looking around at the terrain made it to the wall of the fort, and walked along the edge till he found a broken bit he climbed over.
this incident made me think specifically prayer and maybe religion has some natural aspects to it, that we have become very separated from.
you can say it was his own self control. does not stop from prayer being a component of it.
If you ask me to learn Yoga, and I don't then that's not selfish. But if I come from a family of Yoga Teachers, or say mridangam players, and I don't turn out to be a Yoga Teacher or a Mridangam Player myself, just like my ancestors, would call that at least a lil bit selfish. There are many, many benefits of belief and religion. Atheists, simply throw all these away as irrational, superstitious, and stupid, another way to assert their independence. Im talking about atheists we know irl, friends of ours, not experts and scholars in atheism. Also, many are atheists only during debates, but at home will eat prasad, touch elder's feet, and all that. Wudn't call them hypocrites.
skepticism is good in science and religion
You strictly can practice religion for it's community benefits (Christmas, Ganesh Utsav, eg), even without believing in or God