- Father God, I just pray right now
that you will help Richard.
He is enslaved by heroin, Father.
(whispering)
(gentle music)
- Thank you for this food we have.
(praying in foreign language)
(gentle music)
- Oh Lord God.
(whispering)
(gentle music)
(praying in foreign language)
- Praying, for me, it's reminding myself,
you know, we're here as a test from God.
(praying in foreign language)
I pray five times a day, you know, I try to not miss it.
- Of course, man.
We got school, we got other people's
schedule that you have to follow for work.
- Blessed Divine, I call on you to thank you for
everything you have done for me in these past few weeks.
You have helped me through a hard time with anxiety,
you have helped me through a hard time with school.
When I pray, it reminds me that
there are deities looking over me.
(singing in foreign language)
- I think the way that I personally connect to it
is remembering what I'm grateful for
because I'm really bad at gratitude otherwise.
(singing in foreign language)
- The basic, simple stotra is Navkar Mantra
I do recite it with my daughter and we
curtail it at least twice or thrice a day.
(singing in foreign language)
- Mom, I'm hungry.
- Stasia, you ready, you gonna close your eyes?
- I was born and raised Roman Catholic and--
- I was raised Catholic but then converted to Mormon.
Our Heavenly Father--
- As far as our difference in religion,
I don't think our kids really care.
- In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
- [Kids] Amen.
- Ready?
Mama's gonna say her prayer.
- Mama's gonna say a grace too, okay?
(whining)
(laughing)
(whispering)
- Speaking in tongues is a gift.
It's more to do with having a way to pray
when you don't know what to say.
(whispering)
(drumming)
(deep whistle blowing)
- When you pray, I feel like I'm meditating
'cause I completely go numb.
(bell ringing)
- [Thuc] Sometime I feel like goosebumps.
- [Nani] I've cried in front of the altar many times.
There's just like a peace that kinda comes over you.
- I'll feel tingling in my shoulders, like soft TV static.
But altogether I feel powerful.
(singing in foreign language)
- It feels very communal because there is that script.
There's a sense of connection to everyone else who has
prayed this prayer, who is praying this prayer right now.
No, I'm forgetting the words,
lemme see if I can pull 'em up on my phone.
(groaning)
(singing in foreign language)
- When we're praying, we're standing in front of God.
(praying in foreign language)
It does make you nervous but at the same time, it's my Maker
and I know, you know, he loves me and I love him.
(praying in foreign language)
(percussive music)
(whispering)
- Well you have something, right?
Show me. (shushing)
- Thank you for this food we have here before us.
I pray that you have it nourish our bodies.
Gio, do you think Mama and Papa's church is different?
- Uh, you're gonna feel bad at this.
- No, no, we won't feel bad. - Be honest, it's okay.
- I just said Mama's.
- Yeah, you like Mama's? - Uh huh.
- Fortuna, bringer of good fortune,
I ask you to help me get this job coming up.
(speaking in foreign language)
- I ask God for things for myself,
I ask God for things for other people.
If I need a parking spot, I ask for one
and very often, I get one.
- Recently we have a passing, I pray for him.
We open our hands up this way, it's,
I kinda see it as like a beggar.
- Oh God, please keep the family happy.
The kids are coming out for the SAT tests,
can you please help them?
- Father God, I just pray right now
that you will help Richard.
He is enslaved by heroin, Father.
Please reveal yourself to him, help him to see.
So on 167th and Aurora, there's a methadone clinic.
Father, they're broken inside.
Pour your grace, pour your grace in them.
So I ask them for whatever they need prayer for
and sometimes, the prayer is to get methadone
and I do pray for that and God answers that prayer.
- [Nani] I remember we were fighting
'cause we used to fight a lot
and I started praying and I started
just like bawling my eyes out.
Like I don't even know if you're listening
or if there is anybody even up there,
if you can even hear me, but I don't know
what's gonna happen and I'm really scared.
There's so much going on in my life
and I don't know what to do
and I just want everything to be okay
is what I basically hoped and wished for.
I mean, apparently.
(laughing)
(praying in foreign language)
- My dad expired two years back
and I couldn't see him, I was here.
At that time, the only thing I asked for
could it just be for some more time
that I could go visit him.
- No.
(praying in foreign language)
- Sometimes, God does say no.
I think the thing that matters, though,
is that we understand God has heard us.
(whispering)
- Yeah, I just, I used to think that too
because I was so focused on that prayer had to have
a physical manifestation of change to mean anything.
(singing in foreign language)
But prayer is more to change human hearts,
even if it doesn't physically change anything.
L'Chaim.
- I get people saying that oh, it's not real,
doing spells that won't work, praying,
there's no one actually listening.
But it makes me feel less helpless.
- I was sitting out there on Aurora
and there was a guy who started laughing at me.
He's like what a waste of time
and I reminded him that God loves him.
And he said, "F you, lady" and walked away.
- I don't think so.
I thank all of you who I have
called on today and who has listened.
(gentle music)
(praying in foreign language)
- Why do you pray? - Maybe Jesus
likes to hear about the day?
(whispering)
Ya'rub, help us in this world and hereafter, amen.
I'm done.
(bell ringing)
(clapping)