A prayer is a request or thanks addressed to a god or other deity.
The word prayer is a borrowing from French. This is seen as early as 1300 CE, so it was borrowed during Middle English. As is common with Middle English, there is a large variety of spellings. The standard spelling of prayer began in Middle English and was essentially standardized in the 1700s where there is no longer evidence supporting a different spelling. Many of the spellings in Middle English contained more than one or two vowels, such as praeyer, praior, prayeere, and praiere. As Middle English progressed, the spelling changed to match the Great Vowel Shift. the pronunciation matched closer to ay, pronounced ej, instead of the large variety of vowels available in earlier spellings.
Many people use prayer to connect with higher powers. These higher powers could be spirits, deities, gods, or another energy that we are unfamiliar with as a whole. Devout Christians use prayer several times a day, often for thanks or for protection.
Sources:
Personal experience.
“Prayer, N. (1).” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, March 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/4601624186.