We learn in the Bible that prayer is incredibly important. When we pray, we ask, and when we ask, we will receive (Luke 11:10). Especially if we are persistent, like the persistent widow who takes our petitions to the judge (Luke 18:1-8). We also know that prayers can have a better impact if we synergize with the use of fasting (Matthew 17:21). The verse says, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” We also know that we should complete all prayers in privacy and not in public (Matthew 6:5-6). We are also told always to pray (Luke 18:1), and we are instructed on how to pray (Luke 11:2-4). So we should always be asking, seeking, knocking, and praying. This is because when we do this, we have access to the Throne of God. Jesus says, in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
But if you had to be honest, for as much as we probably all know on the subject, do we really have an active prayer life? I think a lot about prayer and how it is real, but I also have much more to learn about it. Unfortunately, I have to admit, beyond needing more understanding about it, that I need to do a lot more praying. So, while I wonder about it, I need to do more of it. For me, one of the best ways to increase my understanding of the subject is to think about it. So that is what this writing is all about: thinking about prayer and about what happens when we pray.
So, I think several things could happen to us when we pray. Here are my speculations about prayer. A.) Perhaps we are encountering a form of quantum entanglement when one existence is nearly the same as another existence in another location. And when we pray, when we pray—looking at scripture and questioning the possibility of a dual existence in both this and the heavenly kingdom simultaneously. Or B.) When we pray, our souls have the opportunity to detach and go to heaven. Finally, C.) When we pray, God comes to us, and we have to let Him in. Anyhow, these are three considerations about prayer that I investigate in this writing.
A.) A Quantum Existence
When first considering what is prayer, I think it may be a form of quantum entanglement. Perhaps this explains what happens to a person when they pray? Quantum Entanglement was first proposed by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen in 1935 (Goshu, 2025). At that time, Einstein was already a household name and had won the Nobel Prize for Science in 1921 (Nobel Foundation, n.d.). The theory of Quantum Entanglement postulates that two identical objects, separated by vast distances, have the same properties and exhibit the same behavior. Goshu (2025) provided an example of tango dancers: they are both dancing, yet they appear to be the same, yet they are different. The same could be true for this phenomenon. When we pray, are we existing in two different places simultaneously, or is there already a facsimile there?
These thoughts on quantum existence and its plausibility in prayer came from watching the movie Ready Player One. In the sci-fi movie set in 2045, the experience of “existing” in two places at once is achieved through a combination of high-tech gear that bridges the gap between the physical body and a digital avatar (Tallerico, 2018, March 27). When the player is in this online environment, their consciousness is transported online, while their physical body remains in the real world, acting as a “controller.”
The concepts of transhumanism carry an eerily similar effect. In the Ready Player One movie, the producers tout the possibility of even a temporary shift in transhumanistic consciousness. I take a lot of what I see in movies as an actual possibility because so much research goes into these productions. Wang, Li, and Cui (2024) postulated that science fiction movies make science interesting for viewers. They also said that science is traditionally boring, but by repackaging it into movies, viewers are inspired by science.
Although it is impossible to know for sure what happens when we pray, this is a plausible explanation. The next scenario offers a different perspective that our bodies are separated when we are in effective prayer.
B.) Batman’s Car: And a Detachable Soul That Goes and Meets With God in Heaven
There could be another possibility for what prayer is and what happens when we do it. It could be like Batman’s car, the “Tumbler,” from the movie The Dark Knight. The car in the movie detached and became a motorcycle (Rory Anderson, 2024, July 11). Similarly, we may have multiple components that can detach. I know for sure that we have a spirit, a soul, and a body. The body is located here, but if our spirit and soul could exist in different locations, this could happen when we pray. This idea is partially supported by scripture such as 2 Cor 12:3-4 where it says, “ And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.” The apostle Paul described a kind of detachment, saying he was unsure how it was possible but felt as if he were in heaven, a state similar to that described by Enoch.
I think that this is also a plausible explanation for what happens when we pray. We know that with this example, there is a biblical description to ground this example in Truth. The next and final scenario also offers a different perspective, but it is also grounded in scriptural Truth.
C.) He Knocks on Our Door and Comes to Us
Harry Emmerson Fosdick (1915), a great 20th-century theological thinker, has some interesting thoughts on prayer. He recalls in scripture how Jesus would not pray with Himself, but rather, have a meeting with His Father. This is what prayer should be for us, an actual meeting with Jesus, God the Father, or Holy Spirit. When Jesus would pray, these profound interactions were so real that even His countenance would change at times. Fostick said the following:
To Jesus, for example, the meaning of prayer was not that God would give him whatever he asked. God did not. That sustained and passionate petition where the Master thrice returned with a blood-stained face, to cry, ‘Let this cup pass’ (Matt. 26:39), had ‘No’ for an answer. Neither did prayer mean to Jesus merely the reflux action of his own mind. Jesus prayed with such power that the one thing which his disciples asked him to teach them was how to pray (Luke 11:1); he prayed with such conscious joy that at times the very fashion of his countenance was changed with glory of it (Luke 9:28, 29). Can you imagine him upon his knees, then talking to himself? Was he merely catching the rebound of his own words? Surely, when the Master prayed, he met somebody. His life was impinged on by another Life.(Fosdick, 1915, p. 31-32).
Fosdick’s perspective indicates that Jesus’s likeness changed from time to time when meeting with His Father. We can confirm this by other passages in scripture, such as when Jesus climbed the mountain with Peter, James, and John in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9. Similarly, when He comes to us, our likeness can also change. But we have to open the door. It is up to us to answer the door and let Him in. Of the various scenarios, this is highly plausible since Christ has mentioned this very concept in His word.
Conclusion
This writing considers all of the various scenarios about prayer, thinking about its mechanics, and seeking an understanding of “what happens” when we pray. In this writing, primarily, there were three distinctive frameworks for prayer:
A.) The Quantum Existence
This is considered Quantum Entanglement, and the possibility that prayer might represent a dual existence. In this existence, when we pray, our soul exists both in the physical realm and in the heavenly realm simultaneously. Using Ready Player One as a premise for this plausibility, I compare prayer to transhumanism and the potential to shift in our consciousness, keeping our physical body in place here while the soul and our consciousness are active in the heavenly realm where the Lord God is.
B.) The Pod Soul
Inspired by the Batpod’s ejection from the Tumbler in The Dark Knight, this theory suggests that the human soul may have the ability to temporarily detach from the body. This runs with comments made by the Apostle Paul’s “out of body” experience described in 2 Corinthians 12. This theory also draws support from Enoch and his journey to Heaven, involving a literal, temporary relocation of the soul when praying.
C.) A Visitation from Jesus
Referencing Harry Emerson Fosdick, the theory that prayer is fundamentally a “meeting” between God and ourselves. This perspective includes the feeling that prayer is a real interaction similar to the Transfiguration (Matthew 17, Luke 9), and we, too, are transformed by the meeting with God, right from here on Earth. He comes to us and knocks at our door, at our heart, and we have to let Him in.
Of the various examples, I think they are all relevant. No matter what happens when we pray, I think that we have to be honest about our prayer lives. I know that I personally need to fit more prayer time into my busy schedule!
References:
Fosdick, H. E. (1915). The meaning of prayer. Association Press.
Goshu, B. S. (2025). A Review of Quantum Entanglement and Spiritual Implications: Exploring the Universe’s Fate.
Nobel Foundation. (n.d.). The Nobel Prize in Physics 1921. NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1921/summary/
Rory Anderson. (2024, July 11). Batmobile the tumbler: How was it made? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZJs-VNkSEI
Tallerico, B. (2018, March 27). Ready Player One movie review & film summary (2018). RogerEbert.com. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ready-player-one-2018
Wang, Y., Li, J., & Cui, Y. (2024). Science communication with science fiction movies. The Innovation, 5(2), 100589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100589