Prayer did not work for me for a long time. Then I got a tape by a man who does a lot of program's on pbs about spiritual stuff and another man told me that he listen's to him. Still, another person in our family said that her nursing friend listen's to him also so I went out and found some of his stuff and listened to it. The one tape that helped me was on meditation, it helped me to pull the Gerbil off the wheel for a while each day.
The reason i am saying this is because then, and only then, has saying a prayer, a certain prayer I learned in my church way back when I attended now puts me right to sleep.
I guess the thing is for me, does it work....lol...do I find comfort in it, does it bring relief.
It does, whether I believe in this deity I am talking to or not, it brings me relief and that is a huge thing for me.