Good guide. This is the difference between meditation and prayer in the monotheistic sense of the word: in meditation, one examines one's own conscience, until one realizes that what we call "I" does not really exist, that the duality between thinker and object of thought is false. In prayer, we are asking a fictional deity to help us overcome whatever obstacle is in our way, or we ask him to give us the strength necessary.

This is why many atheists see much value in Buddhist writings, since many are like step by step guidebooks that teach the reader the path to awareness. Christian, Muslim and Judaic writings are dogma, and require complete submission to their respective rules and regulations, 90% of which are totally arbitrary.