“Prayer” was inspired lyrically by two events. The first event was the death of vocalist David Draiman’s grandfather, the second was the September 11 attacks, chiefly the response the clergy made to the events. Draiman explained, “Instead of consoling their flock, people [of the clergy] like Jerry Falwell and Oral Roberts chastised them and used the situation as a means of empowerment, saying it was our own fault because we’re a decadent and promiscuous people. I just thought that whole notion is ridiculous.” Therefore, “Prayer” is about a conversation between Draiman and God. In the conversation, Draiman is telling God to “bring it on” if he is trying to use pain to elicit a response from Draiman.
. Vocalist David Draiman, who wrote the treatment for the music video, explained that the music video is based on the story of Job from the Bible. Throughout the music video, Draiman is walking down a street and passes various scenes of desperation, such as a prostitute, a homeless man, and a preacher predicting the end of the world.
As Draiman continues to walk, the other members of Disturbed have various disasters befall them, and are presumably killed. (Steve Kmak is buried under falling debris, Dan Donegan crashes his car, and Mike Wengren is hit by a nearby construction explosion.) At the climax of the music video, Draiman survives an earthquake, and the remaining band members eventually come back to life and congregate with Draiman to play the last chorus. Draiman explains, “It’s like Job being put through trials and tribulations and still coming through unscathed and achieving his redemption
Because of the subject matter…we needed something grandiose like an earthquake or a meteor shower or some kind of act of God to show the hand of the supernatural or some greater power.”
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