Of the 42 per cent (20 million) of UK adults who pray, 13 million pray at least once a month and 12 million at least once a week. Nine million adults pray every day.
The survey, conducted among a representative sample of 2,000 adults, reveals strong belief in the power of prayer to bring about positive change in the world.
One in three people believes that God is watching over them and will answer their prayers; for the same number of people, praying makes them feel better - more peaceful and content (38%), stronger (30%), reassured (21%) and happier (19%); and 12 million adults believe that prayer can change their friends', families' and their own lives. One in five believes prayer changes the world.
When it comes to the most popular topics of prayer among the 20 million of UK adults who pray, family & friends (68%) leads the way, followed by thanking God (41%). World issues rank fifth on the list (25%), highlighting the challenge for Tearfund to encourage more prayer for issues of poverty.
Among churchgoers within the survey, 90 per cent say they pray (outside of religious services). Six out of 10 churchgoers pray every day, with two-thirds believing that prayer changes the lives of people living in poverty in developing countries.
Said Matthew Frost, Tearfund Chief Executive: "This report means a great deal to us at Tearfund in our work to help to eradicate poverty through local churches, by demonstrating the prevalence and potential of prayer.
"We hope in the future to encourage more prayer in support of such issues as fairer global trade rules, quicker progress towards halving world poverty by 2015 and stronger action to tackle climate change."
Tearfund is encouraging people to make a difference by visiting the Global Poverty Prayer Week website www.bepartofamiracle.org
Other findings from Prayer in the UK include:
London is prayer capital of UK, with 73% of adults praying.
9.5 million people (47% of those who pray) believe that prayer changes what happens to the lives of people living in poverty in developing countries.
While 42% of UK adults pray, the figure for church attendance (at least once a year) is 22%.
