A blurry line between prayer and meditation

For a long time I’ve often thought that prayer and meditation were about the same. with the former for religious believers and the latter for the rest of us. 

My view wasn't actually far from reality. While both forms of spirituality have been around for thousands of years, the main difference between prayer and meditation is that prayer involves a belief in some deity and active interaction with that supreme power, while meditation needs no particular belief and is an independent practice of nonjudgmental observation. 

True, prayer as it is practiced by religious folks takes a wide variety of forms, like contemplation, demands for divine intervention or direction, expression of gratitude, and can also take the form of religious meditation which probably explains my initial interpretation. 

Sure, the reverse is true as meditation is immensely varied and may also take place in the context of a religion, but mindfulness meditation is a secular practice focused on independent introspection and observation. Prayer is often seen as a form of meditation for those immersed into contemplative prayer that shares much in common with meditation. 

Obviously, with each practice fallacies abound, like the fact that some people believe that prayer can cure diseases or solve problems without any other intervention. Similarly, some also believe that meditation can cure problems too or is a sure way to enlightenment. 

However, all of these beliefs are not supported by scientific evidence and often, the effect expected remains largely confined to the imagination of the practitioner. In both instances, it won’t work on elements we don’t control.

Obviously, if these points fail to answer the question, there’s the alternative illustrated here above that offers a cute, easy (and lazy) explanation by saying that “Prayer is when you talk to God, Meditation is when you listen to God”...