Please pray it be

[pontios]

I went to use this expression, but before doing so I thought I should check google first and to my surprise there were only 5 google results.

Is anyone else surprised with this?

Actually using quotation marks brings up 34,000 results, so my bad.

Please (..pray it be) delete my post! .. what happened to the delete feature?

 

[Palavra]

I googled it and only got fifteen results back. How would you use this phrase? (I don't think we should delete it, unless you absolutely insist :))

 

[pontios]

I googled it and only got fifteen results back. How would you use this phrase? (I don't think we should delete it, unless you absolutely insist :))

I was going to use it in place of let's say, "please God let it be" ... just as a general supplication to a higher power, without bringing deities into it.

 

[nickel]

Υπάρχει το pray που χρησιμοποιείται σαν επίρρημα, συνώνυμο τού please, π.χ. Ladies and gentlemen, pray be seated (ODE). Προφανώς δεν έχουμε αυτό στην πρόταση εδώ.

Το ρήμα pray (= προσεύχομαι· παρακαλώ· εύχομαι) θα μπει στην προστακτική μόνο με τη σημασία «παρακάλα». Σε αυτή την περίπτωση το «it be» είναι υποτακτική (π.χ. Pray that it [should] be true). Ε, αυτή η σύνταξη δεν είναι συνηθισμένη και δεν μου φαίνεται ότι είναι αυτό που θέλεις να πεις.

 

[cougr]

I was going to use it in place of let's say, "please God let it be" ... just as a general supplication to a higher power, without bringing deities into it.

As nickel has already suggested, it couldn't be used in place of "please God let it be", however, it is quite acceptable when used as a general supplication to a higher power (eg. a guardian angel, Holy Mary etc ) or as is more common, when requesting that other persons pray for you. It is the elliptical version of "please pray (for me) that it will be". Far more common though is the similar expression in the first person ie. "I pray it be".

 

[pontios]

Thanks, nickel and cougr.
I just wanted to avoid a direct reference to God, Holy Mary etc.. and I didn't think it equated to these expressions.
I agree with "pray it be", without the "please" and that was what I preferred and first google searched, but it didn't produce many results. So, in the confusion, I added the "please" in the search, but I also happened to use quotation marks and ended up with
quite a few results.
I think I should have also then google searched "pray it be" using qoutation marks - which I just did and it brought up 1 million results!

Specifically I was after - Pray that it [should] be true as nickel interpreted it, so I will use it.
I was after something like - or "I hope it is so" or "I hope it is true", but with an entreaty (to a higher power) to boot.
So, it's exactly what I'm after.

I must remember to search with quotation marks from now on.