Whether it's intentional or not, saying something like, "That is not what praying is about," is inviting an ecumenical squabble. Prayer's about a lot of things

Whether it's intentional or not, saying something like, "That is not what praying is about," is inviting an ecumenical squabble. Prayer's about a lot of things to a lot of people. Regardless of whether you think a way that other people do it is correct or not, it still exists and is a thing. And offering strangers uninvited, prescriptive advice on how a religious practice should be done is a form of proselytization. I think, in this case, it's more useful to recognize and observe the context. For example, I am inclined to agree that the "God grant me the..." at the start of that particular prayer is typically understood, at least in the community where I grew up, as more of an idiom than an actual request of God. Very much like how neutronicus put it in a sibling comment. Even atheists will use it that way without any sense of dissonance. But there are also plenty of Christians who understand God as being a lot more hands-on about things, and that would support a different understanding of the prayer's connotations, which is every bit as valid.