I have no doubt that prayer actually DOES "...bring comfort during tough times..." for those who already believe.

I would suggest that it is one form of mental exercise ...much like bio-feedback or hypnotism. When one is convinced that 'this exercise often works', it creates a feeling that 'I have done something positive'...etc. Because of the built-in disclaimers... ("God might say "No", and that is a valid answer")... prayer is a self-validating hypothesis. If prayers are answered positively, "God heard and helped", if not, "God's wisdom and decision cannot be questioned".

In many ways, this is a pretty easy way to deal with the problems of life. Just saying "we can't fathom God's ways and His plans for us" relieves us of trying to cope with many of the bewildering complexities.
As one who tries to balance 'what I would like to be true' with what 'I can't KNOW might be true', I will guarantee that I often envy those who find solace and comfort in belief & prayer....especially in the death of loved ones. When my father died after years of decline, the only thing I could say was "at least he doesn't hurt any more.."

All this is why that, *IF* I had a button that would instantly stop 'religious belief' in all of mankind, I would NOT push it. I am resigned to the idea that 'death is the end', but most people are not, and I can barely imagine the chaos if their 'pie in the sky' was taken away.

I do not, and cannot, believe in reincarnation, 'eternal life in a heaven', and/or "The Wheel of Samsara"... but I certainly will do no more than explain myself in threads like this. (I usually will not go into detail with folks I talk to casually unless pressed.)

Perhaps many thousands of years..(*if the race survives conflict partially fueled BY religious differences*) will see more education and less reliance on 'easy answers', but I really doubt that 'belief' in supernatural answers will ever go away, as part OF being human is the ability to form "what if" questions, and invent the same answers over & over...