about coming to feel empathy for someone else even if they hurt you or scare you. It's a song about learning to be proud of the person you are even during low moments when you feel alone. It's also about hoping everyone, even someone who hurt you, can heal." Composition and lyrical interpretation "Praying" is a pop piano ballad written by Kesha, Ryan Lewis, Ben Abraham, and Andrew Joslyn that features elements of gospel and soul music. The song was produced by Lewis and is written in the key of G minor, with a moderately slow tempo of 74 beats per minute. Vox's Caroline Framke felt that the track was a departure from the "dive bar party anthems" which Kesha has become known for. The song's production is minimal, with Kesha joined on the track by violins, violas, strings, cellos, "distant" backing vocals and drums. Dan Weiss of Billboard deemed "Praying"'s arrangement "unfashionable" and said the song does not sound like contemporary music. The chorus of "Praying" features Kesha singing "I hope you're somewhere praying, praying/ I hope your soul is changing, changing/ I hope you find your peace falling on your knees, praying." The refrain has been described as "soaring but simple" by Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic, in the vein of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" (2002) and Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens to You" (2015). According to Kesha, "Praying" is "about hoping everyone, even someone who hurt you, can heal." The song addresses a tormentor with the lyrics: "You brought the flames and you put me through hell/ I had to learn how to fight for myself/ And we both know all the truth I could tell/ I'll just say this: I wish you farewell." The Atlantics Kornhaber thought that the track's message was "love your enemies" and displayed "Christlike grace", further noting that Kesha did not exude invulnerability on "Praying" the way she did in some of her previous songs, like "Dinosaur" (2010). Similarly, Eve Barlow of Variety said that Kesha "pushes through her demons and possesses a remarkable level of empathy and understanding" on the track. Conversely, Pitchforks Jillian Mapes felt that the song's sentiments were akin to "telling the person who ruined your life to 'take care' when you really mean 'fuck you,'" while Billboards Weiss interpreted the recording as a "coded threat that [Kesha] will no longer be silenced." According to Tatiana Cirisano of the