The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word MATINS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
M
A
T
I
N
S
More clues leading to the result MATINS
- Short service collecting money for another
- Taking a month off planning Martinmas 6
- Old lady can start to say prayer
- Church service, shortened one with money collected
- Writing about a time in service
- In this there will be praying mantis on the move
- Time invested in water supply service
- Religious service in the morning: it’s about time sin must be dealt with
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "prayer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case prayer = matins.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MATINS mean?
MATINS noun- Together with lauds, the earliest of the canonical hours; normally at sunrise, but often earlier
- Morning prayers