Rezarle vs. Rezar

Question

How come sometimes I here people say "rezar a dios" and other times here then say "rezarle a dios"? What is the difference in meaning between those phrases?

Answer 1

When they say "rezarle a Dios, there is probably a direct object following.

Voy a rezarle a Dios que me dé un buen trabajo. (I pray God gives me a good job.)

Just to Pray to God, will usually not require the "le"

Ah I never knew that a direct object could be a phrase. Does this work in all cases, i.e. a "no le entiendo lo que lee"? - olympiad42, Feb 19, 2017

Would the following work? "voy a dejarle que vaya" - olympiad42, Feb 19, 2017

Answer 2

It is a pleonastic use of "le", very comon in speaking language.

Es un uso pleonástico de "le", muy común en el lenguaje oral.