Studies conducted by other researchers with small numbers of hallucinating volunteers suggest that when people hear voices out of nowhere, their brains are failing to identify internal thoughts as self-generated, Sommer says. In other words, neural activity reflects a mental state in which imagined statements are interpreted as coming from someone else. Confusion about the source of one’s own thoughts could apply to sensory overrides as easily as to psychotic hallucinations, Luhrmann says.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/prayer-hallucination-and-date-night-with-god/

Martian: This person sums up what I would like to tell christians/muslims but I'm always too busy laughing or saying it in a mocking fashion.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/blog/2012/04/05/prayer-hallucination-and-date-night-with-god/
one lazy dog, on April 6th, 2012 at 5:18 am Said:
[b]I don’t think it’s too surprising to hear that people see or hear their culture's specific god or gods. As an artifical construct that is specific to humankind throughout history, spirit worlds of all sorts have been conjured up for many reasons and rationales. To “know” that god speaks to one as an individual is no doubt emotionally comforting, but what about the many others across all societies and history who have similarly known that their god or gods speak also to them. Are we saying that they are wrong and delusional, but we are right?

A belief in some sort of spiritual life is all well and good, but one should not be upset that such a thing does not stand up to an objective and scientific analysis. There is a reason why miracles of the church have disappeared with the appearance of the age of reason. I would advise the devout to be content with their inner spirituality, but be cautious in demanding that others follow your own beliefs. What each of us “know” is very much our own.[/b]

*edited