Like a Prayer (song) calls her name, it alludes to the song". Theologian Andrew Greeley compared "Like a Prayer" with the biblical Song of Songs. Greeley, although focusing more on the video, acknowledged the fact that sexual passion may be revelatory, and complimented Madonna for glorifying ideologies of female subjectivity and womanhood in the song. Positive reviews also came from contemporary music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic called the track "haunting" and felt that it displayed a commanding sense of Madonna's songcraft. According to "Rolling Stone"s Gavin Edwards, it sounded glorious and "is the most transgressive—and the most irresistible" song of Madonna's career.
Like a Prayer (song) really like to thank Pepsi for causing so much controversy." "Like a Prayer" also topped video countdowns and critic lists. It was number one on MTV's countdown of "100 Videos That Broke The Rules" in 2005, and for the 25th anniversary of MTV, viewers voted it as the "Most Groundbreaking Music Video of All Time". In addition, the clip was ranked at number 20 on "Rolling Stone"s "The 100 Top Music Videos" and at number two on VH1's 100 Greatest Videos. Fuse TV named "Like a Prayer" one of its 10 "Videos That Rocked The World". In a 2011 poll