Like a Prayer (song) in sound, rhythm and texture appealed to different target audiences. Australian rock music journalist Toby Creswell wrote in his book "1001 Songs" that "'Like a Prayer' is a beautifully crafted devotional song in the guise of perfect pop. God is the drum machine here." Scholar Georges Claude Guilbert, author of "Madonna as Postmodern Myth: How One Star's Self-Construction Rewrites Sex, Gender, Hollywood and the American Dream", noted that there is a polysemy in "Like a Prayer" since the singer addresses either God or her lover, and in doing so "Madonna achieves the gold-card of attaining her own divinity. Whenever someone
Livin' on a Prayer second-hardest hit state after New York, suffering hundreds of casualties among both WTC workers and first responders – the band performed an acoustic version of this song for New York. Bon Jovi performed a similar version as part of the special "". In 2006, online voters rated "Livin' on a Prayer" No. 1 on VH1's list of The 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s. More recently, in New Zealand, "Livin' on a Prayer" was No. 1 on the C4 music channel's show "U Choose 40", on the 80's Icons list. It was also No. 1 on the "Sing-a-long Classics List".