Its lyrics deal with personal themes she had been too afraid to approach on previous albums: her Catholic upbringing, her troubled marriage to actor Sean Penn, the death of her mother, and her relationship with her father.

It was also an international success, reaching the top of the charts in 20 countries, and was certified quadruple platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[18] He would create the music while she worked on the lyrics; "[Pat] puts together these really strange chord progressions and these really great time signatures [...] I'd start singing words to it and making them fit", the singer explained.

[22] As with Leonard, the singer was in charge of the lyrics and intervened in the final touches; "I've always done the ribcage and the skeleton of the songs, she's there for the last things like the eyebrows and the haircut", noted Bray.

[29] Madonna then went back to Los Angeles to start rehearsals for Speed-the-Plow; some time later, Prince went to New York see a performance of the play and gave the singer a rough tape with the songs they had recorded over the phone.

[24] The track has been compared to the work of Eddie Kendricks and the Temptations; Prince provides "Jimmy Nolen funk guitar[s] and falsetto vocals", singing both in his upper and lower registers.

[37][41][48] Closer "Act of Contrition" is an experimental song with psychedelic tones;[49] it begins with a "whispered invocation" and features distorted guitar and backward tracking of a gospel choir.

For Like a Prayer, Madonna adopted a new image; she dyed her blonde hair dark, wore well-worn jeans, multiple rings on her fingers, garnet-encrusted crucifixes, a string of colored beads and glass gemstones around her neck.

[54] Shot by Herb Ritts, it depicts a close-up of the singer's crotch and hands; the first two buttons of her fly are undone and her fingers, adorned with rings and beads, hold down the top of her jeans.

Warner Bros sent the station a cease and desist and tried unsuccessfully to contact Lippincott, who revealed that he didn't think it was a legit court order, but a "strong request" from the label.

[12][28] Noting that it is an "equal opportunity disease", and that "people with AIDS – regardless of their sexual orientation – deserve compassion and support", it marked the first time a mainstream artist had ever included AIDS-related information within a product.

[54] To commemorate the album's 30th anniversary, a "devoted playlist" was made available on March 21, 2019; it included the original track list ―with the exception of "Promise to Try" and "Act of Contrition"―, remixed versions of the singles, and the previously unreleased "Supernatural".

[68][69] The number began with the singer descending from a flight of stairs; she then removes her coat to reveal the bustier and, together with Haris and De Lory, did a dance routine called voguing.

[69][71] Author Ian Inglis singled out the "provocatively choreographed, dance production number" that went on to "highlight the 'TV' part of MTV, and in a way heralded [Madona] and the network as a cultural arbiter".

[82][83] It was a global success, reaching number one in Canada, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland.

[84] The accompanying music video, directed by Mary Lambert, sees Madonna with stigmata on her palms, dancing in front of burning crucifixes and praying to a crying statue of a black saint, who comes to life and seduces her.

[15][85] Released on May 9, second single "Express Yourself" received positive reviews from critics, who applauded its gender equality message and deemed it a hymn to freedom and encouragement to women and oppressed minorities.

The visual shows a city full of tall skyscrapers and railway lines; Madonna plays two characters: a masculine Marlene Dietrich-like persona, and a submissive wife chained half naked to a bed.

[38] Barry Walters also named it the singer's best and most consistent; the author noted the record covers "more stylistic and emotional grounds" than Madonna's previous works, and goes beyond "being merely a great assembly of future singles".

[94] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani said it was one of the "quintessential pop albums of all time", and highlighted its "sophisticated arrangements, deeply felt lyrics, and [Madonna]'s stronger, more assured vocals".

[52] USA Today's Edna Gundersen elaborated: "Madonna's voice will never be brilliant, but she summons so much emotional intensity on Like a Prayer that the calculated come-on in Like a Virgin sounds like a disembodied chirp".

[12] Writing for Billboard, Kenneth Partridge considered it Madonna's "most introspective and eclectic album to date [...] funky, poignant [...] [it's] one of her most fully realized collection of songs".

[111] More critical was Chaz Repak from The Cavalier Daily; he applauded the "improved" songwriting, but wasn't convinced with the idea of a "mature Madonna", concluding: "Like a Prayer constitutes [her] best work to date.

According to Entertainment Weekly's Nicholas Fonseca, Like a Prayer marked an "official turning point" in Madonna's career, as it earned her "a long-awaited, substantive dose of critical acclaim".

[169] Writing for The Guardian, Lucy O'Brien expressed that, by "dismantling old Catholic patriarchal messages [Madonna] created a concept album, moving from pop stardom to artistry".

[172] From NPR, Laura Rydell said the album led the way for a new generation of female pop singers to "express themselves", to which Liza Lentino from Spin added that, "[Madonna] lit a blowtorch and poured taboo-based gasoline on restrictions for women in music".

[175] "The magnum opus of her first decade and arguably her defining creative statement [...] with Like a Prayer, Madonna established that she was a pop star who happened to come from the '80s, not a product of the '80s — and that she would remain relevant long after her peers faded into memory like a Rubik's Cube or Teddy Ruxpin".

Writing for NME, El Hunt noted influence of Like a Prayer in the work of contemporary female artists such as Christine and the Queens, Rihanna, and Ariana Grande.

[175][177] Nick Levine added: "[Like a Prayer] is a rare beast: an iconic pop album that retains its ability to surprise you, using richly evocative songcraft to explore deeply personal themes—sometimes spiritual, sometimes socially conscious—from a woman's perspective.

Decades before Beyoncé's Lemonade and Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next, it laid the foundation for the deeply persona pop blockbuster, auteured by a strong woman at the peak of her creative powers".