plea vs prayer

plea and prayer both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
plea	Yes	No	No	No
prayer	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, prayer is a hypernym of plea; that is, prayer is a word with a broader meaning than plea:

Other hypernyms of plea include appeal, entreaty.

plea (noun)	prayer (noun)
an answer indicating why a suit should be dismissed	the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
a humble request for help from someone in authority	earnest or urgent request
(law) a defendant's answer by a factual matter (as distinguished from a demurrer)	a fixed text used in praying
	reverent petition to a deity
	someone who prays to God