I know that ように can be used like 'as' or 'like' and can also be used like 'ために'. But I was watching this TV show where they show 絵馬 and I noticed that almost all the wishes end with ように, which I couldn't understand at first. A web search turned up this which says:
if it's at the end of a sentence (or just after a verb, but that's usually at the end), it can mean you want something to happen, or like... "may x happen" or "let x happen"
My question is, could you use this in every day conversation? Like for example, if I hope our team wins, could I say: 勝ちますように? My extremely limited experience says it sounds weird, but is it? I remember hearing ように used like this before (いい物見つかりますように) but that was in a game (and spoken by a little child) so I'm not sure if that counts.
Answer
It is extremely common to end wish-making phrases with ように. In fact, I (a native speaker) do not know of another way of making a wish.
Everyone regardless of age or gender uses this ending. We often add どうか for emphasis at the beginning of the phrase as well.
「（どうか）ドラゴンズが勝ちますように！」
「（どうか）花子さんと結婚できますように！」
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