Does Prayer Aid Wellness and Survival?
Scientific Studies For and Against Faith-Based Healing.
There are many attributes to a survivor — ability to think rationally in the most serious of situations, physical stamina, mental acuity, emotional equanimity are some of them.
However there are some who may not possess all the typical survivor attributes, but still manage emerge unscathed from potentially life threatening circumstances, by virtue of their unswerving faith in God. Ben Sherwood, in his book, The Survivor's Club, explores the mind-set of the survivor and the effect of faith in healing and triumph of human spirit.
Does Prayer Make a Person Live Longer?
Dr. Harold G.Koenig of Duke University Medical Center, founder and director of the Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health, mentions that religious attendance has psychological, behavioral and social consequences and can increase a person's longevity. The study of how religious beliefs influence physical and mental well being is called psychoneuroimmunology or PNI. This does not concern with the question of whether God exists or not, as long as people believed and acted as though God existed.
Some Fact-based Findings on the Healing Effects of Prayer
Over the years, scientists and society have encountered some compelling evidence that seems to support the theory that prayer can heal.
- Duke University Medical Center found that cardiac patients that received stents and intercessory prayer (interceding with God for the benefit of another person) or non-traditional treatments (like guided imagery, stress relaxation) did better than those with stents alone.
- Dr. David Hodge of Arizona State University, Phoenix, examined seventeen studies on intercessory prayer among social workers and found that the prayer did produce "small positive effects."
- In 1858, Marie-Bernadette Soubirous — a peasant girl in Lourdes, France, reported 18 apparitions of Virgin Mary within less than a year. Since then, the Medical Community of Lourdes has declared that 67 official cures or miracles have taken place there.
- Dr. Michael Persinger, Professor of Laurentian University, based on experiments, explains that the right hemisphere of the brain, where creativity and dreams originate, also lights up when one's survival instincts are invoked. Dr. Persinger calls the creative part of the brain, "God's headquarters."
Studies that Suggest No Correlation Between Prayer and Healing
In April 2006, researchers divided coronary bypass patients at six hospitals into three groups. The first group received intercessory prayer for two weeks after being told that they would definitely receive prayers on their behalf. The second group got prayer for two weeks after being told that they might receive prayers on their behalf. The third group did not receive prayer after being told that they might receive the prayers on their behalf.
Medical complications occurred in 59% of the first group. The second and third groups had fewer complications and the study concluded that intercessory prayer had no effect on complication-free recovery from surgery.
Sherwood suggests that the very nature of faith based beliefs makes it impossible for them to be studied in a laboratory. However, it cannot be denied that faith is a powerful tool in one's survival arsenal. Prayer backed with faith, often gives survivors, the strength needed to overcome adversity.
Source:
- The Survivor's Club:The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life, Ben Sherwood.
Being Religious Could Increase Longevity
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Intercessory Prayer Could Aid Healing
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