Prarthana (Prayer healing)
Prayer is an address to an entity
thought to be greater than oneself (the word "prayer" comes from the Latin
precarius, which means "obtained by begging"). The practice is rooted in the
belief that there is a power larger and wiser than our human selves that can
influence our lives.
Prayer is probably as old as mankind
and is part of virtually every religion in the world. However, although it is
often linked to religion, prayer can be practiced outside the realm of a
specific religion. Not surprisingly, many people feel a deep sense of calm after
praying. Like meditation, prayer has been found to promote a feeling of
relaxation that is conducive to both mental and physical health.
Prayer can be expressed out loud or in
thought, alone or in a group. It typically consists of praise, thanksgiving, a
request, or a confession. Most types of prayer can be divided into four
categories: meditative prayer; ritualistic prayer; petitionary prayer (the most
common form in the U.S.); and conversational prayer.
Meditative prayer focuses on a particular topic, word, sound,
or phrase in order to induce a state of relaxation. It may also create a
receptive state in which one is able to hear God.
Ritualistic prayer involves reciting texts that have been
learned as part of a particular religious tradition or training.
Petitionary prayer consists of addressing a divine being
directly to request something, such as guidance or physical healing for oneself
or another person (the latter is known as intercessory prayer, and is a form of
what is known in alternative medicine as non-local or distant healing).
Conversational prayer involves speaking on an very personal
level with God about feelings, thoughts, and needs.
Today polls show that most Americans
believe that faith and prayer can benefit health. In response, more than 60
medical schools are now teaching courses on religious and spiritual issues, and
many hospitals and clinics have set up centers for spirituality and healing.
How Does It Work?
Like many aspects of spirituality,
exactly how prayer works is a mystery. Several theories exist. The easiest
physiologic explanation is that prayer helps people handle stress more
effectively. During any tense or anxiety-producing situation, the body's adrenal
glands release chemicals that raise the heart rate and blood pressure and lower
immunity. Praying helps people maintain lower stress levels, thus enhancing
immunity and promoting health in general. In addition, people who pray tend to
have a sense of purpose and to find meaning in life. Such a positive outlook
also may promote health and well-being.
In recent years, many studies have
appeared about the efficacy of distant healing for various medical conditions.
However, just how prayer can help people across vast distances continues to
evade conventional or physical explanation.
What You Can Expect
There is no correct or incorrect way
to pray. Your conception of the deity or entity you pray to and how you choose
to talk to that entity are very personal decisions. You can use any of the
formal prayers created through the ages, which are available in countless
sources, or you can make up your own prayers or incantations.
Some people prefer to pray in a
church, synagogue, or mosque. Others feel more comfortable praying at home. Some
pray silently while working or doing their household chores. Many people,
especially Christians, kneel when they pray, but you can also sit, walk, or lie
down. You can pray using song and dance as well as words. As long as you are
honest and earnest, there is no form or topic of prayer that is taboo.
Health Benefits
Numerous scientific studies have
evaluated the therapeutic effects of prayer. Generally, the research has shown
that people who pray regularly are less likely to become ill and that when they
do, they tend to recover faster. Interestingly, not only does prayer seem to
have healing effects upon the people who pray, it also appears to benefit those
who are prayed for by others.
Research reveals that people who pray
have lower depression and suicide rates. Prayer even appears to lower blood
pressure. In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, investigators
found that individuals who attended religious services at least once a week and
prayed at least once a day or studied the Bible frequently were 40% less likely
to have high blood pressure than those who did so infrequently. In other
research, elderly women recovering from hip-fracture surgery who had strong
religious beliefs and practices were able to walk greater distances when they
left the hospital than those who were not as religious.
Studies have also yielded findings in
the area of distant healing (which includes intercessory prayer for someone who
is ill), although many of these reports have appeared only in peer-reviewed
parapsychology journals.
Perhaps the most famous study is one
conducted by surgeon Randolph C. Byrd, which was published in 1988 in the
Southern Medical Journal. In the study 393 coronary heart disease patients
with similar symptoms of were admitted to a coronary care unit. The patients
were divided into two groups, with neither group knowing whether they were being
prayed-for or not. Distant healing was sent from born-again Christians to just
under half of the patients. The remainder were not prayed-for and served as
controls.
At the end of the study, all of the
patients' charts were analyzed. Results showed that significantly fewer patients
in the prayed-for group required ventilation/intubation; they also needed fewer
drugs and contracted pneumonia less than those who were not prayed for. Prayer
did not shorten the hospital stay of either group, however.
Another distant healing study, of
nearly 1,000 patients in the coronary care unit at St. Luke's Hospital in
Kansas City, was done in 1999. It found that those who were unwittingly
prayed for fared better than those who got conventional care alone.
And a 1998 study of 40 people with
AIDS, published in the Western Journal of Medicine, showed that the half
who were prayed for by strangers felt better and had fewer medical complications
than those who didn't receive the anonymous prayers.
How To Choose a Practitioner
If you find that you are having
trouble learning to pray, or want to investigate your spirituality in other
ways, consult with a local pastor, priest, rabbi, or other spiritual leader, or
contact one of the many centers for spirituality and healing that are affiliated
with hospitals across the country.
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