Science Agrees...Prayer Heals!

For the past four years I have been writing about health – in particular, how it is tied to thought and spirituality. And I’ve come across quite a few articles and studies that confirm a positive correlation between health and prayer.

So it was of great interest to me to see a recently published article that reported on a review of more than 1,500 reputable medical studies which found people who are more religious and pray more have better mental and physical health.

“Studies have shown prayer can prevent people from getting sick – and when they do get sick, prayer can help them get better faster,” reported Duke University’s Dr. Harold G. Koenig, M.D.

A religious leader who also researched the relationship between spirituality and health found similar results as she prayed for people with a wide variety of maladies, many considered incurable. Mary Baker Eddy documented the results of her healing practice in her key text, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. It includes an entire chapter devoted to testimonials of people who were healed through the understanding of their relationship to God brought to them by reading the book.

That healing continues to this day. I’ve witnessed the power of prayer in my own life, including that of my family – from broken bones to various illnesses being quickly healed. At one time the pressure of my work brought with it back pain that became so severe that I was unable to move. As I was struggling with this pain, I was scheduled to travel to give a talk to a statewide group and I also had to deal locally with a group on racially charged issues concerning school assignments.

Finally, I turned to the Bible and contemplated a verse from Matthew: “With God all things are possible.” At that point I realized I could rely on the wisdom of divine Mind to help me resolve these issues in the community and in the statewide meeting. Through prayer I turned the tension-giving challenges over to God – that is, I understood everyone’s inseparability from the divine source of all intelligence. The back pain disappeared as I realized that I could trust in this divine intelligence to bring to light practical solutions. Shortly afterwards the meetings were rescheduled. Both agendas were modified to express a more positive tone and the issues were soon resolved.

It is good to see thought opening up to the idea of the unlimited potential of prayer. As that gains more widespread acceptance, we will undoubtedly see its value in all avenues of life.