The Power of Prayer: Does Prayer Heal?
There is much debate on whether or not prayer can help a person heal from a physical malady. There have been numerous studies to test whether patients would heal faster and have fewer complications while healing if they knew that others were praying for their recovery. The results are mixed. Some find that no, there is no correlation and still others find very strong correlations. It’s hard to know what to believe in scientific terms.
Reprinted with permission from Catholicsistas.com
But is it important to have proof that prayer can help us heal faster? Is it important to trust in scientific studies that often have the goal to disprove the power of prayer as their guiding reason to do the study? The answer is no. We don’t need scientific proofs to tell us that prayer is good for us. We only have to look at our lives with and without prayer to see the value in daily prayer.
Prayer is so important that Christ was regularly found deep in prayer in the Scripture readings. We read in Luke 6:12 “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.” He modeled a prayerful life for us and then encouraged us to pray as well. In Matthew 6 He even gave us the perfect prayer to pray… The Lord’s Prayer.
What powers does prayer hold?
If we aren’t relying on it to heal us, what is the purpose to prayer? Prayer seeks to help us enter into a loving relationship with God. It brings us closer to Him and to His love. Prayer unites us with the Lord in a very tangible and heartfelt way. When we seek out God in prayer, He listens and responds.
Prayer has the power to calm us in the face of uncertainty. When our lives are upside-down and we just don’t know what to do, prayer gives us a moment of peace and reassurance. It reminds us that we are not alone in our struggles and that we are cherished and loved.
Prayer unites us with each other. When we pray for and with each other we become one voice and one heart united in purpose. We can uplift and guide each other, encouraging one another in faith and hope. We make Christ present when we gather together to pray. We know this is true since Christ told us, “When two or more are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.”
Prayer brings hope into our lives. We know that God hears all and sees all. He knows our needs before we ever say a word. When we allow God’s hope to come to us through prayer we are uplifted, encouraged, and motivated to continue on even if things seem difficult.
Prayer moves us to love others as Christ loved them. When we uplift others in prayer we become more like Christ. We can experience a change in our heart and souls when we pray for others. The words we speak to our heavenly Father have the power to change who we are inside. Prayer can lead our hearts to be unified with Christ’s heart; to see others as Christ sees them.
Prayer, in its simplest form, can do so much in our lives. Can it help us heal faster, have fewer complications from a disease or surgery, or help us stay healthy? I don’t know that the scientific community will ever agree. There are too many variables that come into play when we consider scientific research, especially on a religious topic. However, we do know that even if studies were to show that prayer doesn’t heal us faster physically, it still has the power to change us within and heal us spiritually. Perhaps this kind of healing is much more valuable than physical healing.
There is power in prayer. There is power in turning over your life to Christ through prayer. Many of us are afraid to touch this power and some of us feel we are just too busy to pray. We allow day after day to pass by without talking with our Lord. I challenge you today to begin a prayer life that seeks to have a deep, lasting, and very intimate relationship with Christ. I challenge you to harness the power of prayer. You will be amazed at how your life will change and how your heart and soul can be healed through the simple act of praying.
