Prayer - The Healing Connection
by Rev. Dr. Steven Spidell
Prayer lies at the foundation of the transcendent life. Prayer has many purposes. Most commonly, it is a petition for God to intervene in a distressing situation. Someone feels overwhelmed by personal problems which seem beyond human control. A plea is offered for God to act to change the circumstances and resolve the problem.
Illness is often the occasion for such prayers. When someone becomes ill, we seek a cure for the disease and relief from pain and suffering. But prayer has a purpose beyond God taking away the disease and curing our bodies. That purpose is to open one’s life to the presence of God in the midst of that illness and to discover the spiritual meaning and significance of the illness in our lives. As much as we do sincerely want to be well again, we may also seek to know how God is involved with us during difficult times. Whether we are cured or not, our trust in God’s care and love for us must surely reach beyond the disease itself. Prayer is the avenue through which this experience of healing and closeness to God occurs. While medicine may cure one’s diseases, it is through prayer that one’s injured spirit is healed.
In recent years, science has turned its attention to the effectiveness of prayer in relation to physical illness. Studies are indicating that, indeed, prayer does make a difference not only in the disease process but also in the quality of a patient’s life. In general people who pray, as well as people who are prayed for, do better than persons for whom prayer is not a factor.
Does this mean that “Pray 3 X daily” would be a useful prescription? That may not be too extreme. Studies are confirming a belief that persons of faith have long accepted: there is a spiritual connectedness that runs through all of life. It stands to reason then that when one intentionally taps into that connection, there will be effects. Prayer might well be a kind of spiritual energy which creates multiple benefits.
Prayer concentrates attention. Illness scatters one’s energy. Someone who is sick is literally and spiritually broken. The act of praying brings a person back into focus and so realigns one’s energy and channels it toward healing.
Prayer reduces tension. In a paradoxical manner, the effort to concentrate or to focus one’s attention actually relaxes a person. Instead of using up one’s mental energy in scattered, wasted effort, that same energy used in praying produces healthy results. Tension from anxiety, nervousness, and worry is relieved as one’s attention is focused elsewhere.
Prayer releases healing energy. The spiritual energy now channeled in prayer produces a healing power. With less worry, a peaceful sense of reassurance and wholeness emerges displacing the anxiety and fear. A sense of being loved and cared for is often experienced. Feeling loved is a powerful healing force, because love is the dynamic power released when one prays. Prayer is the healing connection; it links us to the transcendent power that is love itself.
When a person is seriously ill, the illness seems to be the only thing that is real. In prayer, one is reminded that there is much more to a person’s life. It has meaning and purpose beyond any illness, no matter how serious. In prayer, one is welcomed into the presence of that mystery which transcends all of our cares and makes us whole. Shall we pray?