The scene is not uncommon in hospitals. A friend or family member is very ill and the loved ones gather around the bed, in the hallway, in the hospital chapel, to pray. Words of hope are sent off into the heavens with requests for healing or, at the very least, and end to suffering. While some day that the prayers really are only for those who are doing the praying so they might feel some sense of control over an otherwise sad and hopeless situation, there are those that believe that these heartfelt words have the power to heal.

There have been numerous studies on the actual power of prayer. In a 1999 study that followed 900 heart patients in a Kansas City hospital, the patients that were prayed for got better faster and had 11% fewer complications. In fact out of the 900 patients, 500 were prayed for and each one showed better results than the patients that did not have intercessory prayers on their behalf. Think it might just be power of the mind and that the patients may have done well simply because they knew someone was praying for them? Think again. In this study, those patients did not know anyone was praying for them!

The idea of intercessory prayers, which are prayers done by strangers at a distance, has been studied for decades. Many believe that these prayers can work wonders for those who are sick. But research by Brandeis University published in the Journal of Religion in June 2009 says that the studies were fairly inconclusive as it seems that personal religious beliefs of the physicians and scientists who conducted eighteen published studies on intercessory prayer between 1965 and 2006 may have influenced the studies.

Still, tell that to the countless number of people who have been prayed for and who say that without prayer they would not be alive. Or those who say that they reached a point in their life where the doctors had told them there was no hope and to get their affairs in order, but when prayed for they made a full recovery. There are countless stories of prayer literally saving the day.

Take for example the famous study done by Dr. Randolph Byrd in 1986. Working as a cardiologist in a San Fransisco hospital, he divided 400 coronary patients into two groups. Over a period of ten months, Group One had daily prayers by people in a team made up of people from across the United States. The other group, Group Two, did not have daily prayers. Each prayer team was given the first name of a patient they were to pray for. Here are the amazing results of that study.

Compared to Group One, Group Two had:

• Used five times more antibiotics
• 12 patients put on respirators (Group One did not have any)
• pulmonary edema three times more often.

Dr. Byrd concluded that the recovery of Group One was affected positively by the prayers. Unfortunately, the death rate of both groups was the same. The other flaw in the study is that while Group One did have assigned prayer teams, there was nothing to say that Group Two didn't have family and friends praying for them anyway.

What else can prayer do?

Studies over the decades have come up with many conclusions, including the power of prayer to:

• lower blood pressure
• reduce anxiety
• speed the healing of wounds
• relieve headaches
• shrink tumors

Taking it to the Cellular Level

In a fascinating book called "The Message from Water", Dr. Masaru Emoto states that in his studies he has found that prayers and intention are incredibly powerful, affecting even water crystals. In his studies, he typed out words on a piece of paper and pasted them on to a bottle of water to see if the water 'reacted' to the words. The water seemed to form crystals in response to the words. For example, when he put the word "love" on the water, the resulting water crystals were beautiful, ornate, and perfect. When words like "hate" or "fool" were used, the crystals that grew were often disfigured, dark, and warped. His conclusion? Prayer and intention can affect even water crystals, and if our bodies do contain water, it may make sense that praying and being prayed for may have a direct impact on our bodies natural state. Some still question how legitimate Dr. Masaru Emoto's studies are, but even so, one can't deny that it really does make you think.

Facilitating Prayer in the Hospital

Most hospitals do have a chapel or a room where family members can gather or find solitude to prayer. Often, however, they want to pray in the room with their sick loved one. As nurses we often find that we feel like intruders in these special moments, but we still have work to do. Here are some tips to help make things a little easier.

If you notice that a family has been returning each day to pray for the patient, ask them to find you to ensure it's an appropriate time and so they check in.

Offer to draw the curtain and, if it is at all possible, help keep the other patients in their beds aware that this family needs some quiet time.

Sometimes non-family members will arrive to pray as well. Most clergy people will have identification for the hospital, it's OK to have them check in with the nurses station before heading to the patient. Better be safe rather than allowing someone who is not permitted to see the patient in.

Respect their prayers. Most nurses understand the spiritual nature of their patients and have developed a tolerance for prayer and other activities even if they are not their own. While their belief system may not be the same as yours, the bottom line is that they are participating in an act of love and in the least contributes to the comfort of the patient.

SO what IS the bottom line on Prayer?

Studies on whether or not prayer has any affect are still ongoing. Some people swear it works, others are still not so sure. While we can never empirically prove that prayer works/is real, nurses and medical practitioners are constantly exposed to the activity and understand its importance. We can agree that praying makes the one doing the prayers, and the one receiving, more comfortable and usually feel better as well. Sometimes healing is not just the physical body, but the heart as well.

Article © 2009 My Nursing Uniforms.com / Young Lion Incorporated
Image courtesy of stallkerl