You may have first learned to pray at your mother’s knee. You decided that, in times of trouble, prayer
could open up a pathway to enlightenment and peace. You might have said a prayer before a big
test, before showing your parents your report card, or before the final
football game of the season.
There appears to be a link between prayer and healing. Medical studies have even concluded that
patients who have other people to pray for them tend to fare better than those
without such prayer support. Whether
it’s a single prayer or a flood of prayers, it has been said that prayer can
move mountains—and that is particularly true when the mountain is debilitating
illness.
Because of the connection between prayer and healing, it is no surprise
that a number of doctors recommend prayer and meditation as stress
relievers. Prayer forces an individual
to take time out, to spend some quiet time alone with one’s thoughts. Prayer also requires that a person look
outward toward a Superior Being for strength and support. Prayer can enable an individual to re-gain
focus and concentration so that he or she can better work through problems and
therefore experience less stress.
Prayer has been shown to be a positive energy force. It makes an individual feel wanted and loved
by a Higher Power. It can help to
motivate a person to seek solutions rather than to simply complain about his or
her problems. Prayer can enable an
individual to see difficulties in a new light, which can contribute to stress
reduction.
It is important to point out that prayer for stress relief can come in a
variety of forms. For instance, there is
spoken prayer, where an individual recites words to his or her Creator. This may be the most basic form of
prayer. Whether it’s an Our Father, a
prayer to the Holy Spirit, or a quick ejaculation such as “Lord, help me,”
prayer opens a window to communication to the Almighty and therefore leads to
feelings of comfort.
Another type of prayer is meditation.
This can be a particularly effective stress-reliever. Meditation forces an individual to contemplate
something other than his or her own problems, whether it’s nature, a verse of
Scripture, a scene from the life of God, or some other source. The reflection can lead to quiet
contemplation which can slow one’s heart beat, lower one’s blood pressure, and
even lead to feelings of euphoria.
A number of 12-step recovery programs have prayer as their foundation. The appeal to a Higher Power helps an
individual to put his or her problems into perspective. Prayer recognizes that the individual is not
alone—that there is a greater Being guiding his or her life. Prayer, in essence, can help individuals to cope
when other methods—particularly drug or alcohol use—have failed.
Surveys show that the vast majority of Americans believe in God, so
prayer is not a foreign concept to them.
However, many Americans haven’t prayed in years. They may be afraid of condemnation from God
or from other people. They may simply
not know the words they should use. They
may even feel so unworthy that they cannot summon up the courage to pray.
However, one advantage to prayer is that it can be picked up quickly. If you find it difficult to pray, consider
picking up a book on prayer from a bookstore or from a religious group. You might even consider joining a prayer
group or Bible study group in order to enrich your prayer life. If you’re still having trouble, you might
consult with a pastor to find some effective prayer strategies.
The stresses of work and home can seem overwhelming at times. As a result, a number of people find that
they must take time out to pray in order to better handle the many challenges
they face. Prayer is like anything
else—the more you do it, the more comfortable you become doing it. Even if you don’t have a specific faith
tradition, prayer can be a powerful weapon in your arsenal against stress. If you start and end your day with prayer,
you may be amazed at how your stress level seems to plummet.
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