Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 15, 1995 TAG: 9507170114
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Ultimately, it becomes a question of faith for many people, who will continue to pray even if the results of their petitions are often mixed.
But that has not stopped researchers - both religious and secular - from trying in several studies to determine whether there is a link between prayer and health; whether, in fact, ``prayer works.''
Few clear-cut answers have emerged.
After reviewing some 90 percent of the studies on prayer and health, one researcher has concluded that prayer rich in mystical and religious experience appears to be related to some measures of subjective well-being. And that prayer may serve to reduce stress in difficult circumstances.
However, Michael McCullough writes in a recent issue of the Journal of Psychology and Theology that research into the relation between prayer and health is relatively primitive, and some forms of prayer may be ineffective or even counterproductive.
There are plenty of Bible passages that offer considerable hope for better health through prayer, McCullough notes. In Genesis, God heals Abimelech and his family after Abraham prays for them. And James 5 declares, ``The prayer of faith will heal the sick.''
But there is no simple biblical theology of prayer. There are also biblical accounts that indicate that sometimes people will get worse before they get better as they are led through ``dark nights of the soul'' toward repentance. And, many biblical figures are martyred in service to God. In Romans 8, Paul says, ``The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.''
One reason for the scarcity of research on prayer is that many scholars do not expect prayer to produce health benefits. Another is the concern that such inquiries are akin to ``putting God to the test,'' according to McCullough, a counselor with Fuller Psychological and Family Services in Pasadena, Calif.
In his study, he found that what little research has been done generally has not met rigorous standards. But, he says, it has indicated some health benefits from prayer.
Some studies, for example, have shown that prayer may promote health by helping people relax and by giving them psychological peace and an important sense of hope and purpose.
In a study of 74 patients suffering from back pain, increased praying was found to be related to decreased intensity of pain. And in a study of 100 AIDS victims, frequency of prayer was positively related to hardiness.
Other studies have not established a direct link between prayer and health. In one 1985 study, researchers found that contemplative prayer increased anxiety rather than reduced it in several of their clients, McCullough said.
In his article, he argues for more research.
``We do not need empirical evidence that `prayer works'; two millennia of church history convince us of that,'' maintains McCullough.
``However, as our culture becomes increasingly hostile to traditional forms of religion ... research may demonstrate to the skeptic that biblical spirituality yields outcomes such as sense of purpose, sense of communion with the divine and contact with spiritual power; that prayer can lead, in many cases, to better adaptation to life stressors; that God answers prayer.''
by CNB