What do we know, scientifically, about prayer and whether or not it really works? Well, for one thing, prayer appears to double the success rate of in vitro fertilization procedures that lead to pregnancy, according to a study by Columbia University published in the September 2001 issue of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine. The findings reveal that a group of women who had people praying for them had a 50 percent pregnancy rate compared to a 26 percent rate in the group of women who did not have people praying for them. None of the women undergoing the in vitro procedures knew about the prayers on their behalf. Neither did their doctors.
Another study showing that prayer can have a significantly positive effect on matters of health is that of Randolph Byrd, a cardiologist, who over a ten-month period used a computer to assign 393 patients admitted to the coronary care unit at San Francisco General Hospital either to a group that was prayed for by home prayer groups, or to a group that was not prayed for. This was also a double blind test. Neither the patients, doctors, nor the nurses knew which group a patient was in. Those who were remembered in prayer were three times less likely to develop pulmonary edema, a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid, and five times less likely to require antibiotics. None required the insertion of an artificial airway in the throat, while twelve in the un-prayed-for group required this. Also fewer prayed-for patients died.
In a third study that is scheduled to be published this year in the International Journal for Psychiatry in Medicine, a team from the University of California at Berkeley examined links between religious attendance and cause-specific mortality from 1965 to 1996 in 6,545 residents of Alameda County, California. Even after adjusting for variables such a frequency of exercises, diet and so forth, religious devotees lived longer without succumbing to disease.
These studies demonstrate that prayer works. So the question is, are there more or less effective ways to pray?
An organization called Spindrift has been conducting prayer experts since 1975. These studies indicate that the results of prayer tend to be in proportion to the amount and duration of prayer. In other words, the more prayer, the better.
This is reminiscent of a principle set forth by Napoleon Hill in his perennial bestseller, Think and Grow Rich. He wrote this grandaddy of all self-help books in the 1930s and updated it in 1960. A chapter of it is devoted to the principle he called "The Master Mind." Hill suggested that whatever project or purpose or goal an individual had, it could be advanced and achieved most readily by bringing together a group of people who could apply their unified brain power to it. Hill never used the word prayer nor did he suggest people sit around and pray. But he did liken a group of minds at work on a project to a group of storage batteries connected together in a series to produce much more power than any single battery possibly could on its own. "Good breaks" started happening. Things seemed to come together almost like magic. This seems to fit with the findings of Sprindrift. The more brain power, the better.
Is there anything more the Spindrift researchers learned which would be helpful to know?
The quality of prayer is also a factor. Like almost anything, practice makes perfect. More experienced practitioners got better results than less experienced practitioners. The message here is to get into a habit of praying. Don't save it only for times bullets are flying overhead or the airplane you're on goes into a tail spin.
Spindrift research also gives us clues on how to pray. First, you need to know what you're praying for. Some Spindrift experiments were conducted in which the prayer practitioner was kept in the dark about the nature of what he or she was praying for. An example might be that the name and location or the nature of the illness of the subject of the prayers were unknown. Results were drastically reduced. The researchers concluded that the more the person praying knows about the nature of what is being prayed for, the better.
Another experiment measured the effectiveness of "directed" versus "non directed" prayer. Directed prayer was that in which the practitioner had a specific goal, image , or outcome in mind. In healing, this might be for blood clots to dissolved or for cancer to isolate itself in a particular place in the body where it can be cut out. Non-directed prayer, on the other hand, used an open-ended approach in which no specific outcome was held in the imagination. The person praying did not attempt to imagine or project a specific result but rather to ask for whatever was best in an open-ended spirit of "Thy will be done." Both approaches worked, but the non-directed approach appeared to work better, in some cases producing twice the results.
Chances are, we don't know the best way for an organism to achieve balance. But one thing elaborated upon in my new book is that the best outcome of any situation will have growth of some kind as a result. In this way, nature achieves harmony and balance, or the healing of a splintered soul.
This may be bad news for anyone who thinks prayer can be used for conjuring riches of the sake of riches alone. If a new Mercedes will not help foster your spiritual development or someone else's in some way, you're wasting your time praying for it no matter how clearly you can picture the shiny new auto in your mind. Here's what Jesus's brother James had to say about this: "You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:2-3.) Our motives need to be in line with the goals of the universe. Infinite Intelligence is not in the business of satisfying our selfish whims. Something much more valuable is the goal. Infinite Intelligence wants us to evolve.
Here is what Thomas Troward, the great metaphysician from the run of the last century had to say about mentally, or prayer. The text below is taken from the modern English version of his Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science as they appear in How to Master Life, published in 2002 by The Oaklea Press:
Our subconscious mind is in touch with the universal subconscious mind. It has access to, is immersed in, all the information needed in any situation. The way to the best result may be exactly the opposite of what we consciously expect, which means that in many cases it is best to put things in the hands of the universal mind and pray for the best possible outcome. Visualize the outcome you want. Consider this outcome already accomplished. But do not attempt to explain to Infinite Intelligence what course should be taken to arrive at the desired destination. Let Infinite Intelligence find the way.
Let's assume what we need to know about prayer:
This article is adapted from Stephen Hawley Marin's new book, Keys to the Kingdom and the Life You Want, Oaklea Press, 2002. It can be purchased online at www.OakleaPress.com or by calling 1-800-295-4066, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time, weekdays.
Some people possess the power of visualization, or making mental pictures of things, to a greater degree than others. This faculty may be employed advantageously to facilitate the working of the Law. But those who do not possess this faculty in any marked degree, need not be discouraged by their lack of it. Visualization is not the only way to put the law to work on the invisible planeÉ
We must (simply) regard our mental creations as spiritual realities and then implicitly trust the Laws of Growth to do the rest.
By "spiritual realities" Troward means that what we seek has already been created on the spiritual plane and therefore it is only a matter of time before it will appear on the physical plane. He is saying what Jesus said, "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)
1.) Belief is a key. Believe that what you pray for already exists in spirit form.
2.) Practice makes perfect, or in other words, experienced prayer practitioners get the best results.
3.)Quantity is a factor. More prayer brings more results.
4.) Familiarity is good. The more a person or group knows about the subject of their prayers, the better.
5.) If the desired outcome is clear, visualize it, and pray for it. Consider it an accomplished fact. But do not tell the universal subconscious how to arrive at this outcome.
6.) If the best outcome is not clear, prayers should be kept general in nature. Pray for the best outcome, whatever that may be. The universal subconscious mind knows. And finally,
7.) for good results, the purposes of the universe need to be served by our prayer. This includes spiritual growth and development, the healing of the soul, or in case of physical healing, the bringing of a stressed body or physical system into harmony or balance.