Power of prayer is not always predictable
In a new study conducted for the Vatican, researchers have discovered that the combination of aspirin and prayer raises the pain thresholds in people with constant discomfort.
Yes, the 120 subjects said they felt less pain when they took regular doses of aspirin and read a portion of scripture or prayed each day.
People who took both aspirin and prayer did better than people who took just aspirin. And that was true of both believers and agnostics.
Critics of the study say the Catholic church is only trying to validate itself as medical discoveries draw more and more people away from the church's notions about suffering and pain. But others contend the church has known for some time that spiritual well-being helps people recover from illness faster.
In fact, there are more than 100 studies showing that prayer promotes healing. And centuries of anecdotal evidence suggest that prayer, especially when uttered by someone other than the patient, helps patients recover faster.
We must also withhold our judgment when miraculous events occur. When blind people, for instance, regain their sight in a split second, we know that we can't just write off the power of prayer.
But prayer is not science. It may work in the healing of one person and not another. Science has to be able to predict the outcome of treatment. The effects of prayer cannot be predicted.
I remember a Sunday afternoon when my father and I took my grandmother to a Christian healer who was holding sessions in an old country school house near my hometown. My grandmother had cataracts and was going blind. As we drove to the session, Grandmother was in high anticipation. She wanted to play piano again and make stitched rugs.
We found ourselves sitting in the barren old school house, with dust swept into one corner and broken windows boarded up tight. It was a hot day and everybody was uncomfortable because they were only able to open a few windows. The healing evangelist was a big man, broad and powerful. He wore a black suit, which he removed after the sermon and before the healing began.
After watching a few healing attempts, Grandmother raised her hand and told the evangelist she had cataracts and she was sick of them and wanted them to go away. He came to her side and asked her to close her eyes. He then placed index fingers over both eyes and began to pray in a loud voice.
Grandmother was a docile creature, the mother of 13 or 14 children (the numbers varied depending upon who you asked), and she took the healing process with a smile on her face. A regular churchgoer, she prayed on schedule each day and didn't like to be interrupted.
As we drove out the driveway of the school house my father asked her if she could see better. "All he did was give me a big headache," Grandmother replied. "Don't you ever take me to one of those again."
That's what I mean - prayer is not predictable. It was not meant to be. It has random effectiveness because each person comes with different emotional baggage.
But one has to wonder if the Catholic church is pushing prayer as a healing agent because the culture is turning to medicine more and more for ailments once endured through faith and prayer. To be sure, Pope John Paul II has called Jesus Christ the "divine physician" and has called upon Catholics to give meaning to their suffering and not always measure life in terms of consumerism and how little suffering you must endure.
There is no doubt in my mind that prayer can promote healing. And it can also heal relationships and encourage people to take a hard look at the destructive behavior in their lives.
If I were a parish pastor today, I would be busy praying. And I would be encouraging people to pray. I would not be praying about frivolous things, such as new carpet for the parish hall. I would pray for people, in all the modes and nuances of their suffering. And I wouldn't even ask if my prayers were effective.
Clark D. Morphew
4-5-97
