According to the Fighting Cancer from Within book that I have been reading, there are quite a few studies that indicate that prayer has a positive influence on a person’s health and well-being. Praying can of course bring comfort and peace of mind, but some studies also indicate that others praying for your health, whether they are close or far, and whether you know them or not, can also have an influence. The Southern Journal of Medicine reported that people recovering from heart attacks in the coronary care unit of UCSF hospital recovered better if they were being prayed for -- even though they were being prayed for from a distance, by people they did not know, and the patients themselves did not know that anyone was praying for them. These patients were released in less time, had fewer complications and better coronary function than patients for whom nobody was praying. According to the book, this study -- controversial as it has been -- has now been replicated more than once, and was most recently validated by a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
About the same time that I was reading this section of my book I also received the following email:
Hi Julie -- My name is Wendy Stickney Klatt and I am a family friend of the
Wheelans. We grew up together. You probably know my parents: Bill and Claire Stickney. I just wanted to let you know that I've assigned you as my 3rd grade CCD (religion) class' Lenten mission. They're pretty rowdy kids so I imagine their prayers are coming through LOUD and CLEAR!!
And my father's cousin, Carol, posted the following comment on my blog:
So, I am sending your entire blog to mom (e.g., my Great-Aunt Jo). She and your
Grandma Margaret are on the direct line to God 24/7 on your behalf............it is like calling in the big guns: Your own Presbyterian Cloister Nun and Baptist Cloister Nun!
And I know my Grandma Margaret and my Great-Aunt Jo -- they are both loved by everyone in their respective communities and so, if they are praying for me, I can rest assured that half of Neosho and half of St Louis are praying for me as well!!
And a former colleague of my father wrote:
Julie, I don't know you but I know and highly respect your dad. Your faith in God's provision will be your peace in this journey. My prayers will be with you and for you. May God be your provider of strength, healing and love. Blessings to you and your wonderful family.
I have also received countless other communications from family and friends (and from people whom I don't even know!) saying that I have been added to their prayer list or to their church's prayer group.
How can I possibly communicate how much these prayers mean to me? If the studies mentioned above are truly valid, these prayers could affect whether I emerge from this experience cancer-free or not. And there are no words to describe what that means!! I can’t help but think about the statistics for colon cancer. And again I am reminded that, while there are undoubtedly people who do not survive the type of cancer I have, buried within the statistics are non-survivors for whom no one was praying. And so it is with immense comfort and relieve that I realize, again, that these statistic do not apply to me!
If there is a silver lining to this whole crazy life experience, my witnessing of the true goodness of the human spirit ranks pretty close to the top.
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1 comment:
I’m a believer in the power of prayer. When I was going through treatment, I asked everybody I knew (and asked them to ask everybody they knew, and so forth) -- to pray for me. Even strangers who asked about my bald chemo head – I had them praying for me! They might have thought me nuts, but here I am almost five years later a cancer survivor in part due to powerful prayer.
Healing hugs and prayers,
Isae
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