New research from the John Templeton Foundation on the study of intercessory prayer shows that intercessory prayer for the wellbeing of a loved one not only improves relationship outcomes but also the praying person’s myocardial functioning – oxygen use and blood receipt by the heart occurred without it having to work as hard compared to persons in meditation or no prayer conditions.
Starting with the question: Who Really Benefits From Prayer? The focus of the prayer research on the person praying for a romantic partner, shows a link between prayer and healing.
“We thought intercessory prayer, which is so pervasive in everyday life, might be key. We decided to examine colloquial, intercessory prayer, a form of prayer that invokes God’s help using the individuals’ own language, rather than a set prayer. Our work investigated prayers that focused on improving the wellbeing of the partner”, said Frank Fincham, lead researcher.
Petitioning God for others is not futile. Our “thoughts and prayers” can signal to others that they are not alone and be a source of comfort to them. More importantly, they can reorient us and instil a readiness to act in ways towards the object of our prayers that can be impactful at the practical, psychological, social, and spiritual levels.
The person of faith may not be surprised and wonder if all this merely reflects the common observation that “the couple that prays together, stays together.” But even when just one person in a relationship prays for the wellbeing of the other, there are detectable positive effects.
Intercessory prayer may be complex, but it can be scientifically shown to be effective provided we take seriously Mahatma Gandhi’s observation that “Properly understood and applied, [prayer] is the most potent instrument of action.”