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Does prayer work? Do people who are prayed for, say on a cancer treatment floor, experience better outcomes than those for whom no one is praying? Such questions are difficult to study, let alone prove. There will always be things we cannot explain – holy mysteries – if only we can summon the courage to let things be unexplainable.
Yet we know that something literally happens for the one who prays, who allows God to hold things that are too heavy, mysterious or hard for us. Science backs this up. People who pray regularly often have better mental health outcomes, which can translate into better physical health.
And when things feel out of control, one way people of faith respond is with ritual. Rituals ground us. They give us a sense of control and lead us on predictable paths, even when everything around us feels turbulent. Prayer is a ritual. It is transformational.
This message is excerpted from “Small dragons, deep prayers” by Lisa A. Smith in the July/August 2022 Gather magazine.