Testimonies Reveal the Effect of Prayer on Healing from an Osteopathic Medicine Perspective

CHRISTIAN MEDICAL PERSPECTIVE

*Joshua Bantseev is a medical student at Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, entering into Emergency Medicine.

The understanding that mind, body, and spirit are intricately woven together into a created human being is foundational to the study of osteopathic medicine. In medical school and later residency, faculty teach about the body in great length. We learn the biomedical aspects of disease processes and the available treatments. For example, we talk about clotting and risk factors for heart disease. However, what role does the spirit have in healing and recovery? Does faith in God and prayer affect a patient’s recovery? The intent of this article was to explore answers to these questions from the available scientific literature.

Several studies have been published that investigate extraordinary healing or recovery that takes place during or after Christian prayer. A qualitative study of extraordinary healing in Norway was conducted, studying Christian prayer and its effects on healing.¹ The researchers used the lived body theory, which stipulates that the body has biological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual dimensions that are not just interrelated but intertwined and inseparable.^2,3,4 Thus, disease has these dimensions as well, which are inseparable.⁴ Interviews were conducted with twenty-five people between September 2016 and March 2020. Each study participant described their healing event, what the healing experience meant to them, how they made sense of the healing event, and what Christian faith practice they related to the healing. 

In this study, sixteen of the twenty-five participants linked the suffering they experienced to relational aspects in their lives, particularly the neglect and/or abuse of their parents. ¹ Other relational difficulty included the effects of divorce, fear elicited by a church authority of not being able to go to heaven, and a hostile relationship due to being a recent immigrant. However, nine of the twenty-five participants had medical diagnoses affecting the body (i.e., three patients with cancer, one with an ulcer, one having back prolapse, one having a genetic disease, and one having muscle and skeletal pain post-exercise).¹

The sixteen participants whose suffering was due to a relational difficulty and the nine with health problems affecting the body experienced some form of healing. A variety of environments were described in which the healing experience took place. Some described a healer, pastor, or friend who prayed for the participant or read a portion of the Bible. Laying on of hands (i.e., the person praying will place their hand on the shoulder of the afflicted individual), a common practice in the Christian faith, was done with some individuals. Non-contact laying on of hands, where a person prayed at some distance, was also done. Some participants of the study described being “emotionally touched” by the words of a pastor who proclaimed “the name of Jesus” during their healing.

Interestingly, four themes emerged from this study of how people described their healing experience.¹

One group felt warmth or energy. The second group felt overwhelmed by love. The third group felt an emotional release (i.e., crying). The fourth group felt as though the healing “touch” hit the target of their embodied pain. One participant who was prayed for by a person who came up and put her arm around her felt immense “heat.” One person was quoted as follows: “Suddenly, it was like the whole flat … such a profound presence of love entered. It was as if I saw love as rain. Then it came upon me. And then it started to flow through me. And I just started to cry really hard. It was like there were waves upon waves of love, like a waterfall. And that love washed away all the emptiness, all the ‘Why are you here? You are not loved.’ It was like my whole universe was suddenly transformed. It was as if everything just fell into place.”¹ This participant felt that the love was specifically coming from God. Others have felt “wrapped up” and “embraced” in God’s love or that they were “seen” by God.

For the third theme, a person described that during a time of praising God with music, she felt that “walls” she had built in her life were penetrated and she began to weep. For the fourth category of the healing “touch,” described by study participants as hitting the target of their embodied pain, a person with a painful back prolapse stated that the person who prayed for healing in a congregational gathering had specific knowledge of someone present in the auditorium with back pain. During prayer for healing, this study participant suddenly experienced healing of the pain.

Some people experienced complete healing such as a study participant with a genetic illness.¹ He began to grow muscle and get stronger, which went against his earlier diagnosis. He was able to eat food, which was not possible previously, without becoming very ill. A person with a stomach ulcer completely recovered after her pastor prayed for her. A person who felt religious anxiety was suddenly healed as well and was no longer afraid. Others described that their healing experience started a new process in their life. They felt healed in one aspect of their life while still feeling pain in other areas.

This qualitative research focused on characterizing healing with Christian prayer. Each of the participants' experiences fell into one of the four themes, which were feeling warmth, overwhelmed by love, emotional release, or “healing touch,” hitting the target of the embodied pain. The study also showed a broad range of healing taking place for individuals with biological and psychological ailments. Interestingly, the healing took place during or after Christian prayer.¹

A growing body of literature has demonstrated that spirituality is linked to improved recovery after cardiac surgery. A noteworthy study on how spirituality and religion affect mortality after cardiac surgery was conducted by Oxman et al in 1995.⁵ In this study, 232 patients were enrolled who underwent cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass graft surgery, aortic valve replacement, or both) at Dartmouth Medical Center. Interviews were conducted at three points in time. The first interview was prior to the cardiac surgery, which assessed cardiac health, religiousness, and social networks. The second and third interviews were conducted after the surgery at 1 and 6 months postoperatively, respectively. The religious affiliation was as follows: 58 were Catholic, 147 were Protestant, 2 were Jewish, 2 identified as other, and 23 had no religious affiliation.⁵

This study was unique in that mortality within the six months was studied as it relates to spirituality and religion. Twenty-one patients died, which represents about 9% of the study population. Except for one patient, all died from complications related to the cardiac surgery. The following six characteristics significantly increased the chance of mortality: age over 70, severe impairment in basic activities of daily living, previous cardiac surgery, no social or community support group participation, absence of religious strength or comfort, and not being deeply religious (Table 3). The results of the study showed that for older cardiac surgery patients, the chance of dying increased by over three times in patients who lacked participation in social or community groups and had no strength and comfort from religion.⁵ Examples of social group participation mentioned in the study included a regular activity in a church supper group, a senior center, local government, and a historical society.

Patients who received “little or a great deal” of comfort and strength from their religion and who participated in organized groups showed an improved mortality benefit.⁵ The study also demonstrated that those who were deeply religious had a mortality benefit as opposed to those who were not religious, slightly religious, or fairly religious. Additionally, religious service attendance was also studied, and participants were placed into the following two categories: never or rarely attended, or attended at least every few months. A trend towards a mortality benefit was seen in those who attended religious services at least every few months. This study was the first to report the effects of religion and social group participation on cardiac post-surgical patients. ⁵

This study by Oxman et al⁵ provides strong scientific evidence that having religious strength and comfort, as well as being deeply religious, have a statistically significant mortality benefit. A physician who wants to treat the whole person (i.e., body, mind, and spirit) would be acting in the best interest of the patient to incorporate the spiritual aspects of a person’s health because of this study. A clear link of the spirit of a person (e.g., comfort and strength from religion and being deeply religious) affecting mortality has been demonstrated in this research.⁵ Using the previously investigated qualitative study and this quantitative study, a more informed answer can be provided to the following questions. What role does the spirit have in healing and recovery? Does faith in God and prayer affect a patient’s recovery? 

Finally, a noteworthy study by Lucchetti et al⁶ investigated the impact of religion and spirituality on mortality as compared to other health interventions. The researchers used 25 systematic reviews of known health interventions and 3 systematic reviews of spirituality and religion. Each study reported a percentage reduction in mortality. Spirituality and religion as an intervention were compared to well-known disease prevention strategies.⁶ A fascinating finding of this research showed that spirituality and religion offered a greater reduction in mortality than 9 other interventions offering statistically significant reduction in mortality. Spirituality and religion decreased the chances of mortality more than low-dose aspirin as prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, colorectal cancer screening by fecal occult blood test, statin therapy, screening for prostate cancer, and air bag use. ⁶

The first of the three systematic reviews of spirituality and religion by Powell et al⁷ demonstrated that church attendance provided a mortality reduction of 25%, In the second study, McCullough et al⁸ demonstrated in a metanalysis of church attendance and its effect on mortality that those who attended religious services once a week or more had a lower mortality rate than those who attended less than once a week. In the third study, Chida et al⁹ found that religiosity and spirituality provided a mortality benefit of 18%. Notably, the study demonstrated that this mortality benefit derived from religiosity and spirituality was independent of other factors such as social support, smoking, drinking, exercising, or socioeconomic status. Therefore, with the mortality benefits of religious service attendance more than once a week as well as the mortality benefit from spirituality and religiosity, evidence-based medicine demonstrates that the spirit has a very important role to play in healing and recovery. Faith in God is at the center of this healing. 

As part of our review of the scientific literature relating to prayer, religion, healing, and mortality, the evidence shows that the God of the Bible heals in a remarkable way. Healing takes place both in a physical sense and a psychological sense.^1,5,6 Furthermore, those who have strength and comfort from their religion and consider themselves deeply religious (i.e., those with strong faith) have a lower chance of mortality within 6 months after a CABG, TAVR, or both.⁵ Finally, people who attend religious services more than once weekly and who are religious and spiritual have a mortality benefit over people who attend less than once weekly and are not religious or spiritual.⁶ The evidence overwhelmingly points to the spirit affecting the overall health and well-being of patients. Therefore, as osteopathic physicians treating the whole person (i.e., mind, body, and spirit), it is incumbent upon us, based on evidence-based medicine, to seek to address the spiritual aspects of medical care with patients, not only the physical and psychological aspects. 

The definition of faith can be found in the Bible, which states the following: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”¹⁰ It is important to have faith, but more importantly, it is important to know in Whom to place faith and trust. The studies we have reviewed show that the overwhelming majority believed in the God of the Bible and prayed to Him. Therefore, it would be apt to end our article with the words of

Jesus, who said to countless people whom He healed: “Your faith has made you well.” 11,12,13,14,15,16

References:

1. Austad, A., Nygaard, M. R., & Kleiven, T. (2020). Reinscribing the lived body: A qualitative study of extraordinary religious healing experiences in Norwegian contexts. Religions, 11(11), 563.
2. Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. 2002. Phenomenology of Perception. London and New York: Routledge Classics.
3. Leder, Drew. 1992. A Tale of Two Bodies: The Cartesian Corpse and the Lived Body. In The Body in Medical Thought and Practice. Philosophy and Medicine. Dordrecht: Springer, vol. 43.
4. Kirkengen, Anna Luise. 2009. Hvordan Krenkede Barn Blir Syke Voksne. How Abused Children Become Ill Adults. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
5. Oxman, T. E., Freeman, D. H., Jr, & Manheimer, E. D. (1995). Lack of social participation or religious strength and comfort as risk factors for death after cardiac surgery in the elderly. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57(1), 5–15.
6. Lucchetti ALG, Lucchetti G, Koenig HG. Impact of spirituality/ religiosity on mortality: comparison with other health interventions. Explore (NY) 2011;7:234–8. 
7. L.H. Powell, L. Shahabi, C.E. Thoresen Religion and spirituality: Linkages to physical health Am Psychol, 58 (2003), pp. 36-52
8. M.E. McCullough, W.T. Hoyt, D.B. Larson, et al. Religious involvement and mortality: a meta-analytic review Health Psychol, 19 (2000), pp. 211-222
9. Y. Chida, A. Steptoe, L.H. Powell Religiosity/spirituality and mortality: A systematic quantitative review Psychother Psychosom, 78 (2009), pp. 81-90
10. Holy Bible: The New King James Version. Hebrew 11 verse 1. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.  
11. Holy Bible: The New King James Version. 1982. Luke 18 verse 42. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.  
12. Holy Bible: The New King James Version. 1982. Luke 17 verse 19. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.  
13. Holy Bible: The New King James Version. 1982. Luke 8:48. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.  
14. Holy Bible: The New King James Version. 1982. Mark 5 verse 34. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.  
15. Holy Bible: The New King James Version. 1982. Mark 10 verse 52. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.  
16. Holy Bible: The New King James Version. 1982. Matthew 9 verse 22. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.