Health Through Prayer – Book Review

Health Through Prayer is written by James Everly and published by Steady River Publishing. In the book, Everly uses each chapter to cover some very basic principles that are important for good health. The topics are as addressed on this list:

Chapter 1     Establishing a Practice of Praying for Your Health
Chapter 2     The First Step to Better Health
Chapter 3     Setting Goals
Chapter 4     The Importance of Exercise – Get Moving
Chapter 5     Don’t Go It Alone
Chapter 6     Practicing Moderation and Portion Control
Chapter 7     Standing Up Under Temptation
Chapter 8     The Importance of Sleep and Rest
Chapter 9     Nutrition
Chapter 10    Reducing Stress
Chapter 11    A More Serious Exercise Program
Chapter 12    Forgive Yourself for Mistakes
Chapter 13    Eating More Natural, Less Processed Food
Chapter 14    Making a Healthier Home
Chapter 15    Onward

At the end of each chapter there is a short exercise to do related to the principle and a recommended prayer. As an example, here is the prayer at the end of the chapter titled The Importance of Sleep and Rest.

Lord, I understand the importance of resting each week, and that sufficient sleep is essential to my overall health and to my specific goals of looking and feeling better. Please guide me in taking the necessary steps to make sure that I get more rest, so that I may meet those goals and so that I may better fulfill your vision for me.

The recommend principles are sound and based on advice one might expect to receive from a physician or health educator, even though the author acknowledges that he has no specific health or wellness-related training. If one has a sincere interest in improving his/her health, has a personal relationship with God, through Christ and is diligent in asking God for help by praying the recommended prayers that address each of the covered areas in the book, I’d imagine that he/she would find this book helpful.

The last comment I’d make is that I’d like to have seen the author place more emphasis on the importance of a relationship with God and about prayers having to do with the relationship. The more I grow in my faith and understand God and the Bible, the more I am appreciating that it’s all about the relationship we have with God, through his Son, Jesus. The more we can be in God’s presence, the more we can make it about loving God and worshiping him, the more we seek him, the more we ask God to help us die to our old sinful nature and invite Christ to live through us – the more likely we will experience fruit in our life that will favor being healthy and well.

I believe that it’s when we have that sort of prayerful attitude that we are likely to experience Health Through Prayer.

Praying About Your Health – The Research

Last week the New York Times reported that recent research has concluded that more Americans are praying about their health.

According to the report, scientists analyzed data on 30,080 adults ages 18 and older who took part in the National Health Interview Survey in 2002 and on 22,306 adults who participated in 2007. Forty-nine percent of adults said in 2007 that they had prayed about their health during the previous year, up from 43 percent in 2002. The full article, which appeared in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality is available at this link – Praying and Health.

God, man’s creator, inspired men to write the books of the Bible so that we can have instructions on how to live life.  It includes many, many examples of people who prayed in times of distress and trouble, including sickness and poor health.

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint. Old Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. Psalm 6:2

My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I grown in anguish of heart…. Come quickly to help me, old Lord my Savior. Psalm 38:7,8 and 22

Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:17

Then they cried out to Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. Psalm 107:28

Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord were heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. Deuteronomy 26:7

The research indicates that more people are praying about their health but the data show only the frequency of prayers, not the nature of the prayers or who the prayers were made to.  The Bible is full of guidance that indicates we are to pray to the Lord God, our Creator.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:18

God is their refuge and strength, and ever present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24

Be thankful that you have a Creator, the Lord our God, who cares about you and hears you when you cry out to him – even during your times of sickness and poor health.

Other Blog Posts About Prayer

Pray With God – A Biblical Principle for Experiencing an Abundant Life

The first Thursday in May has been designated the National Day of Prayer for quite some time and today is the 60th year of the designation. The scripture for this year’s event is Psalm 91:2 -  I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Pray With God is one of 42 Principles for Experiencing an Abundant Life that I have identified. Praying with God helps keep us connected with Him and it’s our ongoing connection with God that enables us to experience the kind of life that Jesus died for us to have. “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ” Jesus in John 15:4-5

Isn’t it interesting that the shortest verse in the Bible tells us how frequently we are to pray – Pray continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:17. The more we are intentional in staying connected with God through prayer, the more it demonstrates that we are dependent upon him to meet our deep needs and to live life. As we continually acknowledge our need for him, we are likely to remain humble, and being humble sets the stage for God to give us more grace. James 4:6

As you go throughout today, ask God to help you stay connected with him in an attitude of dependence and in prayer. Praying With God is a biblical principle that will contribute to you experiencing joy, hope and peace – an abundant life, and I believe an abundant life favors health and well being.

Pray With God – Relevant Scriptures

Matthew 6:6-13, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 1 Timothy 2:1-3, Hebrews 4:16, Mark 1:35, James 5:13-16

Pray With God – Other Resources

Other Blog Posts About Prayer

National Day of Prayer Website

A Prayer for You

It’s the National Day of Prayer and I sense God asking me to send out a prayer to all of you who subscribe to this blog.

I  pray that God will woo you to spend daily time with him – quietly.  In that one-on-one time with him, I pray that you will recognize his gentle voice as he speaks to you.  As you spend more time with God, I pray that he empowers you, through his Holy Spirit, to do the things you sense him asking you to do.

May you have great hope knowing that God is there for you and knowing that some day you’ll be in heaven.

May you be experiencing peace deep in your heart because you trust him and you do not worry.

As you depend more and more on God, not on your own strength, may you be able to change any health-related behavior that you desire to change.

And finally, because you are asking in a humble and dependent way for God to be involved in your life, may you know his will and may your life bring glory to him.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Dr. Christina Pulchaski – The Neurological Benefits of Religious Practices

Dr. Christina Pulchaski, Executive Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, is interviewed by Sally Quinn of the Washington Post’s On Faith column.

Topics addressed in the 5-minute video:

• Intercessory prayer
• The power of belief
• Research design
• Mechanisms of religious practices and health outcomes

View the video of the interview here.

April 8th is Declared a Day of Prayer for Army Soldiers

In Times of Stress Like This

USA Today reported on the physical consequences related to the stress people are under, especially over this last week. An article on September 19th – today as I write this – titled “Money Woes, Other Stresses Bring Unwanted Physical Response” says “As the market melts down, hurricanes wreak havoc, war grinds on and feelings of helplessness set in, stress goes up.” ComPsych, an employee assistance and wellness provider, has seen a 10% to 15% spike in calls since the weekend according to their vice president of health and wellness.

“The connection between mind/body is seamless,” says Linda Rosenberg, CEO of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. “There isn’t a separate brain and a separate body. What you’re thinking about has an effect on your physical well-being. General good health means good mental health.”

So what’s a Christian to do during times like this? We take care of ourselves in a variety of ways: Get plenty of sleep, eat well, engage in regular physical activity, review our investment portfolios, manage our time effectively and we care for our heart in a spiritual way. We do the very best we can to give our cares and worries to Jesus. We pray for ourself and our leaders. We put our trust in Him. (Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 26: 3-4)) We spend more time with Him. We ask God for wisdom. (James 1:5-6) We remember that it’s in our trials that our faith has an opportunity to grow… we get opportunities to exercise our faith muscles at times like this.

And we invite Jesus to be our personal trainer.

See a listing of scriptures for faith in times of stress on my website.

Jesus Praying Through Me – Faith and Health Scripture – Galatians 2:20

Last week I prayed in a way that I had never prayed before.

My heart has been heavy for an individual for many months. I sensed that person needed a special touch from God from deep within. On many, many occasions I had prayed for him. In my Men’s Bible study we have been looking at how Christ lives His life through us. Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20, “It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me.” That tells me that a follower of Christ is to allow Christ to be the one who is speaking, behaving and doing all the other things a person does. If we were truly one with Christ, we could step aside and let Him live though us.

Jesus tells us in John 15:4 & 16, “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” “The Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” To me, this says that if we are so deeply abiding in Jesus that we will actually sense His presence in us. We will know that Jesus actually is living in us. Since that is the case, then we ought to understand that Jesus wants to be the one praying, not us. If we have this awareness and are able to yield to Jesus during our prayers, then in those moments we can be confident that the prayers that are being lifted up to the Father are actually the prayers of Jesus. Wow! That is so very powerful and sacred and holy.

I believe that this is the true essence of abiding in Jesus. When we are able to experience that Jesus is present and the one living through our bodies and the one doing the talking through our lips, then we are “joined” to Him just as He desires us to be. When we are able to be in this place, that’s when much fruit will be produced. (John 15:5) And one of the fruits that most pleases the Father is the fruit of someone entering into His Kingdom.

Why does Jesus want to be able to pray through us to the Father? He wants us to experience the ultimate connection with Him that occurs during that time of prayer. He wants us to have that sweet fellowship with Him. He wants us to experience the confidence and the power that occurs when we are with Him so solidly. He wants us to be instruments of His love as we pray for others. He wants us to really know Him… the kind of knowing Him that is experienced during such intimately prayerful times.

When we are in God’s presence, imagine how quieted our body, mind and emotions are. Such peace is wonderfully conducive to our health. When we are purely connected with God and Jesus it’s a really beautiful thing. Anytime we experience something beautiful, it’s good for our inner being and wellness. Imagine the strong sense of confidence you’d have and a sense of power, not power that comes from self, but power that comes straight from God. We should not be motivated for these reasons, but it’s an extra benefit that comes from such a close and intimate relationship with our Savior!

I have full confidence that God heard that prayer last week. It was Jesus’ prayer to His Father. I also know that God then touched a man’s heart in a special way over the next few days. Thank you Jesus for revealing more of your nature to me.

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Many of us remember the US Hockey team’s victory over the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics. Here is a 21 second video of how the game ended along with the voice of announcer Jim McKay as he screams the question “Do you believe in miracles?” Today I received an email with a story reported in the news in Palm Beach, Florida on February 1st about a team of physicians and nurses that witnessed a miracle. A man was raised from the dead in an emergency room by a doctor’s prayer of faith. Enjoy the video posted here to the right that describes this miracle!!

Is your faith so deep that you believe miracles happen today? Have you experienced one?

Prayer as Medicine – How Much Have We Learned?

Many people use prayer, and some studies have shown a positive association between prayer and improved health outcomes. The article I’ve added as a pdf file under The Research page here explores four possible mechanisms by which prayer may lead to improved health. It’s taken from a May, 2007 issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.