While prayers are not always answered when and in the way we would like, having faith in a loving Father in Heaven and knowing that He will watch over and provide for us according to our needs as He sees them is a great comfort.
Types of prayer, optimism, and well-being of middle-aged and older patients undergoing open-heart surgery.
"Abstract:
To specify the psychological mechanism through which faith factors may influence health-related well-being, we followed a sample of middle-aged and older patients for their experiences associated with open-heart surgery. Structural equation modeling analysis in an earlier report demonstrated a parallel-pathway explanatory model in which preoperative optimism and acute stress response functioned as positive and negative mediators, respectively, of the influence of using prayer for coping. This current analysis addresses an additional question: Which styles or types of prayer usage may have potential protection in postoperative outcomes? Three interviews were conducted with 295 patients (age 62±). Items from established instruments were used to assess postoperative mental health, optimism, acute stress, prayer coping, and chronic conditions. Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical conceptual model. The major finding was unexpected. Of the four major types, only the use of "petitionary" prayer was related to better postoperative well-being, mediated through optimism, whereas "conversational" prayer was associated with poor outcomes, mediated through acute stress. Optimism appeared to counterbalance this undesirable stress effect. Interpretations were sought on the basis of the literature and theories, especially those that have linked "petitionary" prayer with disadvantaged populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)"
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2007-19918-011
Lifetime Trauma, Prayer, and Psychological Distress In Late Life
"Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to see whether prayer helps older people cope more effectively with the adverse effects of lifetime trauma. Data from a nationwide survey of older adults reveal that the size of the relationship between traumatic events and depressive symptoms is reduced for older people who believe that only God knows when it is best to answer a prayer, and when they believe that only God knows the best way to answer it. The findings further reveal that these beliefs about prayer outcomes are especially likely to offset the effects of traumatic events that arose during childhood."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831652/
Dealing with Stress and Discouragement
Read the article in the Ensign: http://lds.org/ensign/1990/02/dealing-with-stress-and-discouragement?lang=eng&query=stress+prayerIntercessory Prayer: A Delicate Celestial Orchestration Between Spiritual and Physical Worlds: The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/acm.2007.0013
Intercessory prayer as an intervention for stress in critically-ill neonates
"Abstract: The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of Christian intercessory prayer (CIP) on (a) physiological and behavioral stress levels and (b) physical outcomes of critically ill, extremely preterm (PT) neonates during the first four weeks of life. Outcome measures included salivary cortisol, behavioral state and incidence of acute complications (e.g. long term ventilation or death) during the first four weeks of life. This study used a blinded, randomized, 2-group, pre-test/post-test design and was conducted in a large Level III Neonatal ICU in a university teaching hospital on the Texas Gulf Coast. Forty-two preterm neonates between 26 to 32 weeks completed gestational age were admitted to the study after obtaining appropriate parental consent. The intervention utilized Christian intercessors that prayed daily for healing for infants randomized to the prayer group. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and Chi Square were used to describe the sample and to test the hypotheses. Results showed that while there was no statistical significance between the groups for any outcome measures, outcomes were noted for salivary cortisol, behavioral state and acute complications for the prayer group. Therefore it can be tentatively concluded that CIP could possibly improve stress, behavioral levels and physiological outcomes of the preterm infant."
http://gradworks.umi.com/32/34/3234211.html
Intercessory prayer as an intervention for stress in critically-ill neonates
"Abstract: The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of Christian intercessory prayer (CIP) on (a) physiological and behavioral stress levels and (b) physical outcomes of critically ill, extremely preterm (PT) neonates during the first four weeks of life. Outcome measures included salivary cortisol, behavioral state and incidence of acute complications (e.g. long term ventilation or death) during the first four weeks of life. This study used a blinded, randomized, 2-group, pre-test/post-test design and was conducted in a large Level III Neonatal ICU in a university teaching hospital on the Texas Gulf Coast. Forty-two preterm neonates between 26 to 32 weeks completed gestational age were admitted to the study after obtaining appropriate parental consent. The intervention utilized Christian intercessors that prayed daily for healing for infants randomized to the prayer group. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and Chi Square were used to describe the sample and to test the hypotheses. Results showed that while there was no statistical significance between the groups for any outcome measures, outcomes were noted for salivary cortisol, behavioral state and acute complications for the prayer group. Therefore it can be tentatively concluded that CIP could possibly improve stress, behavioral levels and physiological outcomes of the preterm infant."
http://gradworks.umi.com/32/34/3234211.html
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