During hard times, a lot of people resort to praying. With over 4,300 religions worldwide, it is no wonder that many turn to praying to God and meditate upon the Bible scriptures.
For religious people, prayer is one of the most powerful weapons God has given them. Looking at 2020, the significance of prayer and the belief in God has become even stronger. Some would credit their success in their endeavors, recovery, and blessings to praying to an omnipotent God.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in March, there are about 55% of American adults who said that they prayed for an end to the spread of the coronavirus. Majority of American Christians have turned to prayer during the outbreak.
Brad Bushman, a professor of communication at Ohio State University, said that people usually turn to prayer in situations where they experience intense negative feelings, such as anger, grief, fear, or the feeling of losing control, and they need help from a 'higher power.' These feelings are also common during a pandemic.
But research on the health benefits of praying is limited. Nonetheless, studies showed that prayer might help reduce stress, loneliness, and fear, reports KRDO News.
Why Is Prayer Not Usually Studied?
According to Kevin Masters, a clinical health psychology professor at the University of Colorado, studying prayer has been challenging because of many reasons.
Many scientists are very skeptical about religion, and not many scholars are interested in studying prayer for the long term. The lack of previous studies on prayer means there are no established methods that future researchers might use for further and more thorough studies.
Moreover, the concept of God as a mechanism is impossible to study since the topic cannot support any research on drugs or surgical techniques, so finding a process to explain the results will be challenging.
However, what science can do is to study outcomes of the belief in God, although it will be difficult to prove any benefits derived from prayer.
Psychological Benefits of Praying
Given the limitations on studying the benefits of praying, it will be hard to determine the mental and emotional relief some people feel by praying from casting their cares upon another being or whether they were relieved because a metaphysical God has lifted their mental load.
But previous studies on praying claim that the action is associated with a sense of calmness, peace, encouragement, or social support.
According to Ryan Bremner, an associate professor of psychology at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, prayer can foster a sense of connection to what the person finds important in life or their values. Additionally, it reduces the feeling of isolation, anxiety, and fear as well.
"Rituals, in general, serve a calming function, they distract the mind which might otherwise go down one of those rabbit holes of useless worry, and they give us a sense of influence or control over something that may not be ultimately controllable, said Bremner.
In a 2009 study, it described the effects of prayer on depression and anxiety. They found that members of a group that prayed for one another had lower rates of depression and anxiety. Masters said that social support and amelioration of loneliness might be responsible for the benefits of intercessory prayer.
Then, another study in 2011 found that prayer can help reduce anger and aggression. A series of experiments on anger and praying showed that members in a prayer group were more likely to feel less anger and aggression after a provocation.
Likewise, another study also found that when dating or married couples pray for one another, they tend to be less aggressive and more inclined to forgive each other.
There is more to know about the effects of praying on a person; that is why experts suggest making quality studies on the matter through longitudinal studies.
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