Essay The Biology of Prayer and Healing

The Faith, Importance and influence, Community, and Address in Care (FICA) Spiritual History Tool provides a way for “the clinician to efficiently integrate open-ended questions into a standard medical history and can be used by any health care professional” (Borneman, Ferrell, & Puchalski, 2010). The FICA tool explores the presence of faith, the importance of spirituality, the influence a person’s spirituality has on their health care decisions, the involvement in a spiritual community, and the interventions to address spiritual needs (Borneman et al., 2010).

The patient that I interviewed is practicing Christian religion. He believes in the power of prayers and faith in God which according to him will help him become healthy again. He said that just like his brothers and sisters in prayers, only faith and trust in Jesus Christ can save him from illness. For him, his faith is more effective than any kind of medicine. He believes that life was a blessing given to him by God and that death is a natural fate of every living

The Church of Christ, founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879, preached that the true practice of Christianity heals sickness; she establishes her views in the book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”.

This paper provides a comprehensive look at the following faiths: Buddhism, Judaism, Baha’i, and Christianity. The reader will find that Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion that focuses on the mind as being the creator of illness and health. The reader will also find that Judaism, Baha’i, and Christianity are all religions that believe in one God, the creator of all. This paper lists various components that each of these faiths may use at one time or another to effect healing including prayer, meditation, chanting, the use of healers, etc. This paper also defines what is important to people

Prayer is an essential to any kind of religious faith. Over the years and years of believing in a higher power,

The video titled Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer, was interesting to see. I recognize that antenna that he said was used to search for marijuana in schools. I remember seeing it on a show on television. They were in an abandoned house and calling spirits, if the antenna moved, they were getting closer. It seems that we believe in supernatural ideas since that is what we as humans are doing, we are seekers. Moreover, some of us realize that it is kooky or not true accordingly we move on, but others do not. One quote by Shermer, caught my attention, “You can say a miracle occurs, but it doesn’t explain anything or offer anything.” I believe it was last week when the Pope canonized Mother Teresa; she was made a saint. One step is a miracle or healing. I believe two different people/families stated they had prayed to her consequently their family member was cured. I always wondered how does anyone know that praying did indeed heal. No doubt, you ought to be a devout

The spiritual significance of illness and suffering is a topic Christians continue to grapple with, as Larchet points out in The Theology of Illness. Scripture offers a wealth of wisdom and cues for understanding illness, health, and healing from a Christian perspective. Larchet analyzes the various and often contradictory Christian positions on health and illness, revealing how attitudes have shifted over time and with changes in medical technology, practice, and ethics. For example, St. Barsanuphius presents a comprehensive analysis of the spiritual significance of illness and suffering. One view holds that illness signifies a lack of faith; another presents illness in terms of a person who is offered the opportunity to develop a stronger faith, or whose faith is being put to a test like the story of Job. Ultimately, the latter remains the most helpful way to approach illness and healing from a Christian perspective. The essence of Christian health care is that, "Healing itself, while resulting from natural processes, actually comes from God," (Larchet 116).

We reflecting the author’s own culture, she like many people in the United States are a blend of many different cultures and ethnicity. By not having one single ethnic culture her family views health traditions based on their religion of Christian Scientist. Being raised in this religion molded views of health promotion, prevention and treatment that influence her health behaviors today. There is a difference of opinion between Christian Science and traditional medical views. “Christian Scientist interpret disease from a spiritual view where medicine interprets disease from a material point of view” (Stoddard, 2010). As a child our family was raised with the belief that good nutrition, physical activity, and the role of positive thinking and mind over matter, would provide health and help us remain strong and healthy. Not having over the counter medications or turning to traditional medicine for simple medical issues was chosen as our families way of viewing illness. Growing up with the view of health and illness as spiritual using techniques such as meditation, prayer and positive thinking, has stayed as a health tradition among our families beliefs and practices to this day. Today modern medicine is looking at the mind as a valuable tool to prepare persons and bodys for wellness and rehabilitation. An example of this would be biofeedback. This is a technique where people are

Dr. Montgomery and I made rounds on the cardiovascular unit, and I was able to observe him interact with several patients of different faith background. He offered prayer to some, however, one declined prayer, and most requested prayer. Dr. Montgomery allowed me to pray with him and the patient. He also washed his hands between each patient.

Even though, I could deduce all these benefits after reading this journal, I disagree with the authors remark that “the use of prayer and Scripture is also not appropriate with Christian clients who are in active rebellion against God or who are so angry at God at the moment that they are not interested in pursuing any explicit spiritual

For health care providers to deliver the best holistic care that patients deserve, a thorough spiritual assessment must be included during their care. With more research showing a relationship between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and ability to cope with illness, it is now a requirement of organizations to include a spiritual assessment to maintain accreditation with The Joint Commission. The minimum required of a spiritual assessment by The Joint Commission is to determine the patient’s religion and

Pardin, Plante, Sherman, and Stump (2000) that until recently the spiritual piece of treatment was rarely considered in the treatment process. However, within the aforementioned research study, findings indicated that individuals

As Christians, we are told that “You can get anything—anything you ask for in prayer—if you believe” (Matthew 21:22 LB). Shouldn’t we encourage our

Spirituality is a delicate topic, and some may not be open to talking about their beliefs. Spirituality is generally understood to be an essential aspect of being human (Lyndo-Lam, 2012). Assessing the spiritual needs of patients is a key component in the nursing process. A compassionate and thoughtful nurse can make a patient feel more secure, making it easier for him to express his spirituality. The participation of both patient and health care provider is vital in promoting spiritual health. The main focus of a spiritual assessment is to gather information regarding the patient’s spiritual needs in order incorporate them into the plan of care, so as to treat

Having been a Christian for many years I thought that I had a fair knowledge of what it meant to pray. I was amazed and humbled by the idea that through Jesus’ restorative act on the cross I am able to come into God’s presence - and not only come but be welcomed and even longed for. I believed that prayer is a powerful tool to petition God , a vehicle to praise Him , and an instrument to increase our intimacy with Him . I understood that people pray in a variety of ways, based on the teaching they have received, their experience, and even their personality. Most commonly, I engaged in prayer as a conversation with God.