Your doctor told you to eat right, exercise, and take your medicine. Yet, you still have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and maybe a few visits to the hospital. So, is there something else you can do for your health – emotional, spiritual, and physical? Yes, there’s so much more you can do that will affect your whole health – faith and prayer:
• “Patients affiliated with a religious community had 50% shorter hospital stays than those with none. Those who attend church, temple, or mosque regularly have half the levels of the blood protein interleukin-6, which, in high levels, is associated with AIDS, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. (Duke University’s Center for the Study of Religion, Spirituality, and Health)
• “Prayer and religious rituals can relieve stress. Praying 10-20 minutes a day can decrease blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and metabolic rates.” (Harvard’s Mind/Body Institute)
• “Patients who were prayed for but didn’t know it had fewer life-threatening complications and needed less medication.” (San Francisco Medical Center)
• “There is now convincing evidence that people who have strong spiritual beliefs do better, even in serious illness.” (St Luke’s Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO.)
• “Over half of America’s medical schools now teach courses in religion and spirituality and the important impact on patient health. 99% of doctors believe there is an important relationship between the spirit and the flesh.” (Associated Press.)
http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/CareerArticles/CareerArticle/tabid/102/itemId/2446/Should-You-Pray-for-Your-Patients-This-Nurse-Says.aspx
If you are at a place in your life where you need a change mentally, spiritually, or physically; the next step is up to you. Pray and know that Christ is able to overcome any circumstance you may be experiencing.
