Years ago, I was with a group of friends watching the Packers play football. One woman kept thanking Jesus every time they scored and praying that they would when they were down. Does the Absolute answer prayers for football victories? I’m sure there were people praying for the other team. Who was God rooting for?
Similarly, when we pray for someone who has a terminal illness to live, can we expect our supplications to be answered? If everyone who was dying lived because of prayers for them, the earth would be overcrowded to the point that there wouldn’t be enough resources for everyone. We’re human. We have to die. That’s part of the contract. We carry a human body around and it’s subject to the laws of nature.
So, how effective is prayer? Scientifically speaking, very. There have been many double-blind studies done studying its success rate. A wound prayed over heals faster than one that isn’t. Plants grow faster with blessed water than with water right out of the tap. There is a strong connection between faith and healing.
But how we pray is as important as taking the time to pray in the fist place.
I should take a moment to say that we don’t need to believe in God to pray. We are all connected. Our healing thoughts suffice. Getting into a prayerful attitude is enough. We don’t have to send our words up to a third party for there to be results.
First, we should take a moment to remember that we don’t know what the best outcome is. As I said, we all have to die at some point. It’s always best to pray for the highest good. Spirit may your will be done. We can pray for understanding and acceptance, both ours and that of others. A prayer of noninterference where we are guided by prayer and compassion is better than trying to tell the Universe what to do.
If you’d like to delve deeper into this topic, I highly recommend Dr. Larry Dossey’s Prayer is Good Medicine. The author talks about the healing potential of prayer, when and how much to pray, and how prayer fits into the medical system. It’s a good read.