Having found myself feeling helpless to improve the condition of some of my clients, my family, and people who had e-mailed,I began a seven day cycle of prayer. I create a list and each day I pray for whoever is on the list. I always pray as though thedesired condition has already occurred. I don’t ask for it to occur, I pray with gratitude for it already happening. For instance,a cancer survivor has a relapse. The prayer is: Great Spirit, Mother, Father God, Creator of all things, I am grateful for John’scancer free, healed body. I am grateful for his complete and total recovery. Imagine another may have had trouble with theireyesight. The prayer is: Great Spirit, Mother, Father God, Creator of all things, I am grateful for Jane’s perfect vision and healedsight. I am grateful for her eyes working perfectly.Now you’re wondering if it works. It works for me. I feel as though I’ve done something positive and I stop the helpless feeling.When the seven days expire, I remove their name from the list. I mark each day I pray for them. Sometimes I write to them andlet them know the cycle is complete. Sometimes I don’t. If they request another seven day cycle, I start again. The process takesvery little time and I know it’s appreciated. The following information comes from an article written by my old Chiropractor,Scott Rogers who has passed on to the other side and I imagine is gleefully laughing, as I include this information. In 1988 anarticle appeared in the Southern Medical Journal about research that had been done about prayer for the ill. Those who prayedwere members of the Catholic or Protestant prayer groups around the country, and did not personally know the patients theywere praying for. They were given only the names and conditions suffered. The groups prayed for their patients daily for tenmonths. What happened? The results follow:1) Patients receiving prayer were 5 times LESS likely to require antibiotics than those who were not;2 Recipients of prayer were 3 times LESS likely to develop pulmonary edema (lungs filling with fluid);3) NONE of the prayed-for group required an artificial airway in their throat, while 12 of those who werenot prayed for needed mechanical ventilator support;4) Fewer patients in the prayed-for group died;5) The prayers were equally effective whether the patient was just a few blocks from the prayer group,or hundreds of miles away.According to Scott, the medical profession didn’t pay much attention to the results. So What! Do you think the people who wereprayed for were grateful? You bet they were. When we need help, whether on the physical, mental or emotional level, it can feelvery positive to know that people are praying for us. We may never know the results and somehow thatdoesn’t matter so much as doing something positive compared to doing nothing.Though I’m not a religious man, I consider myself a spiritual man. Near our home is a place called the Church of the Frescoes.A small chapel built of American Chestnut, it contains three Frescoes painted by Ben Long, an artist who studied in Italy. One ofthe paintings in the front of the church is of John the Baptist. According to the bible, John was beheaded. The painting contains acrack that extends from one side of John’s neck to the other. Apparently the artist offered to repair the damage but the priest incharge told him to leave it there as the priest felt it was divine intervention that had caused the crack in the plaster. When I visitthe church, which is open about Twelve hours a day, I get down on my knees and pray for the people on my list. I often pray forsome who are not on the list and yet come to mind. I feel I have a great relationship with God, Creator, Great Mystery orwhatever name one chooses to use. I feel closer to God in nature than in a church; however I believe anywhere is a great placeto pray. I’ve heard that praying is talking to God, while meditation is listening. When I’m done praying in the little Chapel of theFrescoes, I proceed to the back of the church where there’s a small book. I write the name of the person I’ve prayed for with alisting of their desire. Then the members of the church retrieve the book and they pray for the person as well. Talk about serviceand efficiency; it doesn’t get much better than that!
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