When I worked at Silent Unity while in ministerial school, those of us who were prayer associates heard stories of answered prayers on a daily basis. We already knew that prayer works!
There have been a number of studies that have proven this, but I want to tell you about one involving 400 patients in the cardiac care unit at San Francisco General Hospital. In this study, half of the patients in the unit were treated with routine standard care, as was the other half, but in addition the patients in the second half were prayed for.
The difference in the outcomes was really striking. For instance, there were no cardiac arrests or necessity to be put on an artificial ventilator in the prayed-for group, whereas there were twelve in the unprayed-for group. If this had been a new drug or surgical procedure being tested, it would have been hailed as a great therapeutic breakthrough.
Nobody among the nurses and doctors knew who was and who wasn’t being prayed for, which prevented them from unconsciously giving preferential treatment to the prayed-for group. When the results were in, it appeared as if the group that was being prayed for was being slipped some kind of miracle drug. There were no deaths in the prayed-for group, while there were three deaths in the other group. Twelve people in the group not being prayed for had cardiac arrests and had to have CPR, or needed a mechanical ventilator, an artificial breathing machine. None of the prayed-for group had to have that done. Twelve to zero – those are pretty good odds.— Dr. Larry Dossey
Dr. Dossey went on to quote another physician, Dr. William Knowland, who said after reviewing the results of this study, “It appears on the basis of this study that we physicians, when our patients are admitted to the emergency room and to the coronary care unit, in addition to our usual recommendations, should be writing orders that say “Pray for my patient three times daily.”
Dr. Larry Dossey is a well known authority on spiritual healing. He is a Health Educator and bestselling author of Reinventing Medicine, Healing Words and Prayer is Good Medicine. He lectures throughout the country and has been a frequent guest on Oprah, Good Morning America, CNN and The Learning Channel. Dr. Dossey is responsible for introducing innovations in spiritual care to acclaimed institutions across the United States.
If you would like to request prayer from our prayer team at Unity of Antelope Valley, you may email your prayer to prayer@unityav.org. To request prayer at Silent Unity at Unity Village, Missouri, call 1-800-NOW-PRAY (1-800-669-7729) or visit Contact Us page to submit your prayer on-line.