Prayer, It Does a Body Good

There is something you can do for yourself that will not only help your body, but also help your mind and spirit. It's like a three-in-one. If you are like me, you like getting more done in less time. It's a two birds with one stone mentality. Prayer is the one thing you can do that costs you nothing really and touches every area of your life.

Not only does the Bible say so, science and research are catching up with what the Bible has said for thousands of years. A 2014 article in Psychology Today listed five measurable benefits of prayer found in different research. Some of those benefits were having more self-control, being more forgiving, and offsetting the negative health effects of stress.

In 1998 cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd conducted his own research and found that cardiac patients who had three-seven Christians praying for them needed fewer antibiotics, had a lower percentage of congestive heart failure and were less likely to develop pneumonia. In a 2015 article in Newsmax, Dr. Koenig from Duke University said a culmination of over 1,500 scientific studies, “indicates people who are more religious and pray more have better mental and physical health.” He also went on to say that, “out of 125 studies that looked at the link between health and regular worship, 85 showed regular churchgoers live longer.” Interesting and fascinating.

Here are some Bible verses on prayer:
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

There are many other studies and books out there to back up the claims of Scripture that prayer will do you more good than harm. The great thing about prayer is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. Just this morning after dropping off my kids at school, I was praying while in traffic. You're just sitting there, may as well as do something productive with the time. I felt better because I did.
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So, why not do something good for your body, mind, and spirit today? Say a prayer. I said one for you.