UNLABELLED Chronic illnesses such as cancer are very stressful events and prayer is a valuable coping strategy for Muslim cancer patients. This study was conducted to assess the impact of prayer in Iranian cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. A descriptive cross sectional survey was conducted on 360 cancer patients over 20 years of age who were able to read and write. Data collection employ...

BACKGROUND Intercessory prayer is widely believed to influence recovery from illness, but claims of benefits are not supported by well-controlled clinical trials. Prior studies have not addressed whether prayer itself or knowledge/certainty that prayer is being provided may influence outcome. We evaluated whether (1) receiving intercessory prayer or (2) being certain of receiving intercessory p...

Background. Prayer is commonly used among patients for health purposes. Therefore, this review focused on three main questions: (1) why do people turn to prayer in times of illness?, (2) what are the main topics of their prayers?, and (3) how do they pray? Method. We undertook a systematic review of the literature by searching the databases PubMed, Medline, and PsycINFO. The following inclusion...

It is quite likely that the origins of prayer are to be found in ancient mourning and bereavement rites. Primeval ritual prayer was codified and handed down socially to become a deep-rooted feature of people‟s cultural behavior, so much so, that it may surface again several years later, in the face of death, danger, need, even in the case of relapse from faith and religious practice. Modes of p...

The objective of the current studies was to utilize prototype analysis to foster a better understanding of lay concepts of prayer. In four studies, we found evidence that concepts of prayer are indeed prototypically organized. In Study 1, participants listed features of prayer. In Study 2, participants reliably rated the centrality of these features. In Study 3, participants perceived behaviors...

BACKGROUND Experts have suggested that intersectoral partnerships between prayer camps and biomedical care providers may be an effective strategy to address the overwhelming shortage of mental health care workers in Africa and other low-income settings. Nevertheless, previous studies have not explored whether the prayer camp and biomedical staff beliefs and practices provide sufficient common g...

In an extension of research demonstrating causal effects of intercessory prayer for physical healing in a medical setting, the present study experimentally examined the effects of intercessory prayer for improved task performance in an employment setting. Trained customer service representatives either did, or did not, receive (over a 14-day period) daily intercessory prayer for the specific ne...

One of the strangest and saddest omissions in modern theology is prayer. A. Strong, for example, devoted but six pages to prayer under the heading of providence. M. Erickson's fine recent work contains only two pages on the subject, also under providence. On a single page W. G. T. Shedd lists prayer as one of the external "means of sanctification," along with Scripture, "Providential discipline...

During the preschool years, children understand prayer as a form of communication and are sensitive to the physical behaviours of prayer. Theorists have suggested a connection between the ability to reason about others’ mental states and the inflexible nature of religious rituals. Thus, the current study examined this connection in preschool children’s understanding of prayer. Child-parent dyad...

This paper presents a case series with preliminary data regarding the neurophysiological effects of specific prayer practices associated with the Islamic religion. Such practices, like other prayer practices, are likely associated with several coordinated cognitive activities and a complex pattern of brain physiology. However, there may also be changes specific to the goals of Islamic prayer wh...