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Miscellaneous
News About Healing
by Francis MacNutt (from the Sept/Oct 2005 issue)
Here is our new feature: news items about healing prayer. In our reading we discover many fascinating articles and we want to share them with you.
UNBORN BABIES AFFECTED BY STRESS OF 9/11 ATTACKS
gleaned by Francis MacNutt
Pregnant women who escaped the burning Twin Towers four years ago passed on the stress of that awful experience to their unborn infants in a “ripple effect,” according to New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. Researchers studied 38 expectant mothers who survived the disaster, to find whether by measuring the level of the stress hormone cortisol in their saliva they showed any signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Reduced levels of cortisol indicate a person is more likely to be vulnerable to PTSD.
The Trade Center mothers who developed anxiety had markedly lower levels of cortisol, and their babies also showed the same patterns. These findings suggest that the biological affects of trauma “may have to do with very early parent-child attachments and possibly even in-utero effects.”
(The Washington Times, May 5, 2005, p. A3.)
In relation to inner healing, this bears out our own experience of the need, at times, to pray for what happens to us before birth. (cf. our book Praying for Your Unborn Child — go to page thirteen for ordering information).
PRAYER IN SILENCE
gleaned by Francis MacNutt
Mother Teresa, when asked by an interviewer what she says to God when she prays, answered: “I don’t say anything. I just listen.” When the interviewer asked what she hears God say, Mother Teresa replied: “He doesn’t say anything. He just listens. And if you can’t understand that, I can’t explain it to you.”
In Christian tradition this is called the “Prayer of Quiet” – a listening beyond words. In that silence we know and are known by God.
TO BE EXPLAINED:
gleaned by Francis MacNutt
35% of Americans have divorced
34% Married born-again adults have been divorced after they became Christians.
(The Barna Group)
Our conclusion is that without real transformation many Christians live very much like non-Christians.
PRAYER AND CHURCH MAY SLOW ALZHEIMER'S
gleaned by Francis MacNutt
Canadian and Israeli researchers offer evidence that prayer may slow the insidious advance of Alzheimer’s disease. Worldwide, Alzheimer’s affects 5% of adults over 65 and 50% of those over 85. Dr. Yakir Kaufman (director of neurology at Sarah Herzog Memorial Hospital in Jerusalem) writes that “Alzheimer’s patients with higher levels of religiosity may have a significantly slower progression of cognitive decline.”
“This is amazing research,” says Dr. Michael Rayel, chief of psychiatry at Dr. G. B. Cross Memorial Hospital in Clarenville, Newfoundland.
Since 4.5 million adults in the U.S. suffer from Alzheimer’s at a cost of $61 billion annually, this finding is significant. Whether the prayer is the most important element, rather than just being a part of the patient’s other mental activities is still a major question. “Is prayer simply a heightened cognitive process or does it have unique benefits all its own?” is a question one research-er asks.
We at CHM often are asked about whether we know of positive results when we pray for Alzheimer’s. We have been told about one patient who apparently was healed of Alzheimer’s, and now we have this new research from scientists encouraging us to pray for the effects of aging.
(Article in “Science and Theology News,” June 2005, pp. 7-8).
