Secular Proof for Prayer

by

Anthony Valasek

In a fairly recent study done by Duke University published in the Journal of Gerontology, it was shown that people who pray, live longer! To sum it up briefly, those that prayed at least once a month had a 50% better chance of living longer among people who are 65 and older.

Other studies have shown that praying does decrease the levels of stress in a person's body, but nobody "scientifically" knows why. To me, the answer is pretty simple. To what can the matter be compared?

A certain little boy, ran home from school always afraid the big boy down the street was going to beat him up because the big boy watched him from the other side of the street the whole way home. Every time his father (who just went on an international assignment for a year) called, he wouldn't tell him what was bothering him even though the father knew something was wrong. His father kept asking him unload his burdens on him. You see, before the father went away, he would walk his little boy home every day.

Finally, the anxiety got to the little boy who was now missing school because his stomach ached when he thought about the big boy down the street. Now that he had to explain his illness to his father, he finally told him what was bothering him. "Dad," the boy said sobbing, "every time I come home from school, the big boy down the road watches me the whole way home, and I'm afraid he will get me one of these days."

After a brief pause, the father responded, "I wish you would have told me what was wrong when I asked." The father then added, "Before I left, I arranged to have the boy you are worrying yourself sick over keep an eye on you. He used to babysit you when you were a toddler, even though you probably don't remember. I told him to watch from a distance so that he didn't embarass you in front of any of your friends."

The next day the little boy went to school feeling fine and on the way home he had some friendly company.

Matthew 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Rest in this passage means to refresh. There is only one way that I know of to approach Christ and that is to pray. Quite simply, when you give someone a problem that you know they can take care of, there is little sense in worrying (inducing stress) about it anymore. In what more capable hands can we put something than Christ our mediator.

What science can not measure is the amount of weight that is lifted from our souls as we take our supplications to God.

Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Careful in this passage simply means "to be anxious." Life is short, pray hard.