It started out as a routine checkup. You took your blood test, got you cholesterol and cardiovascular evaluations, even a flu shot. Later in the week your doctor contacts you to discuss an “abnormality” found during one of your tests and wants to see you in a few days for “possible counseling.”"What could it be?” you ask, slipping into an inexorable panic, as you mentally catalog disease while playing pick-a-plague in your head: “Isnt there a history of hypertension and diabetes in my family? And didn’t my cousin get diagnosed with cancer last month?”
At this point even a die-hard atheist just might throw up a prayer–and ask for the prayers of others–when confronted with the frailty of his own life. But can prayer be the cure for what ails you? Is faith healing better than a trip to the doctor’?
“I believe that they need to go hand-in-glove,” says Randall W. Maxey, M.D., Ph.D., of Los Angeles, who is president of the National Medical Association (NMA). “There should not be a separation between the two. In the world as I see it, physicians are often vehicles through which God works,and in my practice, I practice a blend that encourages people to have faith that they will be healed. “I am a Christian and I strongly believe that faith plays a role in healing,” Maxey affirms.
He continues: “Not only do I give traditional pharmacological medications that an M.D. would give, but I also make sure that I do pray for my patients,” says Maxey. “In many cases I pray with them, and I myself have seen many instances where it was clear that it was the faith component that led to their healing more so than just the medications that we give.”
And according to recently released information concerning faith and healing, the good doctor may be right.
Studies at several medical centers conclude that prayer and faith help in the recovery from heart attacks, drug addiction, stroke, alcoholism and depression. Research from the University of Miami showed AIDS patients who became long-term survivors were more frequently engaged in religious worship and involved in volunteer work.
Also, Duke University has just released a study of 4,000 men and women of different faiths, 65 or older. The study found that the relative risk of dying was 46 percent lower for those who frequently attend religious services. It also found that those who attend religious services have healthier immune systems.
At this point even a die-hard atheist just might throw up a prayer–and ask for the prayers of others–when confronted with the frailty of his own life. But can prayer be the cure for what ails you? Is faith healing better than a trip to the doctor’?
“I believe that they need to go hand-in-glove,” says Randall W. Maxey, M.D., Ph.D., of Los Angeles, who is president of the National Medical Association (NMA). “There should not be a separation between the two. In the world as I see it, physicians are often vehicles through which God works,and in my practice, I practice a blend that encourages people to have faith that they will be healed. “I am a Christian and I strongly believe that faith plays a role in healing,” Maxey affirms.
He continues: “Not only do I give traditional pharmacological medications that an M.D. would give, but I also make sure that I do pray for my patients,” says Maxey. “In many cases I pray with them, and I myself have seen many instances where it was clear that it was the faith component that led to their healing more so than just the medications that we give.”
And according to recently released information concerning faith and healing, the good doctor may be right.
Studies at several medical centers conclude that prayer and faith help in the recovery from heart attacks, drug addiction, stroke, alcoholism and depression. Research from the University of Miami showed AIDS patients who became long-term survivors were more frequently engaged in religious worship and involved in volunteer work.
Also, Duke University has just released a study of 4,000 men and women of different faiths, 65 or older. The study found that the relative risk of dying was 46 percent lower for those who frequently attend religious services. It also found that those who attend religious services have healthier immune systems.
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