Do prayers really work?

I've seen many ill, extremely ill and dying people. No one wants to suffer and many wish that they could 'wake up dead' (bypass the trauma of experiencing a dying body and simply wake up on the other side ... so to speak). Consequently, even in a science-based job such as mine, prayers abound.

I silently pray that my patients will not suffer and that they will recover; they pray for themselves and others pray for them as well. When all else fails - as it does for everyone eventually - we pray that their souls will rest in peace. In spite of our genuine prayers, several people still suffer and some die unexpectedly. Even with the best spiritual and medical intervention, sometimes it seems to come down to luck.

People pray for all sorts of reasons. I know a teenager who lost a cousin, then his father two years later despite passionate and faith-filled prayers from deeply religious friends and relatives. Distressed, disappointed, discombobulated and deeply depressed he barely clung to his faith ... thanks to robust family support. Notwithstanding the best of medical science and furtive prayers, I too experienced the recent loss of someone close to me. Were all those prayers an exercise in futility?

At the start of the FIFA 2010 World Cup match between Mexico and Argentina (two predominantly Roman Catholic countries), their respective coaches, Aguirre and Maradona, made the sign of the cross and prayed for victory. Argentina won, did God favour Argentina? Did He prefer Maradona's prayer? Was it luck or did the better team win?

God's will

Even a sacred structure like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was once prayed about, fought over and died for. Muslims, Jews and Christians all have religious interests in it. It's now an Islamic shrine. Does that mean that God prefers Muslims?

If we pray for something and we get it, we say God answered our prayer. But, if we don't get it, we say that it was not His will. Could it be that God has His own master plan for us and it really doesn't matter what we pray for? And, since, as Christ said, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him", why do we need to pray?

Are God's grand plans immutable or can we change His mind? When Hezekiah became deathly ill, the prophet Isaiah confirmed his greatest fear - God's message was that Hezekiah set his house in order because he was going to die. But Hezekiah cried and prayed and God told Isaiah to tell him, "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add 15 years to your life". Are prayers therefore learning and growing tools for our benefit?

Through scientific observation we know that, at the very least, prayers act like meditation...they relax us and allow our bodies to function optimally. Prayers inspire confidence (even if it's not in our own abilities). Religious people believe that prayers work if it's God's will. They also believe that the prime function of prayers is to allow us to nourish and develop our spiritual selves by praising God and connecting with Him.

If you have faith... then, whatever your religion or basic beliefs, prayers obviously work on several levels and in various ways with spiritual, psychological and physical benefits. However, the supremacy of God's will and His ultimate plan for us always prevail.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Feedback may be sent to garthrattray@gmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com