People all over the world spend time in prayer. They pray together, they pray alone, in a religious setting, in their homes — wherever they find themselves in the moment. Praying is a powerful act that can unlock personal, spiritual, and physical benefits. Here’s what science understands about the power of prayer.
For centuries, humans, whether they be devout, agnostic, or irreligious, have built strong connections with a higher power through regular worship. Countless people cherish moments alone, or alongside others, to say a few words of prayer. Prayer strengthens personal values and inner belief systems and can provide peace in challenging times.
Beyond the spiritual and personal meaning that people derive from praying, science is attempting to understand exactly why the act can also benefit your health and well-being.
What Is Prayer?
Different people hold distinct interpretations of prayer. As prayer is a uniquely personal experience, it’s easy to see why there is no single definition that works for everyone, and why studying prayer, in its myriad forms, can be difficult for researchers.
“Prayer is often seen as a way to connect with a higher power or your spiritual self,” Heather Wilson, LCSW, a certified clinical trauma professional and executive director of Epiphany Wellness, an outpatient treatment program for substance abuse, tells DailyOM.
People pray in all different ways, from words or chants spoken out loud to internal conversations and meditations. Anyone can pray, regardless of religious background or leanings, Wilson explains. “Prayer is not strictly religious, and many people who identify as irreligious can benefit from incorporating prayer into their daily lives. This could involve taking time to pause and reflect on the day or week that has passed, expressing gratitude for the blessings in one’s life, setting intentions for the future, or simply taking a moment to find stillness.”
Interested in learning more? Check out 8 Weeks of Prayer to Change Your Relationships
The Many Ways to Pray
Though prayer is often depicted as involving closed eyes, pressed palms, and knees to the ground, the reality is that prayer is fluid, flowing in whatever direction you’re heading. You can pray in your bedroom or while heading to the supermarket or even in the middle of a yoga session. "While prayer may have religious connotations, it is an act of self-care that can bring joy and comfort in whatever form feels meaningful to you,” Wilson says.
Sean Ormond, MD, who is dual board-certified in anesthesiology and interventional pain management and who treats patients with a holistic approach to wellness, tells DailyOM: “There is no ‘true’ way to pray … It is a personal practice; each individual should do what feels correct.”
How Does Prayer Really Work?
“Many studies indicate prayer has health benefits,” Dr. Ormond explains. “Most of the studies highlight physiological benefits; for example, a study [published] in 2017 found that people that are more prone to religious beliefs were able to free up their mental faculties that otherwise would be used for rumination and worry.”
Not all prayer offers the same benefits, though. With regard to religious prayer, research published in the Sociology of Religion found that those with a secure attachment to God benefitted from prayer and found a decrease in anxiety symptoms, but the researchers found that those who prayed to a “God who is perceived as distant or unresponsive” did not find their anxiety was reduced.
In other words, for prayer to work, there’s a strong case for first believing in its effects — in having faith.
Here are some of the ways scientists have identified the benefits of prayer.
Prayer Can Improve Depression and Anxiety
All over the world, depression and anxiety are common struggles, and only more so in the wake of the pandemic.
Communicating through prayer is a way to heal difficult-to-reach soul wounds, says Wilson. “Studies have shown that praying (or meditating) can help reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This has been linked to improved mental health, as heightened cortisol levels can lead to increased anxiety and depression.”
One study found that prayer therapy interventions helped with anxiety in patients who had coronary artery disease; another study proved that weekly person-to-person prayer sessions reduced anxiety in participants.
Praying Together May Increase Lifespan
Women who attended religious services more than once a week had a 33 percent lower mortality rate than those who did not attend services. Another study showed that Black men over the age of 50 who attended church services weekly had a lower mortality risk. Those who attend religious services typically have reduced rates of drug and alcohol use. In these instances, participants received the benefits of being with others and receiving community support.
Spirituality Offers Buffers From Life’s Stresses
Science has found that private practice of prayer can offer the same benefits as meditation, such as a reduction in stress, a decrease in depression and anxiety, and better sleep.
Spirituality can help regulate emotions, which in turn may offer a buffer from certain chronic illnesses, experts believe, and research on spirituality shows people with a spiritual practice have positive results on some of their inflammatory biomarkers, like blood pressure, cardiac reactivity, and immunity.
Prayer Helps Reduce Chronic Pain
Many people engage in prayer in no small part because of a strong belief in its healing powers, whether for themselves or on behalf of others.
Does praying work in the face of pain?
Studies show that spirituality and religiosity are associated with less pain and better psychological function in people who have chronic pain, and those with practices such as spiritual meditation or prayer may be able to tolerate pain better.
How to Start Praying
Prayer can restart and recharge your spiritual and physical life. But getting into regular communication with higher beings or with the world around you through prayer can require practice.
To begin, prayer can coexist with time spent in meditation. Heather Wilson explains to DailyOM: “Meditation can be a form of prayer. During your meditation practice, you can focus on the things most important to you — whether expressing gratitude for your blessings or setting an intention for the day ahead … whether it is through speaking aloud, silently repeating affirmations and mantras, or simply being still and reflective with your thoughts.”
If prayer isn’t a part of your daily life and you’re wondering where to start, you can explore it with these simple steps:
- Create a peaceful environment where you can focus on your private thoughts and feelings.
- Ask for guidance from a higher power — in whatever form that is meaningful to you.
- Reflect on what lessons you can learn from difficult experiences.
- Be open to whatever comes into your mind during prayer.
- Express gratitude for all the blessings in your life.
