{"id":579,"date":"2007-10-23T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-23T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2007\/10\/cancer-and-prayer-they-need-ea.html"},"modified":"2007-10-23T10:45:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-23T10:45:00","slug":"cancer-and-prayer-they-need-ea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2007\/10\/cancer-and-prayer-they-need-ea.html","title":{"rendered":"Cancer and Prayer: They Need Each Other"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michelle writes in “Any Day with Hair Is a Good Hair Day<\/a>“:<\/p>\n

Whatever your beliefs are\u2014or aren\u2019t\u2014it\u2019s just as important to nourish your soul as it is to feed your body. For whatever reason, it\u2019s often when we\u2019re in crisis that we begin to explore things of the spirit, whether by prayer, meditation, listening to Bach or Mozart, or simply being quiet with our eyes closed.
\nThe National Institute of Mental Health has even determined that people with cancer often have less anxiety, depression, and even pain when they feel strong spiritual connections.
\nMany studies have shown conclusively that prayerful consciousness has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells, increase the supply of oxygen to the blood, protect red blood cells, and alter blood chemistry. Some studies have even shown that prayer on behalf of a sick person has some positive effect on the healing process.<\/p>\n


\nPrayer has always been an important part of my life. But after I was diagnosed, it became even more so. Not only did I find myself praying more intensely and mindfully than before, but I also wanted to be prayed for. In fact, when people wanted to know what they could do for me, I found myself asking them to pray\u2014not only for me, but also for my husband and family and my medical team. That was the gift I wanted most. Trust me, I\u2019m pretty materialistic, so no one was more surprised at this desire for prayer than me.
\nMost of the time, my own prayers consisted of my just talking to God (not out loud\u2014the last thin I needed was to be given a second diagnostic: psychotic). Much of the time, I was pretty mad at him for letting this happen to me. I hadn\u2019t married until I was 45, and I\u2019d been married for only two years. What if I didn\u2019t make it? So I\u2019d rail at him. “What were you thinking?” I\u2019d ask. I figured that if God is God, then he can take my yelling at him. But I also asked for peace and strength and comfort\u2014and healing, of course. During the process, I became less angry and more peaceful.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle writes in “Any Day with Hair Is a Good Hair Day“: Whatever your beliefs are\u2014or aren\u2019t\u2014it\u2019s just as important to nourish your soul as it is to feed your body. For whatever reason, it\u2019s often when we\u2019re in crisis that we begin to explore things of the spirit, whether by prayer, meditation, listening to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration-and-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nCancer and Prayer: They Need Each Other - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2007\/10\/cancer-and-prayer-they-need-ea.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cancer and Prayer: They Need Each Other - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michelle writes in “Any Day with Hair Is a Good Hair Day“: Whatever your beliefs are\u2014or aren\u2019t\u2014it\u2019s just as important to nourish your soul as it is to feed your body. 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