Dr. Crandall: The Healing Power of Prayer

Numerous research studies and anecdotal stories have shown the power that prayer can have in our lives and for our health.

Dr. Chauncey Crandall, world-renowned cardiologist and director of preventive medicine at the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Florida, has observed the power that prayer can have on health firsthand.

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“When I was at Yale University and I rounded on the wards of the hospital, I found something that just really amazed me,” Crandall tells Newsmax’s “Newsline.” “The people that were being prayed for seemed to get well faster than those that weren’t,” he observed.

Crandall explains that one reason prayer can be so powerful is because it can help relieve depression, anxiety and fear. These emotions can contribute to heart disease, says Crandall, editor of the popular newsletter Dr. Crandall's Heart Health Report.

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A recent review of 32 studies, published in the International Journal of Depression and Anxiety, came to the same conclusion. In nearly every one of the studies, religion in general, and religious training, spirituality, faith, prayer and a religious community were associated with reduced anxiety. The effects were observed in healthy adults and those with cancer, cardiovascular disease or other illnesses.

And another study performed over 20 years ago on 1,000 cardiac patients in a hospital in Kansas City found that those who were prayed for daily for four weeks (without them knowing it) fared better, with fewer complications, such as pneumonia, chest pains, infections or death, than those who were not prayed for.

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“I have prayed for patients that have been told that they are going to die, that they are not going to live. And we've prayed over them and they're alive today,” says Crandall.

Crandall emphasizes that prayer works. We just need to call on God and he will show up.

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“He wants to have a relationship with you. He loves you,” says Crandall.