The power of prayer

• Spiritual connections can be simple and nontraditional
• Togetherness is key for many

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Illustration by Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser

High atop the Wai'alae Iki hillside, between breathtaking views of Diamond Head and Koko Head craters, Dr. Edward Jim doesn't need to spend a dime to know that prayer is not only good for the soul, it's good for the body as well.

Now retired as a head and neck cancer surgeon, Jim developed kidney cancer 15 years ago. A dozen subsequent operations removed tumors from his brain, kidney, lungs, skin and abdomen.

Throughout the ordeal, the emeritus clinical professor of surgery at the University of Hawai'i medical school had the prayers of his Roman Catholic wife, her Star of the Sea prayer group, the Carmelite order of nuns, a slew of friends and even strangers.

In the midst of it, in 1990, he became a Catholic himself.

Jim said he knows there was good medicine involved because his scans for cancer continue to come back clear, year after year. He had the best surgeons, the best treatments available.

"Medicine can only do so much," he said, then pointed toward heaven. "God does the rest."

Duke study sees benefits

Bending the ear of one's higher power can be therapeutic, as the "West Wing" episode pointed out. It quoted a Duke University study, published in Prevention magazine in October, showing that patients who were the subject of "remote" or intercessory prayer (people praying for you, even if you're not praying for yourself) had fewer complications and illnesses after hospitalization than patients who weren't the subject of prayer.

Led by Dr. Mitch Krucoff, director of interventional clinical trials at Duke Clinical Research Institute, a study of 150 male potential cardiac patients found those who were prayed for had a 50 percent reduction in heartbeat abnormalities and a 100 percent reduction in clinical outcomes, such as heart attacks and heart failures. A larger study on the topic is under way.

People doing the praying ranged from Baptists in North Carolina to Buddhists in Nepal.

Here in Hawai'i, Jim's wife, Mardie, said Chinese Taoist friends, Jewish medical practitioners and others lent their voices to the chorus of prayers to help her husband.

"I didn't care who they're praying to, Allah, Buddha, whoever," said the New York native, who couldn't bear to think of life without the father of her two adult sons. "If I didn't have my faith through all that, I don't know where I'd be."

One way to witness the growing popularity of prayer may be to look at the number of books sold on the subject.

"I haven't tabulated if it's No. 1, but if it's not, it's right near," said Frances Huitt of a Christian bookstore, the Agape Shoppe, who came to Kailua by way of North Carolina.

A request for healing

Other evidence can be seen in the usage of Healing Rooms Hono-lulu, where 450 people have made appointments to be prayed over since the doors of the downtown office opened a year ago, said director John Keough.

Here, Christians of various denominations bring requests — for healing, for career advancement, even (last week) for a sick kitten to recover — to be prayed over. There's a collection box for offerings, but that doesn't cover the rent or his salary, said Keough, who said he believes the answer to prayers is never "no."

Buddhism, like Christianity, has many techniques and beliefs related to prayer. If you broaden your concept of prayer to include prayers of thanksgiving and praise, then one can say Buddhists "pray," explained the Rev. Alfred Bloom, a Shin Buddhist and professor emeritus of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa in the religion department.

Bloom points out that Shin Buddhists don't pray for specific results for themselves. Their practice is aimed toward enlightenment, which for them is the higher result. "The point of Buddhism is to get away from the egocentric," he said.

On the Mainland, one Christian ecumenical ministry financed by a group called United Methodist Men, Upper Room Living Prayer Center, receives more than 25,000 telephone prayer requests each month and an additional 5,000 by e-mail, fax and by post. It is one of many telephone lines and Web sites nationwide trying to connect people with God.

'Power in numbers'

Patricia Iranon, in chair, of Healing Rooms Honolulu, receives prayer from Loretta Nelson, left, John Keough and Linda Keough. John Keough, the office's director, said prayers are never answered with a "no." Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Rev. Roy Gaton, chaplain at Castle Medical Center who held a workshop last fall on the healing power of prayer, scoffs at the idea that people might "log" their requests, then go about their business, assuming all is taken care of. Prayer, he said, benefits a soul most when it's a one-on-one conversation.

But Gaton, who quoted studies touting prayer's benefits (he said it helps prevent illness, improves the outcome of treatment and aids coping), also believes there's power in numbers.

The Carmelite nuns were among those praying for Jim. Sister Agnes Marie Wong, prioress of Carmel of the Holy Trinity, a community of nuns devoting their lives to prayer, is accustomed to people asking for divine intervention.

You could call the Carmelites a prayer pipeline. When the late Sister Maureen Keleher, whose vision led to the creation of St. Francis Medical Center and who served there for 40 years, knew a patient — or doctor — needed prayers directed their way, she'd pick up the phone and call the Carmelites.

Wong took a break from a prayer retreat to say that theirs is "the order of prayer."

"We spend our life, not hours, in prayer," she said, explaining that when women come into the novitiate, they know every minute of their day will be spent raising their hearts to God.

The form of prayer isn't always asking for help, she adds. It's simply talking to God, opening one's heart to the conversation, even allowing God into their daily chores.

"It's small things, too," said Wong, whose quiet voice sounds as if she's praying when she speaks. "Prayer is very natural and it's not hard. ... God is very accessible."

Sometimes, she and others use formal prayers, such as the Rosary. Other times, they simply offer their routines to God. But even "in a time of hardness, dryness, we know God is still there," Wong said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Spiritual connections can be simple and nontraditional

Prayer, intrinsic to almost all religions, has so many rules, rituals and recited words that it can be intimidating or off-putting. But people who pray daily — Catholic priests, imams, rabbis, Buddhist nuns, Protestant ministers and others — say it doesn't have to be that way. They say there are simple ways to reclaim or create a more prayerful life:

• First, shake misconceptions. If you think prayer is all about bowing your head or falling to your knees in a house of worship, then you'll be surprised that some devoutly religious people simply can't do it that way. Some people walk and pray, others chant, others meditate in the grocery line.
• Formal prayers are often a good entry into reviving a prayer life because they come naturally and alleviate concerns about the "correct" way to pray. Sister June Fitzgerald, program director at the Dominican Retreat House, has beginners concentrate on Scripture or stories from the Gospels, imagining scenes such as Jesus and the leper. She also leads the Lord's Prayer, searching for insight in each familiar phrase.
• There's something peaceful and reassuring about repeating prayers from childhood, whether it's the Prayer of St. Francis ("Make me a channel of your peace/Where There is hatred, let me sow your love ...") or the Shema, the first words in Hebrew taught to almost every Jewish child, or a Native American chant ("Beauty before me. Beauty behind me. Beauty above me. Beauty below me. Beauty within me").
• The challenge for adults is digging into the deeper meaning of these prayers and how the words make them feel. "Prayer can be very simple," says Maggie Oman Shannon, author of "The Way We Pray: Prayer Practices from Around the World" (Conarixx Press, $15.95), has tracked 50 ways that people pray. "It doesn't have to be hard or technically intricate. It can be as simple as closing one's eyes and holding a single intention, something that comes strongly from within."
• Some people pray with Internet prayer boxes, labyrinths or home altars, Shannon said.

Togetherness is key for many

There's power in numbers.

Attending a service or joining a prayer group helps many people focus. Praying with others gives people a strong sense of community, religious leaders say. A rundown of a few group-prayer practices:

CHRISTIANS: Many denominations believe it is imperative to "keep holy the Lord's day," attending communal services on Sundays.

BUDDHISTS: Prayers are not directed to a god, but intended for greater enlightenment or to benefit all beings. Still, there is comfort in a crowd. "For Westerners or beginners, it's easier when everyone is in the same room doing the same thing, concentrating and quietly pursuing that same goal," says Ani Karma Chotso, a Buddhist nun.

JEWS: A public service cannot be held unless at least 10 people are present, a quorum known in Hebrew as a minyan. "The great aspect of communal prayer is that you feel you're not alone," says Rabbi David Auerbach. "Humans are social creatures; we do not do well in isolation.

"In prayer, you're not only connecting to God, but also your fellow human beings. Sure, you can pray at home, look at a sunset and pray, you can pray while driving your car. But it's not the same as being with a group of people engaged in the same thing at the same time, together as a congregation."

MUSLIMS: Many pray salat five times daily, facing the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Friday-afternoon prayer is the congregation's prayer in a mosque, said Saleem Ahmed, author of "Beyond Veil and Holy War," who added that if there are two people praying together, one assumes leadership and the other follows.

Correction: The telephone number for the Assemblies of God's prayer line is (800) 477-2937. The number in a previous version of this story was incorrect.