TOWER TIDINGS - The Presbyterian Church in Morristown

“The function of prayer is not to influenceGod, but rather to change the nature of theone who prays.” ---Soren KierkegaardMy Doctorate of Ministry in Science and Theologyfinal project paper is entitled: “A Study of the Impactof Two Forms of Prayer Practices on Resilience.” Iam so grateful for all the people in our church andcommunity who participated in the prayer studies and faithfully supported me during this program!In the process of designing and writing up the results of this study, I learned much more about theimportance of prayer for resilience development. Resilience is basically defined as: the ability toovercome stress, adapt to change, and recover from adversity. The Bible is full of scriptures thatprescribe guidance for living a faithful, healthy and abundant life. “Pray without ceasing”(1Thess. 5:17) is a well-known scripture passage that inspires the inclusion of prayer into dailyliving. Yet many people are not aware that this guidance to pray is beneficial for more than one’sspiritual wellbeing. Prayer has many physical and emotional wellbeing benefits including theability to enhance resilience.The Mayo Clinic’s website page on “Resilience: Building Skills to Endure Hardship,” lists theprescription to pray daily as important for enhancing wellbeing and resilience, as well as othergenerally accepted health prescriptions such as a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight,and exercise.So how do we pray in a way that builds resilience? The answer is: often. How you pray isn’t asimportant as the fact that you pray often. Prayer as a way of being in touch with God increasesyour awareness of God’s presence.My prayer study showed that the contemplative way of prayer, called Centering Prayer, is a goodway to enhance resilience. To pray in this way involves simple silent “resting in God,” for 20minutes each day. This form of prayer showed the highest impact on enhancing resilience in mytwo prayer studies.Mahatma Gandhi would not be surprised by this. He believed that, "Prayer is the very soul andessence of religion, and therefore, prayer must be the very core of the life of all people.”Ruth Burrow agrees with Gandhi in her lovely book, Essence of Prayer. She said, “Prayer isessentially God's work. Our part is to give time, do our best to keep attention, surrender ourselvesas best we can. Then we can be sure that God works. Faith does not ask for signs, or tokens.”So trust in God that when you pray, you are heard; God is present in your joys and in yoursorrows and ready to give you “rest” enabling you to become more resilient.Jesus was calling us to pray when he said, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy ladenand I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11: 28)——————————————————For more information on Building Resilience, see: The Mayo Clinic, “Resilience: Build Skills ToEndure Hardship,” www.mayoclinic.com/health/resilience/MH00078/NSECTIONGROUP=2)4The Function of PrayerPastor Cindy