- Prayer is considered a complementary therapy and is in no way intended to
replace standard medical care.
- There are no side effects or negative interactions between prayer and other
therapies or medications.
Should intercessory prayer be used as a complementary therapy?
- I would encourage anyone who wishes to use intercessory prayer as a
complementary therapy in healing to incorporate it into their treatment plan and
life.
- To health professionals who wish to incorporate intercessory prayer into
their practice as a complementary therapy, I would ask them to be aware of
the benefits as well as the risks/ethical considerations mentioned
previously. It should be a mutual decision between the health
professional and the patient, not a prescribed lifestyle change such as
quitting smoking.
- Some patients may want to pray with their physician or have their
physician offer an intercessory prayer for them during a clinic visit.
If this is a comfortable situation for both patient and physician, Dr. David
Schiedermayer offers a list of core principles for health professionals to
follow when praying with patients:
- Ask the patient's consent.
- Don't ask her faith tradition.
- Pray for the patient if she is willing.
- Prayer is not theology; for theology, call a
chaplain.
- Use prayer for support, not for treatment.
- If you can't pray, offer to listen to the
patient's prayer.
- Keep prayers simple-for the patient, her
illness, her well-being.
- Avoid prayers that can be viewed as coercive or
proselytizing.
- Encourage the patient to do the praying
- Pray at the time and point of the patient's
greatest need.
|
