Are you depressed? Are you anxious about what tomorrow will bring, has the stress of everyday life overtaken you, have you lost your peace and can no longer sleep? Pray

Prayer as defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in the United States is an active process of communicating with and appealing to a higher spiritual power. "In every culture and tradition there appears to be a spiritual practice that focuses on some form of deeper interaction with a higher entity"

Proponents have argued that prayer is perhaps the most deeply human response to disease and that it may relieve suffering by some mechanism that is not yet understood

Skeptics have contended that studying prayer is a waste of money and that it presupposes supernatural intervention, putting it by definition beyond the reach of science

However, scientists have explored four possible mechanisms by which prayer may lead to improved health. The mechanisms include :
1) As a relaxation response
2) As a placebo
3) As an expression of positive emotions
4) As a channel for supernatural intervention

Scientists said although they acknowledge the efficacy of prayer and recognising the needs of patients, prayer, being a personal spiritual practice, it cannot be prescribed nor should it be used in place of medical care - why not?

A new study published in Journal of Affective Disorders concluded that belief in God might improve treatment for those suffering with depression

According to the research carried out by McLean Hospital in Belmont Massachusetts, US, faith in a higher being has been found to significantly improve treatment for people suffering with a psychiatric illness

Researchers followed 159 patients over the course of a year at the behavioral health partial hospital program at McLean to investigate a patient's level of belief in God, expectations for treatment and actual treatment outcomes

The researchers found that patients with no or slight belief in God were twice as likely not to respond to treatment than patients with higher levels of belief. And more than 30% of patients claiming no specific religious affiliation still saw benefits in treatment if their belief in God was rated as moderately or very high

The researchers concluded that a belief in God is associated with improved treatment outcomes in psychiatric care (culled from Guardian Newspaper 2013)