Why Controversy about Healing and Prayer?

I have been involved in prayer and healing activities for several decades. I did not ask God to do that to me, but He did not ask my permission so here we are.

It started in a big way in 1968 when my Father had a bad accident and was near death. My older brother and I were in his hospital room at Good Samaritan in Mt. Vernon, Illinois where dad was thrashing around trying to remove the tubes from his mouth.

I started praying for the Lord to touch Dad and all of a sudden, the room became brighter and Dad relaxed. I just knew he was better. Dad, despite the pessimism of Dr. Alexander and others, lived another ten years. I was stunned.

When Karen and I returned to Cincinnati, I happily related the story to my Pastor and friends. My enthusiasm shocked and confused many of them. Since they disbelieved in healing prayers, this new information was difficult to process. Some looked at me and said things like, "Uh, good. I am glad to hear it." There was not the same kind of excitement that they would have shown if Dad's healing had occurred with surgery. It was confusing.

Then the sermons attacking prayer for healing came along. Some were downright hostile as though I had intentionally done something wrong. Despite my innocence I was seen as guilty of disrupting the anti prayer position of the church.

Perhaps that is unfair but at least the anti healing prayer positions. We prayed for the sick but we never prayed for them to get well. My new position was not well received.

Then I shared my faith with colleagues and teachers at U. C. where I was getting a Doctorate.
I was attacked again for being too religious/ mystical/spiritual/etc. One prof told me in class that "Faith healing was not real healing but just healing by convincing people they were better. It is nothing but a mind game."

I replied, "I am in a Doctoral program trying to learn from psychology and sociology how to help change pessimistic minds to optimistic minds so the will get better. If you had a way through psychology to help people get better you would sell it for millions. So, why do you criticize us for doing the same."

So, my church and my profession both rejected my new found faith, little as it was. It is 2012 today and many decades after 1968 when God's healing touch and my spiritual/mental/faith touch occurred. I still believe in healing prayer. Faith in God is on every page of the Bible. God's love and power and truth still reign today as they did 2,000 years ago.

It makes no sense to me that any Christian would disagree. Why turn down easy, free treatment with no bad side effects? Why refuse to glorify God? Personal experience plus most research shows prayer helps people get better. Why would anyone resist getting better?

The Power of Love at the Death of a Loved One

My Mother in Law, Hazel Guriel, just celebrated her birthday on July 2 at the Mason Christian Village where she has lived since early in 2006. Hazel was joined by her family to remember God's love and grace for the past 94 years of her life.

Today Hazel lies in a coma at MCV and is near death. She has faced death down several times in her life and we have seen her come back time after time. Here is some of that battle that I have seen first hand. It is a testimony that encourages my faith and affirms the stuff I have taught about faith, hope and love for forty years since I did a doctoral dissertation in 1975 on what "works in counseling and caring relationships".

Last Sunday morning I was scheduled to preach at The Horizon Community Church. The topic was, ironically, on the importance of Grand parenting to family life. Karen, her sister and our daughter and her daughter were in Disney World enjoying a well deserved vacation.At about 8:20 as I was getting ready to leave the house for Horizon, my telephone rang and it was a nurse at MCV. She was a dear care giver who had loved and served Hazel for four years and her voice was filled with concern as she said, "I think you need to call Karen in Florida and get over here as soon as possible."

I immediately went to MCV and saw that Hazel was in deep distress. Her breathing was labored, and halting and her skin looked very bad. I had visited her often that week and she had been about as spunky, alive and interactive as any 94 year old I knew. Now she was in very bad shape. When a person this age has any trouble it can be fatal.

Hazel continues to cling to life and has actually improved in her vital signs but remains in a coma. Over the past few days Hazel's room has seen a constant stream of resident, friends, nurses, aides and relatives coming and going with hugs, kisses, stories and prayers as well as songs and tears.

Although Hazel cannot speak, she has shown nonverbal responses to many if not most of those caring interactions. For the past forty years I have studied research about the power of caring touch and warm verbal comment to bring physical, emotional and spiritual improvements in others. For the past four days I have seen the truths of that research played out in the life of this wonderful friend.

In one example, one of the Food Managers named Tim was a real favorite of Hazel. They teased each other and hugged each other almost every time they met in the cafeteria or dining room. Haze's running joke consistently poked Tim about his girl friend and the fact that she wanted to dance at his wedding.

Tim came in to visit her Monday at the low point of her vital signs. With an oxygen count of 65-67 and blood pressure that was getting lower by the hour, Tim hugged her and joked about getting better so she could dance at his wedding. Almost immediately her levels went up with oxygen at 84-85 and BP rising.

Jeff Perkins, son of Hazels next door friends, came by and prayed, sang and chatted. Her vitals got better and she relaxed dramatically.

There is no substitute for love, hugs and prayer. Plus, it is free, easily done and there are no bad side effects. To think that pills are the answer removes from possibility the basic answers God has outlined in the Bible. Praise the Lord we who follow Christ can do all of the above.

If you want to grow in faith, hope and love go to my Sweeten Life web page and download my book, Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty.

Space, Hospital Design and Health?

An interesting article in Fast Company about the power of environment to bring health or at least enhance the well being of patients. I have been interested in this kind of stuff ever since I was getting a Masters in Higher Education. The teachers discussed the power of space to enhance education, discussions and well being in colleges and universities and I immediately saw application to mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

Take a look and see what you think.

The Hippocratic Oath

Did you spot the changes in the oath from its ancient origins? Take a look at these two sentences and see what you think.

I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; and in like manner I will not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion.

There are two recent changes to the oath that has stood unchanged, as far as I know for 2000 years. What has happened that is so urgent, important and critical to health care that this covenant of agreement had to be changed?

Two movements by special interests are at the root of the changes.

1. The movement to promote what is called, "assisted suicide". There are some politicians and Doctors who want to kill people instead of heal them. Dr. Jack Kevorkian is the best known for being called "Dr. Death" but he is not alone.

2. The second is the abortion movement. The right to kill one's child as long as it is attached to the mother in any physical manner. It is called "The Womens' Rights Movement" but no woman in the womb has ever been asked permission to take her life.
In fact, there are video tapes of women in the womb trying to escape from the Doctors of Death who are trying to kill them.

Several years ago I wanted to do some simple research on The Hippocratic Oath so I went online to read what was said in Microsoft's encyclopedia. I was shocked to find it had a new, "updated version that did not include the two phrases above that forbids suicide and abortion by Doctors. They said the Oath as written was the original but they lied to deceive the public. I contacted Microsoft and they changed it to the original.

We need to always be vigilant and watch out for any and all changes to the Bible and other ancient texts that have guided our social interactions for decades. Every one of these changes has had a detrimental effect on individuals and society because they devalue the sanctity of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.