The close ties between the power of prayer and nursing field have been demonstrated throughout the history of community nursing. Notably, nursing has long been linked with spirituality, which tends to alleviate the suffering and healing of the patients ( Greasley, Chiu, & Gartland, 2001). In this particular article, Narayanasamy and Narayanasamy (2008) state that while no one can give absolute testimony that indeed payer is fully responsible for alleviating suffering and bringing total healing , some health care professionals often cite several incidences of recovery that cannot be explained by any other reasons. The authors further elucidates that prayer helps some patient with significant health effects. In their findings, Narayanasamy and Narayanasamy (2008) expound that although there is no conclusive evidence on the possible healing effects of prayer, the healing brought about by the power of payer is more than just cure , but rather more of healing the mind and spirit, which occurs without necessarily receiving physical healing.
To some extent, I agree to the claim that if medicine fails, through prayer God always takes over. This is based on the fact that for decades, the concept of God and spiritual care has been seen to enhance quality interpersonal care among nurses. This is often expressed in terms of act of kindness, concern and love towards the patient ( Greasley, Chiu, & Gartland, 2001). As a result this creates a sense of hope, emotional well being and inner peace for the patients.
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On the contrary, I strongly differ to the fact that when the authors emphasize the fact that the search for evidence to proof the healing power of prayer has become almost impossible. As a matter of fact, according to Greasley, Chiu, and Gartland, 2001; Zastrow et al. 2009, numerous studies have shown that patients who prays to God, often experience greater inner peace, feel uplifted and are often more hopeful compared to their counterparts are not religious and hardly believes in prayer as a spiritual therapy.
In a nutshell, the articles is a great piece to read, it offers great information on prayer as a powerful spiritual therapy and its impact on alleviate suffering and healing among patients. I would recommend this article to nursing student and other researchers who wish to explore more on the subject of the effects of prayer as spiritual therapy in nursing.
References
Greasley, P., Chiu, L. F., & Gartland, R. M. (2001). The concept of spiritual care in mental health nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33, 5, 629-637.
Narayanasamy, A., & Narayanasamy, M. (2008). Spirituality The healing power of prayer and its implications for nursing. British Journal of Nursing London Mark Allen Publishing Limited-, 17, 6, 394-398.
Zastrow Patricia, Stark Barbara, Gattuso Michele, Epsom Rita, Czurylo Kathryn, Koren Mary Elaine, & Basu Sanjib. (2009). Nurses' Work Environment and Spirituality: A Descriptive Study. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 2, 3, 118-125.
