MAY 17 2019 – THIS IS NOT A LESSON. It is just an observation but, it is confirmed by science. Often on this group and the others, we see threads concerning prayer. Should we be doing this in light of the various religions represented here? The answer, according to science, is a resounding “yes!”.

I can attest to the implications and consequences of all the intercessory prayer I have received from so many over these past months while I have been ill and searching for a diagnosis. Initially, the prognosis, based on a shadow seen on my kidney and symptoms, was a probable malignancy. I don’t mind telling you how stunned I was and how emotionally fragile I felt. Yet, in seeing the prayers offered up for healing, I definitely began to feel far less fragile and far more hopeful. I found, that by getting away from stress and those things that separated me from focusing on G-d, I began to feel strong and calm. Through testing, I got one bad report after another. I admit my stress levels were elevated every time this happened, but again, I literally felt intercession by those offering prayer.

Ultimately, I finally got a definitive diagnosis. I have several issues that can be fairly easily addressed but the best news of all was that what my doctors were sure was a tumor turned out to be a cyst on my adrenal gland. It interfered with adrenal function and actually contributed to symptoms that are sometimes associated with cancers. I am extremely grateful for this outcome. Yet something tells me that without giving myself the freedom to let go of daily stressors and to reconnect with G-d, the outcome would not have been this encouraging and the time it took to get to that diagnosis would have been so much more difficult.

This brings me to you and your children. If you’ll take time to read the following studies, you’ll see how very critical prayer is to your physical and emotional health. Caring for all children is naturally stressful. Occasionally, caring for your child with DS is even more so. Your ability to maintain your physical and emotional health during these times of excess stress may well depend upon your faith.

What is faith? Is there a scientific definition? Actually, there is. According to former Professor of Physics, MIT, Gerald Schroeder, faith in things unseen is part of our daily lives. We cannot see a cell with the naked eye, yet we are made of them. We cannot see an atom, yet we know exactly how they function. Likewise, physics tells us what is beyond even the ability of the strongest instruments view. These particles are very real and without them, the world we know could not exist. Faith in G-d is not even a leap because the evidence of a divine Creator is absolutely everywhere. The Hebrew Bible tells us that “The FOOL has said in his heart, there is no G-d”. Psalms 14:1.

Think about the motor protein, the Kinisen. Watch the following video and think about this. How do proteins, that are made of non living amino acids literally control their arms and legs? Evolution cannot explain the kinisen. There are probably billions of these little guys continually picking up other proteins and walking them to their proper location in every human body. In fact, without these motor proteins, life cannot be sustained. The kinisen is not alive, it has no sensors to recognize other proteins, no eyes to see the path it walks on, no sense of direction to travel safely to its destination. Yet, by watching them, you see LIFE. You see a conscious something. But it isn’t. It has no consciousness or life whatsoever. The bottom line is that this cannot have developed through natural selection, nor mutation, nor any other theory that excludes a divine Creator. Faith is as simple as understanding the impossibility of the existence of the kinisen minus the divine.

Because prayer is indeed heard and its results can be and have been measured scientifically, somehow we mere mortals can influence outcomes by reaching out to our Creator. Regardless of your personal religious views, if you have them, all faiths include the belief in prayer. But I’m not sure there is enough emphasis on its importance. If you have no faith, if you see yourself as an atheist or an agnostic, though I can’t tell you what to believe and wouldn’t presume to do so, take a walk with Mr. Kinisen.

Pray for yourselves. Pray for your family and friends. Teach your children to pray. The end result, according to science, is a healthier body and mind.

SHABBAT SHALOM!

The Kinisen

Faith Based Intervention

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5771442/

Intercessory Prayer

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802370/

Prayer for self

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4357134/

Effects of prayer on cognitive function

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6369522/

Prayer Reduces the risk of cognitive decline

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3754426/

Prayer and psychiatric therapy

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6048728/

Link between Emotional Intelligence and Belief in G-d

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5653720/