A lot of people turn to faith when science fails to provide the answers and the solutions they’re desperately looking for. An example of this scenario is the faith-based healers. When doctors have exhausted all forms of medicines, therapies, surgeries, and the likes to cure an overwhelming chronic disease or illness, their patients, if religious, would run to their church and ask to be prayed over for healing. Call it a last resort, a desperate plea, but there are a lot of benefits to the person’s overall well-being when their practice of faith comes in and takes over. In the Collection of Short Stories on The Hands of God Book, Judith Martin Alford took to real-life short stories that show how God intervenes in human lives and produces miracles as a sign of His love and mercy for his people. Miracles start from faith, from believing that there is a divine power looking out for the welfare of His beloved creation.
Why do people turn to faith?
The number one reason people resort to faith as an answer is that it fulfills one of the most basic human needs, and that is to have hope. Imagine how difficult it is for a person to look for something positive at the lowest point of their life. Hope is a natural human reaction to wanting or desiring for something to happen. How can a person find hope when almost everything looks grim, and nothing seems to be going on well in their lives? That is where faith steps in and helps out.
Faith is about a complete trust, belief, or confidence in someone or something, whether seen or unseen. In Christianity, faith is belief and trust in an omnipotent being, a divine power, on the almighty God, and believing in the deliverance of God’s promises. Christian faith describes God’s promises to be, through the people’s perseverance, that God will never leave his people; He will give them strength; He has plans for His people to prosper; He hears prayers; He will fight for his people; He will give his people peace; and that He will always love them. These promises are enough to fuel people’s faith and hope, and that is why these same people turn to God for prayers to be answered.
Health Benefits of Having Faith
A person’s health is one of the essential things greatly benefited from having faith. Having that sense of complete trust and confidence leads to a person feeling calmer and more relaxed. A person’s overall health is triggered by many factors that cause stress. Here are some health aspects that benefit significantly from having a strong faith.
Cardiovascular Diseases
Developing a strong faith involves praying and meditating. Cardiovascular disease is mainly caused by stress, or stress hormones called cortisol. When a person is stressed by their environment, stress hormones are triggered and released, increasing blood pressure and heart rates. When there is too much pressure on the heart, the heart becomes susceptible to different risk factors, such as stroke or heart attack.
Praying and meditating counter these factors. Meditating through deep breathing allows the heart to calm down, go back to its normal pressure, and beat, thereby avoiding any chances of developing heart diseases.
Mental Health
There is also a positive connection between strong faith and better mental health. Those who practice prayer and meditation often develop this essence of self-love and self-care. Hence, people who are praying and meditating more are more hopeful, more optimistic, and have a higher sense of purpose and self-esteem.
This is particularly beneficial for people who are prone to anxiety, depression, suicide, or substance dependency or abuse. Studies show that people practicing their faith are less likely to develop any kind of mental health problems.
Another mental health benefit faith brings in is a sense of mindfulness and empowerment. Mindfulness is being aware of one’s feelings and thoughts before acting them out, and empowerment is the confidence to be their own individuality, which is the outcome of effective meditation and prayer.
Healthy Body and Lifestyle
Most religions emphasize the importance of having a healthy lifestyle which includes having a nutritious diet, exercising, meditating, abstaining from any activities that could cause stress or damage to the body, etc. This healthy lifestyle practice benefits a person’s overall well-being, including mental and emotional health. If a person’s physical body is tired and stressed out, it causes a rippling effect that ultimately also impacts the person’s mental, emotional, and, eventually, spiritual health. It’s like saying, how can a person pray or meditate properly if the person’s body is tired and lacks sleep? How can a person meditate and focus on prayers if the person is too full from eating fatty foods?
When all else fails, a person turns to their faith to find answers and solutions. But faith shouldn’t be treated only as a last resort. In fact, when a person practices their faith vigorously and consistently in the first place, any kind of problems could have been prevented from happening. Miracles are produced by faith. Lives get better and better because of faith. In fact, the best way to live life is to have faith, even just a simple touch of faith.
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