The other day, a lovely old lady knocked on the door and said to me: “You don’t know me but please have this, I’ve had it all my life and now I want to pass it on to you.” She pressed a tiny crucifix deeply in my hand, turned round and left. The way she spoke, from her heart almost as if in prayer, was so very touching that I felt my heart wrench.
Over the past week – with the political situation reaching surreal, crime-novel like heights – I have received countless of phone calls and messages from people telling me simply, that they are praying. It was not just 70- or 80-year olds, but people of all ages from all walks of life.
And so I’ve been listening to stories: of the twenty-something woman who went to Ta’ Pinu with her father; of the man who prayed to Santa Liena who got all flustered in front of the statue and told her “you’d better listen to me”; of the man who is making multiple novenas. Their stories are sometimes riddled with a sense of cheeky mischief and a sense of saintly blackmail but there is always reverence and hope.
“This is not about politics, where prayers are useless, this is about people making a choice to out the wrong, and that is why prayers can help,” a friend of mine told me, unsure whether I would take him seriously.
As it happens, I do. I am very much aware that talking about prayer is very un-progressive. It’s not considered liberal or cool to acknowledge God’s help in defeating some sort of difficulty unless you’re an old conservative.
This is not about politics, where prayers are useless, this is about people making a choice to out the wrong, and that is why prayers can help
But I think that the very act of stopping from whatever you’re doing to think of someone and pray for them; or pass on something that is very precious to you, is very significant. Whether you believe or not, somewhere out there, there’s a warm vibe being transmitted over to you, and in my book that can only be glad tidings.
Do prayers actually work? While googling the other day, I came across a study by a university hospital in Kansas City in the US. The study found that patients admitted to hospital with heart trouble fare better if someone is praying for them. Those being prayed for – half of the people studied – were not told that a clinical trial was going on, or that there were people praying for them. The prayers were said by volunteers from a local church who were simply sent the patient’s first name on a piece of paper, and told to pray for “a speedy recovery with no complications”.
By the end of the trial, it was found that on average, these patients had less complications during their stay in hospital. The research team admitted that they had no rational explanation for this. “Chance still remains a possible explanation of our results,” said the report.
But is it chance? There are scientific explanations, of course. Although prayer rises from the heart, it’s articulated through the brain and moves in waves, and the more people praying, the stronger the waves, which may be one reason why prayer works best in groups of two or more.
A UK research commissioned by the Church of England, shows that despite the dramatic drop in church-going, six people in seven believe in the power of prayer, especially when they face uncertainty or tension.
I’ve prayed for a lot of people in my life, although I am not sure my praying qualifies as praying, because it is more like thinking hard about someone or something. But that’s alright I suppose – as Gandhi said, prayer is not asking: “It is a longing of the soul. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
Sometimes prayer works, sometimes it doesn’t, but as I grow older I don’t wait around for the result, I just am grateful for the moment of reflection. In her book Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert writes that we’re all allowed to petition the universe with prayer and let our feelings be known, which I think is a great concept. “So, put your opinion out there. Make your case. Believe me, it will at least be taken into consideration,” she said.
An electoral campaign can be tense and maddening, but I feel that this one is very particular, because it is making people sit down and reflect, and for that we should be grateful.
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Twitter: @krischetcuti