Customer Reviews

Prayer Is Good Medicine: How to Reap the Healing Benefits of Prayer

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As a bookseller for Pages For All Ages Bookstore, I chose this book as my book selection of the month. Dr. Dossey investigates the nature, essence and power of prayer for both good and evil, in a most convincing way. How one prays and their intentions are brilliantly probed with numerous examples. The theories propounded and advanced are completely consistent with reason and evidence. The impartial power of prayer to manifest as conspicuous result is beyond refute. But what one prays for and their intention determine the result. Dr. Dossy also delves into negative prayer, curses, hexes, angry thought, and the power of such prayers to exact harm, intentionally or unintentionally. This is a must read for anyone who prays or even for those who think they don't. Five Stars for the good Doctor.

Dr. Larry Dossey is perhaps the worlds leading authority on prayer and health. This examination of the power of prayer in the healing process is even more important than Dr. Herbert Benson's Relaxation Response, Remembered Wellness, and Faith Factor. The reason for this is because Dr. Dossey elucidates the true nature of the mind-body connection and points the way for prayer to induce optimal healing benefits, regardless of spiritual discipline. Five Stars Dr. Dossey!

I, like many people, started praying when I was old enough to talk. I vividly remember my favorite Aunt teaching me the "now I lay me down to sleep" prayer when I was about 3 or 4 - and I said this prayer every night before bed until I was old enough to come up with my own.

Although I prayed every night, I never really thought about whether or not my prayers would be answered - I guess I just assumed they would be. That was until I became an adult, and began to realize that some were not being answered at all. Of course, I realized afterwords that the "unanswered prayer" is sometimes a blessing in and of itself!

This book helps explain why some prayers are answered and others are not, and shows through scientific evidence that there is in fact power in prayer. This is an amazing breakthrough, as we are now facing a time when prayer is being banned in all of our schools - and yet it's being shown that prayer can be an amazingly wonderful & powerful force.

This book also raises some of the issues that may await our physicians now that it has been shown that prayer can in fact help to heal the sick. Will there be malpractice law suites if a dr. chooses not to pray for his/her patients? Will people who don't want to be prayed for sue their doctors who have prayed for their health? These are quite scarey questions!

Also, what about the people who choose prayer INSTEAD of western medicine? Are they really making the right choice? According to Dr. Dossey, the best route to take when faced with medical crises is to use all that is available to us - western medicine, alternative medicine, AND prayer - no one of these is mutually exclusive.

The most important finding though, in my opinion, is that prayer has been found to be equally effective regardless of one's religious beliefs. Although this finding has upset fundamentalists, I think it's a step in the direction of tolerance towards those who espouse beliefs that are different than our own. In this respect, as well as other's, this book has the potential to "change the world"...


I would recommend this book to everyone in the health profession, those suffering ill health, and anyone who is just plain interested in the power of prayer. The scientific evidence is out, and it appears that prayer has an amazing power - why not utilize this power to help yourself and your fellow man?

Prayer Is Good Medicine: How to Reap the Healing Benefits of Prayer
I am always very interested in ways people define and experience prayer.
This book was a bit dull for my taste. I believe his first book is better.
I'll bet on his last book too. The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things: Fourteen Natural Steps to Health and Happiness.
There's an interesting list of Prayer groups at the end of this book.

Larry Dossey has thought deeply about the mind/body relationship, nature of consciousness and the power of prayer. In this book, he highlights evidence for the power of prayer, but in general he backs up his assertions with facts appropriate to the area of inquiry. On the other hand, he is also open to other ways of validating truth claims than the scientific method. For example, it would be difficult to study love or consciousness using a microscope, but I don't think many people would argue that these things exist.

In general, I like all of Larry Dossey's stuff and this is one of his very popular books. It's a relatively short read and not a bad place to start. I also think his books on hearing are very encouraging, enthusiastic and written in the spirit of a true healer. His presence in medicine as a physician is a blessing. I hope many more books will come from his pen, here are a few more you may want to try:

Reinventing Medicine: Beyond Mind-Body to a New Era of Healing, Healing Beyond the Body: Medicine and the Infinite Reach of the Mind and Be Careful What You Pray For...You Just Might Get It.

I already believed in prayer, but I feel more motivated to use prayer after reading all the scientific research that has undeniably proven its power. Great stories. The book shows that spirituality and science are not in conflict, but can work together to uplift and inspire us to deeper faith.

The short chapters in this book are meant to be enjoyed in any order you choose. "Prayer is good medicine" examines the scientific study of prayer: controversies, findings and questions.

This is a book that should be on every healer's shelf. There is constantly new information now on this subject, and I was greatly moved with Dr. Snow's new book The Power of Divine: A Healer's Guide and the new information there, but that is to be expected as we move forward in our awareness between the power of prayer and how spirituality affects our bodies, both emotionally and physically. Mankind is taking great, wonderful strides forward right now, and not a moment too soon! Read this book and start a collection that leads you to insight and wisdom.

Most of us have always felt that there must be some power behind our prayers for the sick and the ill - now in Dossey's wonderful little book you can affirm that belief. This is a great book to gift someone whio is experiencing health issues or whose loved ones are.

I personally believe in the power of prayers and have written about the healings that have come to me in my life over the many decades. In my book "A Spiritual Warrior's Journey" I have several chapters devoted to that power. It is real! Yet, it is an energy that for some that remains untapped and unused.

This book is a great red but a much better result would be to put his inspirational advice into practice. Thank God for his book! it will heal bodies and save souls!

Not what I exspected. More New Agey. Don't buy I think you might be diapointed.