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Religious Involvement Not Only Gets You Closer to
God, but Promotes Good Health

September

In ancient times, priests and healers were one and the same. The first hospitals were
in monasteries founded by physicians who were monks. Numerous studies show that
religious involvement promotes good health via influencing healthy behaviors and
beliefs about illness. Prayer can mobilize one’s healing so the inquiry has shifted from
whether prayer works, to how prayer works. Prayer can be communal, public or private
and continues to be used in times of difficulty and illness. For some: prayer is a state of
being, prayer is a thought of the heart; for others: prayer is silence – knowing God is
God. Throughout history, people have relied upon a Divine Being to sustain them.
People often ask during a counseling session, “How can I experience God more fully?”
Below I’ve listed ways not only to get closer to God, but to promote good health and
mental well-being as well:
● Meditation brings about a physiological calm, peacefulness, releasing tension and
clearing of the mind. This lowers your heart rate, metabolic rate, decreases
respiration and slows brain waves, but enhances the immunity system.
● A healthy lifestyle is the second way to promote good health, through hygiene,
avoiding tobacco, alcohol, drugs, commercial salt, enriched flour, caffeine, partially
hydrogenated oil, and sugar. In a society where a doctor’s visit usually results in a
prescription, I can hear you asking: “How can I stop taking drugs?” The solution is
to healthily feed your God-given immunity system strengthening it to fight disease
naturally.
● Participating in a worship service physically, cognitively and spiritually evokes a
sense of peace: body, mind, and spirit; visiting a house of worship can give you a
sense of reassurance, harmony and balance when you see the stained glass windows,
religious architecture, smell floral arrangements, incense, and hear sacred music.
Religious rituals give people a sense of security.
● Harboring guilt, and bitterness can make one literally sick. Therefore, confessing
your sins, repentance and forgiveness are very powerful wellness tactics.
● A 10-year study has shown that persons who had social interaction with others of
shared beliefs, transformed their attitudes, emotions, and were less likely to die than
their counterparts.
● Turning your life over to God, acknowledges that no one has total control.
● During a time of illness, the expectation of help from God not only provides a sense
of hope but can work like medicine.
● A most important remedy for promoting health is that of ‘finding your life purpose’
and good health enables you to ‘serve your purpose’. The first step I take with life
coaching clients is to find their purpose.
The last remedy for health in this article is to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Leviticus 19:18). When people love and help others, they often experience better health
than those who do not.