A terminal cancer patient is told he has days to live. He learns of an experimental drug and insists on participating in the trial. His doctor reluctantly agrees. His tumors shrink and he is discharged. Several months later he learns that research has shown the drug to be ineffective. Within days his tumors return. His doctor convinces him he can administer an improved form of the drug and injects him with water. His tumors again shrink and he remains healthy for 7 months until a newscast declares the treatment was totally worthless. He dies two days later.

      This dramatic, true story illustrates the power our thoughts and beliefs have on our physical health. The Bible declares: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Scientific research agrees that the mind and body are more intricately connected than we ever realized.

Science is Catching On

            Millions of dollars in research have been funded by The National Institute of

Health and other private foundations to investigate this mind-body connection. HIP USA now covers mind-body practices and some hospitals even have mind-body clinics. This concept is not new. Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine have incorporated these beliefs for over 2,000 years. Hippocrates believed that the moral and spiritual aspects of a person’s life affected their health. 

The Connection

      Your body undergoes chemical and physical changes when you experience something you perceive to be a threat or challenge. We know this as the “stress response.” The physical effects are the same whether the threat is real or imagined. Chronic stress causes our adrenal glands to constantly pump out hormones and other inflammatory chemical substances that can result in anything from headaches and digestive problems to high blood pressure, strokes and heart attacks. Researchers at Ohio State University’s Institute for Behavioral Medical Research found chronic stress can interfere with the effectiveness of vaccines and weaken the immune system. Fear triggers over 1,400 physical and chemical stress reactions and activates over 30 hormones and chemical substances. It is estimated that between 60 and 90 percent of all doctor visits are stress related. The CDC states that 85% of all disease is caused by our emotions. According to Carol Ryff, psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “There is a science that is emerging that says a positive attitude isn’t just a state of mind. It also has linkages to what’s going on in the brain and body.” Positive emotions like love, care and serenity are just as powerful as negative, stressful emotions. In fact, they’re now understood to be physiological states that affect health as surely as obesity or high blood pressure do.

       Dr. Candace Pert, a pioneer in stress research explains the mind-body process this way: “In the beginning of my work, I matter-of-factly presumed that emotions were in the head or brain. Now I would say they are really in the body. We experience emotions in the form of chemical reactions in the brain and body, which occur at both the organ and cellular levels.”

      Every thought, emotion, idea or belief has a neurochemical consequence.  Our brains produce and communicate with immune cells throughout our bodies via substances called neuropeptides, chains of amino acids.

What Does It Mean For Us?

      As Christians, we are taught in scripture that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21) and as Jesus Himself told the woman with the issue of blood, “Your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22).

      While science has begun to confirm the truth contained in these scriptures,

there is still much we do not know or understand and studies conducted, in many cases, seem to produce conflicting, or at the very least, confusing, results. A study presented at the Convention of the American Psychological Association revealed that faith-based positive religious resources can help patients recover from cardiac surgery. Duke University researchers found people who participate in religious observances tend to have lower rates of illness and hospitalization. While these results were observed, the explanation for why is not so simple. The oldest and most basic mind-body therapy, prayer, is our foundation. As Christians everything we do begins with prayer (1 Thess.5:17). One study revealed prayer was slightly more effective (90%) than drugs (89%) in pain relief. Yet, other research revealed that patients in the coronary care unit (CCU) who were randomized to receive remote, intercessory prayer (plus usual care) stayed just as long in the CCU and hospital as patients who received usual care only.

Is Seeing Believing?

            Mark 11:23 clearly tells us if we believe that the words we say shall come to pass and not doubt in our hearts, we will have whatever we say. This is referred to as the “law of faith.” Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 21:22, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” These scriptures are clear and as Christians we know God cannot and does not lie, so what He has said is truth. However, we may not have been able to experience it in this way in our own lives. The main thrust of these scriptures is faith, belief and expectation and how they empower our prayers. Science cannot and certainly does not discount these spiritual forces, however, the question remains, how do you accurately assess them?

What Are You Expecting?

            Belief and expectation are powerful spiritual forces that go hand in hand, affecting every area of our lives. Dr. Robert DeLap, head of the Food & Drug Administration’s Office of Drug Evaluation says: “Expectation is a powerful thing. The more you believe you’re going to benefit from a treatment, the more likely it is that you will experience a benefit.”

Brain imagery techniques have shown that our thoughts and beliefs not only affect our psychological state, but cause actual biological and chemical changes in our physical bodies. “The brain is also a gland. It manufactures thousands of different kinds of chemicals and releases them into the bloodstream. These chemicals circulate throughout the body and influence the activity and behavior of all the body’s tissues.” Scientists are discovering that a person’s expectations can even alter the disease process itself. During WWII, Dr. Henry Beecher used saline injections because morphine was in short supply. The soldiers’ pain was relieved simply because they believed the medicine would do so. He coined the expression “placebo effect.” Further research he conducted revealed that up to 35% of response to any medical treatment could be attributed to the patient’s belief about it. This placebo effect has been proven to be an actual, measurable change in brain chemistry.

            The question becomes, “How can belief and expectation be accurately measured?” The effect of belief, expectation and prayer on a physical outcome are difficult, if not impossible, to accurately quantify. For example, there are clearly defined scales for measuring depression. However, given the differences between us, our belief systems, upbringing, self-image and attitudes, it is difficult to reduce these forces to a mathematical equation. There have been countless instances of faith-filled, sincere

believing Christians who have prayed, exercised their faith, believed for and confidently

expected healing, yet did not receive it.

What Are We To Do?

            Are we to discount the power of faith and prayer simply because we do not completely understand how it works and we cannot quantify it scientifically? As people of faith, I believe we must remember that faith by its very definition requires unanswered questions. Rather than abandoning our faith or discounting the research being conducted on this mind-body connection, we can incorporate it as part of a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Sandeweiss has suggested that, “In the history of medicine, however, we have often tolerated ignorance of mechanism and absence of theory. Examples include the use of aspirin, colchicines and quinine, as well as the use of citrus fruits in scurvy, as Harris, et. al point out. The mechanisms of action of most general anesthetics are still a mystery, yet that does not preclude their use.” Therefore, we can use discernment, wisdom and common sense and still exercise our faith. The mind-body connection is a valuable tool we can use to improve our quality of life. The Bible gives us practical instructions on how to do this:

Meditating on and confessing scripture changes our attitudes, beliefs and expectations (Ephesians 4:23);

            Practicing forgiveness and refusing to be offended or harbor bitterness will positively impact our relationships as well as our physical health (Matthew 6:14);

            Developing an attitude of gratitude and believing the best of everyone changes the negatives in our lives into positives by adjusting our perspective (Ephesians 5:20);

            Exercising faith in God and His Word and living in the joy of the Lord are powerful stress-busters! (Romans 10:17, Nehemiah 8:10).

Finding the Balance

            If you are battling some disease or physical condition, should you feel condemned because you think you may have brought it on by wrong thoughts or words? Absolutely not! We live in a sin-scarred, imperfect world. Romans 8:1 assures us that there is now no condemnation to us in Christ Jesus. There is much we do not know and won’t fully understand this side of heaven.

            Can we eat every type of junk food, never rest, sleep or exercise, stay constantly stressed yet speak healing scriptures and remain vibrantly healthy? Again, no. Remember faith without works is dead (James 2:26). We need both components.

            We can train ourselves to think and then speak positive, faith-filled words that create positive expectations and release the expectation of health and healing. We can exercise 2 Corinthians 10:5 and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. However, if we don’t practice good health habits, we cancel out our powerful words and nullify our expectations. It must also be noted that God alone is sovereign and His ways

and thoughts are far above ours and many times beyond our limited understanding. While doctors and health practitioners do their best to treat disease, God alone heals. Why some people are healed when others are not is a difficult issue and one which cannot be resolved here. We hear of instances where someone is healed of a terminal disease to go on and live many healthy years, like Dodie Osteen, Pastor Joel Osteen’s mother, who was healed of cancer many years ago and remains healthy to this day. Dr. Bill Bright, a mighty man of God, suffered for many years with a degenerative lung disease and did not experience healing this side of heaven. We have no definitive answers except that there is to be no condemnation, only submission to God’s will in all things.

Harnessing the Power

            As human beings we exercise our faith numerous times daily – we turn the key in the ignition expecting the car to start; we sit on the chair expecting it to hold us. How much more should we as Christians use our faith in God, who has assured us many times that His will for us is to live healthy, abundant lives. (3 John 2, Luke 9:11, Ps. 103:3) Lack of total understanding is not an issue. I don’t fully understand how an airplane flies, but I still fly. Even though we cannot yet quantify and explain fully the mechanism of faith, belief and expectation as it relates to healing, as long as we use wisdom, we can access these spiritual forces. Balance is the key. We have nothing to lose by believing and potentially everything to gain.