Research says that praying when angry helps to manage anger
March 31st, 2011 - 11:39 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt ( 7 comments )New York, Mar 31 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A new research has found that praying when you are angry could help you manage your anger.
The researchers identified that praying when you have been left really angry could also help prevent one from becoming aggressive. The study was published in the online journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. The study would be published later in print in the same journal later.
The authors of the research said the findings applied to even non-religious people. A co-author of the study, Brad Bushman who is also the professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University, said that, “We found that prayer really can help people cope with their anger, probably by helping them change how they view the events that angered them and helping them take it less personally.”
The researchers recruited 53 students for the studies. The students’ levels of anger, depression, vigor, fatigue and tension were measured. After recording the measurement, the participants were made to write an essay on an event that made them feel angry.
After submitting the essays, the participants were told that a panel would review the essays and results would be sent to the participants later. The researchers did no such thing but instead sent the same review to all the participants. The reviews were highly negative and described the essays as the worse ever. When the anger levels of all the participants were measured again, it was realized that they were really angry.
The researchers then told the participants about a sad story of Maureen who had a very rare form of cancer. The participants were then divided into two groups and were asked to either pray for Maureen or just think about her predicament.
After the exercise, it was realized that those who prayed showed the lowest level of anger. The other factors however did not drop significantly compared with those who did not pray.
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Tags: anger depression, brad bushman, cancer, co author, exercise, fatigue, measurement, ohio state university, participants, personality and social psychology bulletin, prayer, predicament, sad story, social psychology bulletin, tension, vigor
April 1st, 2011 at 12:00 am
More people should pray for everything. This would be a much better world.
April 1st, 2011 at 12:28 am
Consider what prayer REALLY is…it’s NOT just meditation, it’s NOT saying words or thoughts to some undesignated god. Prayer is communication with the one, true God…the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning, and the End. He created this world for one purpose…fellowship with mankind. Communication is a two-way street and to effectively pray requires you to not only express what’s sincerely on your heart, but to wait (yes, wait) for God to speak back into your life. Sometimes, that comes as a still, quiet voice; other times, He speaks to you through others like your pastor, your friends, or His holy word. Prayer changes things…because prayer changes peoples’ hearts. Give it a try…and wait for His response.
April 1st, 2011 at 1:32 am
That sounds like a stupid study. Maybe they were not so angry because they heard about someone with cancer then realzied that their problems were not so signficant by comparison. You can do a study to prove anything you want. There have been studies that prove prayer “doesn’t” work (google it). Prayer is a lazy man’s raindance and a chepaskates wishing well. It’s the 21st century people, let’s try to catch up. If my post makes you angry, try praying…
April 1st, 2011 at 2:14 am
Bob,
You really have no brain. And good luck where you’re going. I’ll pray for you.
April 1st, 2011 at 3:31 am
No dont need you to pray for me, if i wanted to waste my time, i could sit and ponder how i got here, because one thing im SURE of, is it wasnt some magician in the sky with his great wizard powers! maybe try living being kind to one another, because it is the right thing to do, not because im gonna be punished after death, more wasted money and time :(
April 1st, 2011 at 4:42 am
I have to tell anyone who might be suffering from extreme anger, praying and asking god to help you overcome your anger truly works. I was hospitalized for several months, and am in extreme pain every day of my life due to an automobile accident that occurred over 5 yrs ago, the driver ran a red light and ejected me from my vehicle. The accident crushed 7 vertabrae, broke both sides of my pelvis, my tailbone and 5 ribs. This event has ruined me financially, and eliminated from my line of work.The driver was an uninsured illegal alien
October 17th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and…..
Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes..
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is this God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)
Prof: You can’t answer, can you? Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From….God…
Prof: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Prof: So who created evil?
(Student does not answer.)
Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Prof: So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son…Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn’t exist.
What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student: No sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture the after becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat..
But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it .
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)
Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright
light, flashing light…..But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought.. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is
not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)
Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Prof: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir… The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.
I believe you have enjoyed the conversation…and if so…you’ll probably want your friends/colleagues to enjoy the same…won’t you?….this is a true story, and the
student was none other than …….
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India