National Day of Prayer

May fourth has been declared a “national day of prayer” in the U.S., so this seems a good time to review the benefits (or otherwise) of prayer.

First of all, as mentioned previously, praying for others does not seem to do them any good. On the other hand, studies do indicate that praying can be good for oneself. The same or similar studies also indicate that the similar benefits can be obtained from things like exercise or meditation, including non-religious meditation. Meditation also required less than an hour a day to be useful, so an entire day does not have to be dedicated to this one task. What then to do with the rest of the day?

Being a blog about science, thinking certainly comes to mind. Fortunately, others believe the same, so I learned that some cool people declared May 4 to also be “national day of reason”. (Thanks Freakgirl!)

Verifying things people have told you is also a useful pastime, so you could check things out on the science sites listed on the right or do a Google search. Even if you don’t find exactly what you are looking for, you are bound to learn something.

On the lighter side, the benefits of prayer depend on what you are praying for, as shown by this old comment:
“When I was young I used to pray for a bike. Then I realized that God doesn't work that way, so I stole a bike and prayed for forgiveness.”;-)

Whatever you do, have a happy and productive fourth of May day.