Can Prayer Fight Drug Addiction?
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011
Studies have shown that those in critical condition who have loved ones praying for them tend to heal more quickly and more completely. Prayer is powerful. It can be a healing force in the person praying and in those who are the subject of those prayers. But can prayer fight drug addiction? Can the healing powers of prayer be applied to drug addiction? Will cocaine release its hold on its victim? Will alcoholism evaporate in the face of prayer?
Personal Prayer and the Struggle for Balance
Many who family members of addicts and women in recovery find that prayer offers a balance to their lives. Taking a moment to pray before going to bed can help them unwind and sleep better. Praying before starting the day has the same benefit of quieting mind offered by meditation. Pulling back from stressful or angering situations to breathe a prayer and give the issue to God has helped thousands avoid relapse. And there are a number of mothers, wives, and sisters of addicts and alcoholics who feel quite sure that their dedicated prayer helped their loved one to find a drug rehab, complete the program successfully and remain clean and sober.
Prayer as a Battle Tactic in the War on Drug Addiction
In some communities, church members and pastors are fighting back against the drug addiction that they see hurting not only the addicts but the family members of those addicts. To them, having faith in God means that asking God for assistance with the problem is a natural next step. Rather than praying alone, some community members are banding together to pray en force.
In Lancaster in Fairfield County, Pastor Tom Alexander of Fairfield Christian Church did just that: he and other local religious leaders joined together with church members and other community groups like Prevention Works for a Drug Free Fairfield County to pray against the rising issues of heroin addiction and prescription drug addiction in their town.
Says Pastor Alexander: “A lot of the pastors in the area have noticed how the community has done a great job of working together with the (Fairfield County) Opiate Task Force and other groups and it just occurred to us that we ought to get together and pray.”
Backing up Prayer with Action: Choosing Drug Addiction Treatment
Prayer is thought, and though thought is powerful, it is not enough on its own to heal a chronic disorder like addiction. Medical detox, ongoing medical care and follow-up, addiction counseling, personal therapy, the support of other addicts, group counseling, sober living – these things add up to a successful battle against the disease. Prayer may help your loved one to choose drug addiction treatment but an intervention can go a long way, too. Prayer may sustain you during drug rehab and recovery. But action on the part of the addict and dedication to the ongoing progress of their growth in recovery is the best way for an addict or alcoholic to get – and stay – clean and sober.
Call us today if you would like to take action and enroll in our drug and alcohol addiction treatment program for women here at The Orchid.


