Archive for science of prayer
The Science of Prayer
Posted by: | CommentsDo you pray? Have you seen some pretty amazing answers to prayer?
I have. Prayer is a big part of my life. I’ve always known it works (though I don’t get everything exactly as I pray for), but the scientist in me always wondered if there is an explanation for how it works that’s outside of religion.
And perhaps there is. It’s all connected to the quantum field.
What’s the quantum field?
A quantum field is a theoretical concept that helps us understand how particles behave at the smallest scales in the universe. Imagine that the universe is like a giant, constantly shifting, vibrating fabric. This fabric is made up of tiny units of energy called particles (the threads, as it were), and each type of particle has its own unique energy field.
Quantum fields are the mathematical description of these energy fields, which fill all of space and time. They are constantly fluctuating and interacting with one another, creating particles that come into existence and then disappear again. It’s all about energy and information. What looks to be matter, is really energy vibrating at a low enough rate that we can perceive it with the senses.
The fascinating thing about these particles is that they do not exist in a definite state until they are observed or measured. Instead, they exist in a state of superposition, which means that they can be in multiple states at once.
This reminds me of some words that dropped into my mind out of nowhere one day: “All perspectives exist in the quantum field. Choose the perspective that leads to gratitude, joy, and peace.”
When we pray, we put out attention on a particular outcome, which already exists in the quantum field as a potentiality. Our very prayer (observation) allows that particle to “manifest” in the physical world.
Then there is the idea of quantum entanglement.
In quantum entanglement, two energy “particles” interact with each other, and there is a full download of information. They become “entangled,” so that each “particle” instantaneously possesses the same energy information as the other, and both experience the same state.
This is mentioned in The Healing Code, referencing an experiment where two strangers met briefly, then were put in Faraday cages (through which no outside electromagnetic energy can pass). The experimenters found that when they shined a light in the eyes of one of the men, the pupils of the other man constricted just as if the light were shining in his eyes at that moment, though he was in that Faraday cage some distance away and no light was actually being shined in his eyes.
That’s the thing about quantum entanglement: distance and time mean nothing. It appears to violate the laws of classical physics, which dictate that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light. In the case of entangled particles, information seems to be transmitted instantly, regardless of the distance between them.
Let’s translate all this to prayer. If God is the creator of this quantum field, and exists within and outside of it as well (I don’t think God is the quantum field itself, but he created it and sustains it), and everything is energy, we too are energy. We are electrical beings, and we can interact on many different levels both with each other, and with God.
Prayer is interaction on this non-physical, energetic level. We can get “entangled” with a certain desire that we present to God, uniting our intention with God’s, and that makes things happen in the physical world, which is just a certain manifestation of energy.
Of course, God always has veto power. He is in charge of what gets manifested: only that which is His sovereign will, governed by His love and infinite wisdom. (Thank God for that!)
We can also get “entangled” with another person and their need, and present that to God.
Important to note about prayer: it must be activated by a certain kind of energy, namely faith.
When Jesus healed on earth, he almost always linked it to faith: “Your faith has made you well.” The person believed that Jesus could heal, or at least that he might, and that was all that Jesus needed.
Remember the man who asked Jesus to heal his demonized son, and said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief”? (Mark 9:24) Jesus said we only need faith the size of a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, but if we plant it in the soil of God’s power, that’s enough to “move mountains.”
I love that science is now “explaining” things that were revealed thousands of years ago in religion. You don’t have to know how to build a highway to drive on it, but you do have to know a few rules of the highway to use it effectively and safely. We don’t need science to explain prayer in order to pray, but it’s wonderful to know that science supports what we already knew from spiritual teachings.
All truth is God’s truth, after all. True science always reveals something more of God’s ways.
If this topic interests you and you want to know more, I think you’ll really like the book, Quantum Glory: The Science of Heaven Invading Earth by Phil Mason. It presents the science of quantum physics in the light of Scripture. I kept having to put it down to take in the wonder of it all, and give thanks and praise to the Creator who set things up so amazingly.