Prayer could lead to cooperation and forgiveness in relationships

Praying for a partner may lead towards a more cooperative and forgiving behaviour towards them, a new study has claimed.

Frank D. Fincham, eminent scholar and director of the Florida State University Family Institute, said that this set of studies is the very first to use objective indicators to show that prayer changed actual behaviour, and that this behaviour was apparent to the other partner, the subject of the prayer.

In addition, objective observers found that those who engaged in partner-focused prayer exhibited more positive behaviour towards their partners compared to those who did not pray for their partner.

The study was led by Nathanial Lambert, a former FSU doctoral student who is now an assistant professor at Brigham Young University.

The paper reports the results of five separate studies designed to find out whether partner-focused prayer shifted individuals toward cooperative behaviours and tendencies both over time and in the immediate aftermath of hurtful behaviour, firstly they found that participants, who prayed more frequently for their partner, were rated as less vengeful in discussing something the partner had done to upset or annoy them.

Secondly, the partners of participants who prayed for them noticed more forgiving behaviour compare to the partners of participants who were assigned to set aside time each day to think positive thoughts about them.

Thirdly, participants assigned to pray following a partner's hurtful behaviour were more cooperative with their partners than participants assigned to engage in thinking about God.

Fourthly, participants who prayed for a close relationship partner on days in which conflict occurred reported higher levels of cooperative tendencies and forgiveness than on days when conflict occurred and they did not pray.

Study participants were undergraduate college students who indicated they were comfortable with prayer and praying for others.

The study has been published in the journal Personal Relationships.