Reflecting on the Meaning of Ramadan

A Bridge from Cairo to Michigan

August 28, 2009
The Physical & Mental Benefits of the Islamic Prayer  (Salaat)
Posted by AaminahShakur under Ramadan 2009
[15] Comments 

Salaams Mai’a,

Here is something that i had posted on my first blog ever, way back in April of 2005. Since you enjoyed the video

of how to make salat so much, and you have a history of yoga, i thought you would especially appreciate this and

maybe it would be interesting to some of our readers too. 

Wasalaam,

Aaminah

Besides the spiritual benefits of salaat, there are actual physical and mental benefits to the form

of the Islamic prayer. I was not surprised to discover that benefits would include such things as a

higher level of concentration and mindfulness. But I had not thought about the fact that Allah

may have given us even more, distinct benefits to us – our bodies and minds – that are derived

from the physical act of making salaat in the prescribed manner.

Kabir Edmund Helminski, in Living Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness & the Essential Self,

writes:

“The Islamic ritual prayer, practiced five times a day, is a sequence of standing, bowing,

prostrating, and kneeling, accompanied by prescribed verbal affirmations and lines from the
Qur’an selected and recited by the individual. The prayer is understood to be invalid without a

mindful witnessing of the presence of God. Physically, it exercises the major joints (especially

the spinal column), massages the intestinal tract, transmits a reflex to the liver, regulates the

breath, and stimulates the frontal cortex of the brain as it is brought to the ground, while

momentarily leaving the heart in a higher position than the brain. Salaat is a form that

integrates mindfulness, mental precision, affirmation, devotion, and stretching. Done five times

a day for a lifetime, it has profound effects on the body and soul.”

This is discussed in greater detail during the description of the salaat that is found in Chapter 9 –

Salat: The Postures of the Prophets in The Book of Sufi Healing by Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin

Chishti (of the Chishti Order of Sufis). Below is what Shaykh Chishti writes in describing the

physical and mental benefits of the postures of salaat. (Please note that I am not here attempting

to give description or instruction on the form and postures of the prayer. I am only giving the

general description of certain postures for which Shaykh Chishti has written the benefits.)
Niyyat – when one begins by saying “Allahu akbar”

“Body feels relieved of weight owing to even distribution on both feet. Straightening back

improves posture. Mind is brought under control of intellect. Vision is sharpened by focusing

upon floor, where head will prostrate. Muscles of upper and lower back are loosened. Higher

and lower centers of brain are united to form singleness of purpose.”

Qiyām – during which one recites Al-Fatiha and additional surahs of the Qur’an

“Extends concentration, causes further relaxation of legs and back, generates feelings of

humility, modesty, and piety. In the recital of the above verses, virtually all of the sounds that

occur in Arabic are uttered, stimulating dispersal of all of the ninety-nine divine attributes in

perfectly controlled degrees throughout the body, mind, and soul. The sound vibrations of the

long vowels ā, ī, and ū stimulate the heart, thyroid, pineal gland, pituitary, adrenal glands, and

lungs, purifying and uplifting them all.”

Rukū – bending at the waist

“Fully stretches the muscles of the lower back, thighs, and calves. Blood is pumped into upper

torso. Tones muscles of stomach, abdomen, and kidneys. Over time, this posture improves the

personality, generating sweet kindness and inner harmony.”

Qauma – rising from rukū

“The fresh blood moved up into torso in previous posture returns to its original state, carrying

away toxins. Body regains relaxation and releases tension.”

Sajdah – prostration

“Knees forming a right angle allow stomach muscles to develop and prevents growth of

flabbiness in midsection. Increases flow of blood into upper regions of body, especially the head

(including eyes, ears, and nose) and lungs; allows mental toxins to be cleansed by blood.

Maintains proper position of fetus in pregnant women. Reduces high blood pressure. Increases

elasticity of joints. Annihilates egotism and vanity. Increases patience and reliance upon God.

Increases spiritual stations and produces high psychic energy throughout body. This posture of

supreme submission and humility is the essence of worship.”

Quūd – assuming the sitting position after sajdah

“For men, the heel of the right foot is curled up and the weight of the leg and part of the body

rests upon it. This aids detoxification of the liver and stimulates peristaltic action of the large

intestine. Women keep both feet, soles up, underneath their bodies. The body returns to even

greater relaxation, and the posture assists digestion by forcing the contents of the stomach

downward.”

Repeat of Sajdah

“Repetition of the deep prostration within a few seconds cleanses the respiratory, circulatory,

and nervous systems. Gives experience of lightness of body and emotional happiness.

Oxygenation of entire body is accomplished. Balances sympathetic and parasympathetic

nervous systems.”

7 Physical Benefits of Saying Salat

In the five Islamic pillars, Salat is the most commonly performed and perhaps the distinctive
quality of Muslims. It is the five times a day prayer that differentiates Muslims from non-Muslims
in terms of their form of worship. It is an obligation upon every Muslim and they all have to learn
and perform Salat without any excuse.
Every Muslim is aware of the benefits and importance of Salat. It brings a Muslim close to Allah
Almighty, serves as a form of invocation, helps find solace from the troubles of this world and
increases the chances of a Muslim getting higher reward in the world hereafter. Therefore,
without any doubt every Muslim offers Salat as a means of fulfilling his or her obligation and
becoming more pious and righteous.
In addition to all the religious and spiritual benefits, Salat also comes with physical benefits.
Although Muslims primarily offer it because of its religious obligations, however, the present day
science has enabled people to see the physical benefits of it as well and now Muslims can also
offer Salat with the secondary objective of keeping physically healthy.
The lines below discuss the seven major physical benefits that a person can achieve by offering
Salat five times a day.

Improved Body Posture:

Having an improper body posture is one of the most common things to which people search for a
treatment. An improper posture can occur because of various reasons dealing with the way a
person walks or the kind of work he or she does. When a Muslim performs Salat, standing in the
state of Niyyah is the best exercise he or she can have for an improved body posture. The feet of
a person are evenly apart, the body is firm and straight, the hands are tide at a place which
makes the backbone aligned and straight and the position of the head is looking downwards that
also allows the body to loosen while being in a firm position. Thus, in such a posture the brain as
well as the body is at ease and when such a portion is practiced multiple times everyday, it
definitely helps improve the posture of the body.

Secretion of Glands:
The sounds that a person produces has an effect on the secretion of glands. All the sounds go to
the brain and their they either trigger or stop the secretion of the glands. In this regard it is the
state of Qiyaam in which a Muslim performs the longer recitations. During this part of the prayer
a Muslim recites Surah Fatiha that contains almost all the long vowels the sound vibrations of
which when produced they give the signal to the mind to increase the secretion of glands like
pituitary gland, thyroid gland in addition to increasing the condition of lungs as well. Thus, the
recitation of Surah Fatiha in the Qiyam part of the Salat offering helps improve the function of
glands and lungs function as well as the health of it all.

Stretches The Body:

In offering of Salat there is the state of Ruku in which a Muslim bends to the knees while keeping
the back and the hands straight. This posture of offering prayers is one of the best ways of
stretching the body without overdoing it. When a Muslim is in such a posture, the back, the thighs
and the calves of a person get fully stretched and the blood flow towards the upper part of the
body also improves. In addition to making the body stretch this posture also helps work on the
core of the Salat offering person as well as it works on the abdominal muscles and serves as a
crunch for them as well. Therefore, as a result of this posture a person gets to stretch the body
five times a day and also helps strengthen the core of a person as well.

Abs Control:
All over the world there are people preaching different kinds of abs exercises and there are
people who are searching for different abs execeises to control their belly fat and keep it slim. In
this regard, the Sajadah posture of Salat can help a great deal in controlling the belly from
expanding and accumulating fats. The knees and both the feet are on the ground while the head
goes to the ground in such a way that a refined pressure is put on the abdominal muscle making
them strong. This type of exercise is recommended for women who want to hold the fetus in the
proper position. Therefore, if you wish to control your abs and make them slim then prayers five
times a day is a good exercise for doing so.

Blood Flow:
People have blood pressure problems because of the blood flow. They have either too much
blood flowing to a particular part of the body or they have very low blood flowing to a certain part.
To avoid such a blood flow problem that can lead to blood pressure issues, all the posture in
Salat help regulate the blood to all the parts of the body. The Qiyam position helps keep the
blood flow in a normal position, the Ruku posture helps the blood in flowing to the upper part of
the body, while in the state of Tashud the blood flows to the lower part of the body as well.
Therefore, all the movements in Salat can help regulate the blood flow to all parts of the body.
Improved Digestion:
During the Quud state where men sit with their right foot curled while women sit with both feet
sole up under their bodies this posture can help improve digestion in both the genders. For male
it works on the liver and improves the liver function and relaxes the large intestine, whereas in
women it provides greater relaxation that eventually aids in relaxing the body and forces the
stomach contents in the downwards direction assisting in better bowel movement.

General Cleanilness:
It is obvious that to offer Salat a Muslim needs to be in a pure state of cleanliness. In this regard
a Muslim performs Wudu before every prayer that helps clean the outer surface of the body
which is the best thing that can happen for the skin. Therefore, the general state of cleanliness in
all the areas of the body leads to the skin staying healthy and a person feeling light and lively.

Note – If you are a Muslim who do not know the right way to offer Islamic payer, then you can
take advantage of Step by Step Salat Application to learn namaz.
Therefore, for those who want to take more out of Salat other than simple religious benefits, for
them Salat is a complete exercise that can help keep their body and mind healthy and the regular
offering of it every day five times does lead to longevity.

23 Health Benefits of Performing Salah

(Namaz) #Physical and Spiritual
√ Scientific Checked

 Post authorScientific review: Dr Heben's Team



Prayer is an important part of every religion that exists. For some religion, carrying
out a prayer is an obligatory duty. Others consider it an important ritual to achieve
better spirituality. Still, every religion has one and most have their own style when
performing their prayers. Some like to keep it simple, some are more complex, some
need tools and equipment, and some require nothing at all.

In this article, we will discuss the Muslim prayer or more commonly known as Salah
or Salat. Also known in the Persian language as Namaz. Meanwhile, Salah is one of
the five basic acts in Islam, which forms the very foundation of Muslim life and are
considered mandatory. Thus, the five basic acts are known as the Five Pillar of Islam
(arkan al-Islam).
 Related: Health Benefits of Sun Meditation – Vajrasana Health Benefits

Basic of Salah (Namaz)

Salah itself consists of several repeated movement and citations called rakats.

Basically, a rakat is comprised of (in a specific order):

 Standing
 Bowing or Ruku
 Second Standing
 Prostration or Sujud
 Sitting
 Second Prostration
 Second Sitting

All of this is counted as one rakat. Due to the differences in interpretations, there are

several schools of Islam, and each of them probably has minor differences in details
regarding the worship ritual.

Muslims are obliged to do the prayers for five times daily, and each prayer will consist
of several rakats. These five daily prayers are performed in a certain specified time
according to the movement of the sun. These five daily prayers are:

 Fajr – At dawn or sunrise, obligatory 2 rakats

 Zuhr – After midday, obligatory 4 rakats
 Asr – In the afternoon, obligatory 4 rakats
 Maghrib – After sunset, obligatory 3 rakats
 Isha – Around dusk or nightfall, obligatory 4 rakats

The number of rakats beyond the obligatory ones are varied between schools, and
should a Muslim failed to perform any of these prayers on time, it must be performed
later.

Aside from the obligatory prayer, Muslim also has the voluntary prayers, such
as Sunnah salah, Nafl salah, Istikhaarah, etc. Any Muslim who do all of this regularly
would certainly receive many benefits, both spiritual and physical. Let’s find out the
health benefits of performing salah (namaz).

Physical Advantages of Doing Namaz

As we all know, a regular exercise’s goal is to provide our body with improved
physical abilities. Due to the high amount of physical activity required and its
repetitive nature, performing salah is arguably similar to doing a regular exercise.  So,
although salah was meant as a worshipping ritual, it could provide the same benefits
to your physics as the regular exercise.
 1. Cardiovascular Health

Every exercise, when done regularly, will increase your metabolism which in turn,
would increase your overall cardiovascular health. Since performing a rakat is similar
to an exercise, and you have to do it more than once if you salah regularly, you could
get a significant increase in cardiovascular health.

Related:

 Health Benefits of Jogging

 Benefits of Playing Badminton
 Health Benefits of Playing Soccer

2. Promote Cleanliness

It is customary to perform a ritual ablution before conducting salah. You can use
water (wudu) or sand (tayammum) for the ablution. The ablution is necessary to
cleanse the body from any contaminants such as germs, dust, etc. A person doing
wudu is supposed to wash their hands, mouth, nose, arms, face, hair, ear, and feet until
clean and by doing so, they will maintain their hygiene levels.
Related: Health Benefits of a Clean House – Health Benefits of Quitting Coffee

3. Maintains Oral Hygiene

Since many people include gargling when performing wudu, it could help boosts oral
and throat health as well. Gargling reduces the risk of viral respiratory infections and
removes bad breath too.

Related: Benefits of Chewing Gums for Mouth Health – Health Benefits of Bitter

Kola

4. Relieves Joint

The postures in rakat include bending, prostrating and bowing. You will encounter
many difficulties when doing this if your joints are bad or injured. Performing salah
regularly will certainly help ease the joints.

Related: Health Benefits of Royal Jelly

5. Reduces Back pain

Performing the postures particularly the ruku will also reduce your back pain, relaxing
the ligaments and muscles in the same way as yoga. Many exercises include this
movement as well because the bowing move is essential to your spine and hip.
 Related: Health Benefits of Using Exercise Ball as A Chair – Benefits of Playing
Tchoukball

6. Builds Better Abs

A lot of posture in salah requires good abdominal muscles. For example, both hands
need to be placed in the knee cap while bending forward when doing the ruku. In
order to keep the legs and spines straight, your stomach will have to pull some
muscles. Switching between postures would also habituate your abdominal muscles.

Related:

 Benefits of Bikram Yoga

 Health Benefits of Thai Massage
 Benefits of Full Body Massage

7. Improves Blood Circulation

The series of postures particularly sujud will help your blood circulate better
throughout your body. As you bend your body to the front and let your forehead
touches the ground, the blood will flow to your upper part of the body such as eyes,
cheeks, etc.

Related:

 High Blood Pressure Treatments

 High Blood Pressure Treatments
 Symptoms of Low Blood Pressure

8. Improves Digestive System

The sitting posture will stimulate peristaltic action inside your intestines, improving
your digestive system. It also aids in liver detoxification functions.

Related: Health Benefits of Salad Greens – SHealth Benefits of Pulses

9. Improves Posture

Most people get improper posture because of their daily habits, for example, a person
who carries a heavy load on their back every day might develop a hunch back posture.
Since every posture in salah is a proper posture, performing it every day surely will
improve your posture.

Related:

 Benefits of Exercise and Recommendation

 Health Benefits of Deep Breathing Exercise
 Best Exercises for Women

10. Yoga Exercise – Each and every posture in rakat have their own benefits,
including the standing position. Performing an upright stand for a certain period of
time will improve your body to achieve better body posture by strengthening your
spine.

11. Promotes Clean Body – Doing Wudu (Ablution) before performing salah is
automatically promotes body cleanse. As it wash body part such as nose, mouth, head,
hands, till feet.

12. Promotes Clean Face – Thus, one of ablution rule is to wash face three times, By
that, it will clean oily face, prevent acne or pimples.

Spiritual Advantages

The main purpose of salah is to worship Allah. So, it’s only natural that practicing
salah regularly will be beneficial spiritually.

13. Improves Selflessness

A study reveals that performing prayers daily could reduce ego and increase humility.
It means if done properly, salah could increase one’s awareness about the greater good
and become less selfish. This way, people practicing salah every day would grow
more selfless with each passing day.

Related: Benefits of Playing Piano – Health Benefits of Outdoor Play

14. Relaxes State of Mind

Salah lifts up your spirit to be closer to Allah. By doing so, your mind will become
more relaxed and calm. A relaxed state of mind could significantly reduce your stress
levels and make you think more clearly.

Related:

 Health Benefits of Crying

 Benefits of Laughter
 Health Benefits of Coffee

15. Improves Insight

As your mind gets relaxed and able to think more clearly, you will receive insights on
many things more often. Insights will only be provided to those without clouded
 judgment or troubled mind, so your insight will certainly improve while you are
performing salah.

Related: Mushroom Side Effects – Health Benefits of Ceylon Tea

16. Reduces Anger

The main purpose of salah or prayer is to worship Allah. Nobody in their right mind
hopes to achieve that by getting angry and resentful. Before someone performs salah,
they need to prepare their readiness, including removing anger from their heart and
mind.

Related:

 Health Benefits of Being In Nature

 Benefits of Writing
 Benefits of Writing

17. Promotes Social Skills

Most Muslims went to the mosque or musala to perform salah. Especially in Jumu’ah,
the congregational prayer every Friday. In the mosque, everybody will perform salah
together side by side. By practicing salah regularly, you will certainly meet many
people and improve your social skills by interacting with other Muslims.

Related:

 Benefits of Cycling
 Benefits of Taking Vacation
 Benefits of Owning a Cat

18. Increases Positivity

People who perform a prayer regularly and properly will achieve some sort of sense of
direction in their life. This sense allows you to become more optimistic and see the
world in a more positive way.

19. Increases Diligence

As a good Muslim, you certainly cannot be lazy. The five daily prayers are
compulsory, with each prayer requires a certain amount of obligatory rakats. Not to
mention there are other voluntary prayers as well. This may seem exhausting at first,
but through diligence, these daily tasks will prove to be not tiresome at all.

Related:
 Health Benefits of Push Up
 Health Benefits of Playing Guitar
 Benefits of Playing Tchoukball

20. Self-Meditation

No matter what is this, performing salah is the best way for self-meditation. During
the time you may find yourself in reflection and self-thinking for a being better
person.

21. Overall Health – It meant to be have piece, harmony, and balance life.

22. Heart Meditation – Also, this is may be another way to look deep to your heart
and get the answer of anything.

The most important thing to remember is that the main purpose of salah is to worship
Allah, not to reap any benefit such as relieve joints, become more muscular, etc from
it. With that being said, all the benefits of performing salah (namaz) will certainly
provide an extra incentive for the Muslims to perform salah more regularly.

Fasting & Prayer: Spiritual And Physiological Benefits

« Prev
Next »
Comments (3)
Listen to Article
 WhatsApp
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Email This
 Print This

Click to read all about coronavirus →

By: Rev. Francis J. Botchway

[“Instead of using medicine, fast a day”, Plutarch, a Roman Historian

“God’s ear is open to hear the prayer of His fasting saints”, Rev. Dr. Franklin Hall]
Introduction:
Lent, the 40-day fasting and prayer season for Christians worldwide is here with us again (from Ash
Wednesday to Holy Saturday, excluding Sundays). A recent study on the significance of ‘fasting and
prayer’ revealed a lot about the ‘spiritual and physiological benefits’ of the exercise. Thanks to Rev.
Dr. Franklin Hall for his divinely inspired research on the subject.
Fasting helps the Spirit-filled believer to ‘move mountains’. That, in the Name of Jesus one can cause
the ‘impossible to become possible’. Our Lord Jesus taught this truth. His disciples asked, ‘Master,
why could we not cast out the demon?’ He said you need ‘faith’ and that “this kind does not go out
except by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:14-29 RSV/KJV).

That, the 40-day prayer and fasting exercise made a difference in the lives of Moses, Elijah and Jesus
Christ! They were elevated to a higher spiritual level; and their appearance on the Mount of
Transfiguration confirmed this (Matt. 17:1-5).

I learnt that, ‘eating food, food’ without regular fasting causes the carnal nature to be elevated above
the spiritual. But after fasting and prayer, the natural hold is loosened for the power of God and faith to
help you do impossible things for God and society. Without fasting, prayer becomes ineffective or
power-less. Fasting indeed ‘restores and amplifies prayer power’.

That, fasting is the ‘abstinence from food’ (and not water). We must take water during a fast because
the body needs it to cleanse the system and make it work well. Jesus, after His 40-day and night
fasting became hungry, and not thirsty. He was not asked to turn a heap of sand into water – because
He was not thirsty but hungry (Matt. 4:2ff).

That, you need to ‘correctly and wisely' break the fast, so as not to damage the system. Juice, fruits,
vegetables, etc., must be taken after a fast before resuming the regular solid food/meat.

That, the skin, kidneys, lungs and bowels are cleansed during the fast. Fasting also aids in deferring
old age, as it changes your physical condition to make you younger.

Fasting in Biblical Times:

Fasting is as old as humanity. It had been a customary practice in ancient civilizations, including
Chinese, Roman, and Indian societies for curative purposes. A Roman historian, Plutarch wrote
centuries ago: “Instead of using medicine, fast a day”. It has been noticed that some animals go
without food and water at certain times of the year. Researchers found out at the world’s largest
“Alligator Farm” in Los Angeles, USA that alligators (‘mampan’) enter into a “suspended animation for
six months” every year. During this period they do not eat, drink or even breathe until the warm
season when they will come out of their “anti-world environment” and steadily start eating again.

Fasting in Old Testament times was both a religious and non-religious custom (e.g. people fasted
when they had lost a loved or plagued with a natural disaster). Religiously, it was a sign of mourning
one’s sins or transgression against God. Through the Prophet Joel, God charged the Israelites to
declare a ‘holy fast’ after their sin of disobedience (Chapter 1:13, 14; 2:12-17).

A fast was also called to avert or ward off current or impending danger. King Jehoshaphat declared a
fast when Judah was under attack from the Moabites and Ammonites, and God defeated their
enemies (2nd Chronicles 20). Queen Esther called for a fast to avert the diabolical plan of Haman and
his cohorts to completely annihilate the Jews in all the provinces of Persia, and God heeded their
prayers (Esther 4:15-17; 5:1ff).

The Philistines at one time declared war on Israel. In response, Samuel declared a fast, and as he
was sacrificing a burnt offering, the Lord thundered a loud thunder which threw the Philistines into
panic and confusion and they were routed before the Israelites (1st Sam. 7).

The custom of fasting continued during Jesus’ time. He taught about true fasting that glorifies or
honours God and condemned the hypocritical fast that aimed at winning the applause of men (Matt.
6:16-18). According to tradition, devout Jews fasted twice in a week, as attested to by the ‘self-
righteous’ Publican (Luke 18:12). These were observed on Mondays and Thursdays which were
market days. John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees fasted regularly (Luke 5:33-35). Jesus
Himself fasted for forty days and forty nights before the start of His earthly ministry (Luke 4:1-2). The
Bible described Anna, the Prophetess as a woman who “served God with fasting and prayers night
and day” (Luke 2:37).

Fasting is one of the key foundation pillars of the Christian faith. The structures of the Christian
Church were built upon the veritable truth of prayer and fasting. Before the inauguration of the church,
the disciples spent ten days waiting in prayer and fasting (See Acts 1:4, 12, 14; Acts 13:1-2; 2nd Cor.
6:5). Meanwhile, people with stomach ulcers, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and seriously ill or
older persons, are barred from serious fasting.

Spiritual Benefits:
One of the divinely inspired writers and theologians who espoused the true benefits of ‘fasting and
prayer’ was Rev. Dr. Franklin Hall. He launched the first worldwide fasting crusade in the USA in the
1940s and this spread to Europe and other parts of the world. He received amazing testimonies from
the great revivals that shook the world, with thousands of souls saved. Franklin Hall taught that
prayers backed by fasting are very potent; describing it as “God’s Atomic Power” that works mighty
miracles.

Church leaders whom he tutored consecrated fasts for 21 days, and others up to 60 days or more and
they performed many miracles including faith healing and casting out demons; “lunatics and cripples
were healed, cancers disappeared, and those suffering from paralysis, stomach ulcers, tuberculosis,
asthma, and blindness got healed.” According to Franklin Hall, after a Christian has fasted and prayed
for a period, he/she gets “spiritual wings” to take off to the spiritual realms. “Unanswered prayers
become answered. Divine healing becomes an accomplished fact. And Jesus is exalted.” If we fail to
fast and pray our ‘natural self’ is elevated above the ‘spiritual self’, but after undertaking the exercise,
the situation is reversed for our higher spiritual growth.
Regrettably, the fasting and prayer that works more than an ‘atomic bomb power’ is not taught in
many churches. Several prayer camps and retreat centres are flocked by seekers who want to
succeed or prosper overnight with unending lists of ‘wants’, not needs. True fasting and prayer goes
beyond that. It must first transform the life of the individual to connect with God before impacting
his/her church and community. Then God shall ‘add all other things needed’ (Matt. 6:33).

Some see fasting as a bother and that, it could affect their health. No! Fasting and prayer rather helps
us to experience a closer relationship with God; when the ‘space and time to God’ is shrunk, or the
‘spiritual distance’ ceases or is shortened. A regular fasting and prayer raises one’s spiritual level to
the utmost and God’s anointing (His divine favour, presence and power) manifests in your personal
life and ministry.

God’s ear is very close to the heart that cries to the Throne of Grace via fasting and prayer. Heaven is
open to our requests if we fast and pray sincerely! It has been revealed that: “A 21, or 40-day prayer
and fasting will most assuredly hasten the Christian to such a deep and wonderful experience of God
that, twenty-one days will equal twenty-one years. Forty days will equal forty years.” A forty-day
prayer and fasting “brings far greater results than a shorter time. It brings the seeker closer to God
more quickly than any other way known”.

Jesus, after His fasting in the wilderness overcame Satan (Matt. 4:2-11) and wants His followers to do
same. Satan is the cause of barrenness/childlessness, untimely deaths, accidents, broken
homes/marriages, dire poverty, disease and deformity, wars and conflicts, unbelief and rebellion
against God and His Church, etc. etc. Our Lord in His ministration confronted the source of such
afflictions and mishaps on people; i.e. demons/evil spirits.

Yes, almost all the incurable diseases and challenges that plague man are caused by demons. And
Jesus taught that demons cannot be cured, they must be ‘cast out’. “This kind can only be cast out by
fasting and prayer” (Matt. 17:21).

Jesus said ‘Watch and pray’ (Mark 14:38), and Paul added, ‘Pray without ceasing’ (Eph. 6:18)
because we fight not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of this dark world
and spiritual rulers of the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:12). A fast backed by prayer enhances the faith
that can move mountains, or cause the ‘impossible situations to become possible’. Paul himself said,
“I fast often” (II Cor. 11:27).

Jesus hinted that when He, the Bridegroom “is taken away” His disciples shall then fast! (Luke 5:35).
But ever since, most churches and their members have neglected serious prayer and fasting. The
Church is thus not making great impact, as to winning souls to Christ, but rather sin and wickedness
are on the increase.

‘Men should not live by bread (food) alone’, hence believers must fast regularly; whether a dry fast
(water only); or dawn to sunset (6 to 6); or 6 to 12 noon. And to make a great difference spiritually,
one can go for three, seven, ten, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-eight or forty-day fasting and prayer
with only water taken. The first few days may be difficult but later the body would adjust.

Fasting and prayer is not an easy exercise, yet it is the ‘secret weapon’ that causes wonders and
quicker access to the Throne of God. Bro. Franklin Hall says, “When we persistently pray through and
fast through, we are able to blast through to heaven”, adding, the “ear of God is open to hear the
prayer of His fasting saints”.

Physiological Benefits:
Fasting is the abstinence from food (not water). The body needs water to function effectively and the
Lord whose face we seek made it so. With the aid of medical science, it has been established that
fasting promotes good health rather than harming the body. “Fasting purifies and cleanses the body; it
permits a balancing of the circulation (of blood)”. It allows the various eliminating organs to dispose of
the negative or unwanted material from the system and to oxidize or burn up the useless matter. If not
eliminated or cleansed these food material which have become a waste “choke up the small blood
vessels and congest the lymph vessels” too.

Truly, fasting is the most powerful and quickest agent known for curing functional ailments, especially,
stomach disorders. Physicians in ancient times taught that “abstentious living is the key to good
health”. Denying oneself food can heal a sick body. Over the years, thousands of religious leaders
and physicians have prescribed fasting as a cure for diseases. Days or weeks-long fast had been
prescribed for patients to recover.

Again, many doctors, medical and health authorities had published lots of literature to explain the
science of fasting, especially its connection to good health and the cure of diseases. One Dr. Frank
McCoy in his book, ‘The Fast Way to Health’ wrote, “I have made a most exhaustive study of every
method of cure; from mind to modern surgery and gland therapy, and I have never found a single
method that could approach, even closely in its results, the benefits which come from some form of
the fasting cure”.

Fasting aids the body’s processes of self-recovery. It “has proven almost a miracle of recovery in
ailments such as asthma, high fever, constipation, headaches, colds, skin disorder, arthritis, and
rheumatism, blood diseases, and anything else along the line of blood functional diseases”. Patients
with nervous and mental disorder, paralysis, semi-paralysis, neurasthenia and other forms of insanity
had been cured through the power of fasting and prayer.

Fasting is a critical way of ‘house-cleaning’ the body and the Holy Spirit will be pleased to dwell in a
‘clean temple’. The body can be cleansed via four key means:

i. The Skin: Through its millions of pores, the skin is one channel through which much toxic waste is
eliminated. During a fast, much more waste is removed through the pores than at any other time.
Jesus directed that “when you fast wash your face”. Frequent bathing is recommended to wash away
the excreted material and keep the pores open and fresh up.
ii. The Kidneys: Whether or not you are fasting, the kidneys need much water, because water dilutes
the urine - which constantly washes out the poisons that are poured into the kidneys. Take, at least,
six glasses or enough of pure water each day that you fast.
iii. The Lungs: These two organs help us to breath. During a fast a lot of poison is exhaled through the
nostrils, from the oxygenation of the blood. The lungs eliminate the same type of poison as the skin,
kidneys and bowels. They emit bad odour through the nostrils and mouth. “Bad breath is a good sign
that the house-cleaning process is going on”. But as the fast prolongs, the vapour that comes out of
the lungs will clear up and the breath, as well as the taste in the mouth, will become as clean and
odourless like that of a baby.

It is recommended that you paste or wash your mouth often in the day. A menthol mint can also be
placed on the tongue to ease the odour, but not a chewing gum which has a lot of sugar that would be
too much for the stomach during a fast.

The Bowels: Through these organs solid waste matter is excreted. It is natural for one to visit the
washroom (toilet) once or twice a day but during a fast the bowels would move or excrete less
frequently, and one should not be alarmed about that. The bowels are the last four of the means by
which the body eliminates waste matters when we fast for a longer period. Too much eating weakens
the organs’ ability to function effectively. Fasting helps our organs to become refreshed and stronger.

Fasting Defers Old Age:

Another key physiological advantage of fasting is that in the long run it helps you to retain youthful
complexion and appearance. It defers old age and keeps the body young.

It has been averred that an “early old age is both a biological and mental abnormality”, resulting from
the accumulation of impurities or waste deposits in the system. Abstention from food can help remove
these deposits and “thus defer the physiological process that brings on old age.” There is another
saying, “We are only as old as the number of dead cells we have in our body.” A person can look
younger after fasting for a number of days or weeks. Moses, after being in the presence of God for
forty days and nights, at age 120 before his death looked younger; he had the strength and
constitution of a young man; “... his eyes were not dim (weak), nor his natural force abated (nor his
strength gone)” Deut. 34:7.

The physical house-cleaning exercise goes with a ‘mental house cleaning’. After the bodily purification
is accomplished, signs of “pessimism, gloom, discouragement, anger, grudges, fear, morbidity,
despondency, worry, fussiness, mental tensions, perversions, vile and deprived thoughts, excitability,
other forms of mental conditions, and bad habits disappear completely”.
Value of Physical Exercise and Rest: A regular exercise will assist the fast; making fasting and
praying easier. It easies the weaknesses and makes you go through the fasting period smoothly.
Exercising the body keeps the blood circulating to help you undertake the difficult task of fasting and
praying for a longer period.

During a fast take sufficient rest and sleep, after making time for Bible reading, meditation and
prayers. Take more rest when you are fasting than when not fasting!

Why Take Water During Fasting!

One Bible dictionary defined ‘fasting’ as “Abstinence from food, especially as a religious observance”.
One secular dictionary defined it as “Taking of a little or no food”. There is a distinction between food
and water. The truth is that real fasting goes with water. A longer fast without water is suicidal; it can
destroy the body’s system which is ‘the temple of God’ (1st Cor. 3:17), resulting in stomach ulcers and
other ailments.

Jesus directed that during a fast one should “anoint the head, and wash your face…” (Matt. 6:16-18).
Washing of the face is to clean the toxic stains from the face. How much more drinking water to help
clean out the ‘corruption in the stomach’? Without water, the stomach becomes ‘deflated, collapsed
and depressed’ and that can harm the body. Without water, the system chokes up and the body
becomes filthy internally. “The tongue, which is the upper part of the stomach becomes heavily
coated” during fasting and the odour that comes out of the pollution has been generated in the
stomach. Doctors say, “Some particles remain in the intestinal tract for more than a month, until the
putrefaction (rotten) gets worse” than a garbage (refuse).

And these particles that have remained unassimilated in the stomach, together with “other faecal
matter, require a great deal of water to break them down and help soften this material so that it can be
eliminated”. Without water, the waste “will harden; the worms and bugs which are heavily present to
some extent, will dry up on the intestines, the tongue will eventually thicken, and if the ‘thirsting fast’ is
prolonged, the individual will die”, unless the Lord intervenes.

The Apostle Paul made a clear distinction between thirst and fasting. He said in 2nd Cor. 11:27 (NIV),
“…I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food”. Other versions say “..in hunger
and thirst, in fasting often”. Water is needed not only by the internal organs but also by the external
parts of the body. One needs to bathe externally, as often as possible, during a fast, as his pores
become laden with toxin (poison), especially his face and hands.

Some cite Moses’ experience with God to discount the “drink water” argument. Exodus 34:28 states
that, Moses was in the presence of God “without eating bread or drinking water”. He did not need
physical bread and water when he was before the Great Provider, Supplier, Sustainer and Source of
Bread and Water. Moses was rather fed with spiritual anointing – the power, favour and presence of
God. His face became radiant; shining brightly after that ‘supernatural encounter’. And when he died
at age 120, Moses had the strength and physical constitution of a young man. (Deut. 34:7)

How to Break the Fast:

The dread of discomforts and health complications has discouraged many people from fasting. But
this is mainly as a result of poor handling of the breaking of a fast. Breaking a fast must be done
‘wisely and correctly’. You may get along nicely with the fast but impatience may compel you to begin
eating your usual, favourite foods just after the exercise.

When you fast for a longer period, your stomach turns ‘brand new’ like a child’s and it must be allowed
to adjust before taking in heavy food again. The longer the fast (water only or fruit juice only fast), the
more care we must take before resuming our regular meal. The stomach must be broken in gradually,
as time is needed to return to normal functions of the digestive organs.

“And when you break a fast, it must be done properly to avoid injuring the stomach”. It is advisable to
first start the break with fresh citrus fruits, oranges and grapefruits. Fresh tomato juice, grape juice
and juices from watermelon, pineapple, apple, etc. are equally good for breaking the fast.

It is dangerous to sit down immediately after a period of fasting to eat a regular meal; never rush your
stomach after a fast. Your regular meal (fufu, kenkey, banku, ampesi, gari soakings, or jollof rice and
meat, etc.) should not start until at least the number of days have elapsed, equal to the number of
days that you have fasted. If you fasted for 28 days, you should have a gradual breaking-in period of
28 days before you resume the regular meal.

The truth is, the longer you wait and slowly move on to regular eating, the better it will be for your
physical condition. And remember to take warm water or pure water, not cold water.

Conclusion:
The over-riding reason for fasting is to glorify God; to please Him. Fasting helps to ease or shorten the
communication distance between you and the Supreme God. This ‘closer-contact with God’ enables
the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to operate in full force, causing ‘impossible situations to
become possible’.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit requires regular fasting and prayer for more power. Paul said, “I fast
often” (2nd Cor. 11:27). If you desire more anointing to heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the
Word for positive impact, win more souls to Christ and for other signs and wonders or breakthroughs,
then the ‘secret weapon’ is regular fasting and prayer. Arguably, ‘demons’ are behind the sufferings
and broken expectations of people. Jesus says demons cannot be cured but ‘must be cast out
through fasting and prayer’ (Matt. 17:21). And assuredly, ‘heaven is open to our requests if we fast
and pray sincerely.’

Physiologically, fasting allows the body to enjoy occasional holidays or vacation, which it needs most
to help it recuperate. The body needs a good rest to enable it function well. Often we over work or
overload the organs with the consequences of our wrong lifestyle – eating, drinking, and thinking. The
millions of little cells which labour so incessantly for our physical well-being are not allowed any rest. It
is recommended that believers fast, at least, once a week for their own good, health-wise, and never
forget to take water.

Indeed, many of the great revivals that shook several parts of the world were born in fasting and
prayer. Fasting can open or lock doors of impossibility. Start a fast now!

[The writer is a former Senior Media Officer of the Bible Society of Ghana and Managing Editor of the
Christian Messenger newspaper.]

Top 10 Health Benefits of

Praying
By
 Health Fitness Revolution
 -
May 21, 2015
3
Praying at sunrise
Prayer is one of the leading pastimes in self-reflection and gratitude. Having
the ability to draw inward and speculate is a fundamental skill if one wishes
to grow and achieve an unlimited number of goals and grow spiritually.
Praying, specifically, provides such benefits as not coming to understand
oneself, but promotes virtuous ideals and personal character growth.

 Better sense of self – Praying brings you closer to yourself as well

as the higher power you pray to. A study by conducted by Columbia
University shows that prayer reduces ego and promotes humility.
This makes one more concerned for a greater good rather than just
themselves, improving selflessness.
 Good for your heart – Prayer helps regulate your heartbeat,
making it stronger and less stressed. Though it is a mental and
 spiritual activity, prayer has been known to speed up the recovery
of the heart following heart attacks and cardiac surgery.
 Increase lifespan – By minimizing all the life-threatening effects
of stress and environmental factors, praying helps your body heal
more efficiently and age more smoothly. All this put together helps
the body heal faster and live longer.
 Improves attitude – Prayer helps you be humbled.Through prayer
we come to realize how large the world is and how minor our
problems are compared to it. When praying for other people we
tend to sympathize to others’ problems rather than be selfish. When
praying positively, we tend to see a change in our overall attitude
making us feel happy both mentally and socially.
 Gain forgiveness – Prayer helps us to open ourselves to
forgiveness. It is important we are all humans who make mistakes
and that praying help us forgive ourselves for those past mistakes
made so that we can move on. Also, during prayer you may be able
to gain some insight and sense of direction.
 Gives us hope – When going through a very emotional phase,
prayer helps us believe that there is hope in getting through
situations. Praying helps us believe that there is a higher being that
we can help us shoulder our burdens. Although having hope may
not mean that things will turn out the way we want it to, trusting
someone with our problems helps get a burden off our shoulder.
 Relieves stress –  We live in a pressure-filled world where we are
constantly being rushed to take on responsibilities, succeed and be
at the top of everything. Reflecting on our problems through prayer
helps relieve the initial stress of the situation. Leaving our problems
up to a higher being.
 Stronger mindset – While prayer also promotes hope in the
future, faith is also what keeps a religious person centered and
strong. Through their belief they have the strength to overcome
both trivial and major worries.
 Recovery – After a situation leaves you emotionally or physically
distraught recovery is a timely process. Prayer serves as a way to
deal with the aftermath and keep one’s faith. Your mind and body
 are focused solely on healing while prayer keeps you centered and
hopeful.
 Maintain a positive outlook on life –  Day-to-day issues affect
our stress levels and mood. Daily prayer keeps religious people
looking forward to a better tomorrow. By being thankful for every
day and every day to come praying changes one’s outlook on life as
a whole.

The Positive Psychological Effects of

Prayer
Prayer is the practice of connecting to something deeper and more
meaningful in life. It is rooted in a sense of spirituality.
By 

Michelle Roya Rad, Contributor

Professional psychologist, motivational writer

04/11/2013 02:19pm EDT

This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work
and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Prayer is the practice of connecting to something deeper and more meaningful in life.
It is rooted in a sense of spirituality. Prayer has two dimensions, one internal in the
form of self-reflection and self-awareness, and the other external in a sense of
connection with a depth, something bigger than the self and an inner dependency
with all the other creation. Prayer, when done with the right awareness and intention
and in moderation, can be beneficial in a number of ways:
1. It can give people a moderate sense of optimism and a healthy dose of hope.
Optimism that there is more than the tip of the iceberg to life, and hope that when
things do not go the way one wants despite reasonable effort, that there are other
options.
2. It can help people cultivate a sense of gratitude. Prayer gives the person a quiet
moment to use the time to appreciate the positive in life and to remember that at any
moment, there is so much more positive than negative to life. And that sometimes,
what seems negative may be otherwise.
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TAKING CARE OF YOUR MIND AND BODY
Subscribe to HuffPost’s wellness email

SUBSCRIBE

Successfully Subscribed!
Wellness delivered to your inbox
3. It can help people delay gratification and control impulsive actions. By using this
time to calm your mind, you can evaluate situations to see if it would create any harm
and if it does, to stop yourself from doing it.
4. It can give people time to be able to see things from a broader perspective and that
by itself can help with obsessive acts and compulsive thought or limited thinking.
5. It can help people find commonality and beauty in diversity. By reflecting on what
Carl Jung calls the collective unconscious, people realize that they are sharing many
of the same needs, desires, essence and beliefs as others, at the root.
6. It can help people focus and concentrate. By taking a break from the daily
activities and doing a quiet time, one is able to use it to train his brain to be focused
on the here and now.
7. It can help people forgive easier, and detach from the past and move forward.
8. It can give people a sense of security that they are connected to a depth in life.
9. It can give people a sense of comfort, being at ease and being protected, therefore
decreasing too much anxiety and irrational fear.
10. It can be used as a time to cultivate rational thinking.
11. It can give people new and creative ways to solve their problems.
12. It can help people unleash.
13. It can be used as a time to learn how to connect better to others and to increase
one's emotional/social maturity.
14. It can be used as a time of self-affirmation to increase one's confidence.
And remember, by repeating a series of meaningful, positive, lifting, and thankful
phrases, you can retrain your brain to be more positive, be aware, be able to focus
and concentrate and to let go of unwanted thoughts.
Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD

22 Amazing Health Benefits of Namaz (Salat):

Namaz-e-Tawbah
 Health  41 Comments
The customary prayers of Muslims (Namaz), where physical movements of prayers (Sala’at)
have been beautifully conglomerated with spiritual exercise, result in many surprising health
and medicinal benefits. Namaz is the prescription from Allah for better health and fitness
who offers it regularly. Thus, it is a natural way to keep oneself healthy. One can get the
benefits of Namaz only if it is offered as they have been ordered by Allah and our Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH). Namaz (Sala’at) should be offered coolly, calmly, religiously and
 spiritually to get maximum of its benefits.

cc licensed ( BY ND ) flickr photo shared by Acizane

Top surprising benefits of Namaz

Health benefits of Ablution/Wudu/Wuzzo
1. Wudu (Ablution) with water where one washes his hands, face, and feet region lead to
preventing germs from the body thus promotes good health.
2. Ablution (Wuzzo) stimulates biological active spots similar to Chinese Reflex-
Therapy, which has beneficial therapeutic effects on the hands, face and feet region.
3. Ablution helps to relax the nervous system and eases tension, stress, and anxiety.
4. Washing hands five times a day (excluding washing before dietary intake) before
Namaz means an effective way to keep germs away from the body.
5. Hand washing is an efficient way to prevent the spread of germs.
6. Gargling during ablution (Wudu) is very important as it helps to remove germs,
allergens and dust particles.
7. Gargling with plain water reduces the chances of the common cold to a greater extent
thereby contribute to health and hygiene. Gargling also reduces viral respiratory infections.
Gargling ensures the reduction in bad breath too.
8. Nose cleansing during Wuzzo removes dust, allergens and contaminated matter. Nose
cleaning with plain water helps to minimize infections such as flu, sinusitis, cold and chest
infections.
9. Nasal cleaning with water overcomes nasal congestion and clear sticky matter in the
nose.
10. Nasal cleaning helps to treat allergic rhinitis, good for nasal dryness and improves
breathing.
11.  Face washing during ablution is very beneficial for refreshing as well as improving
the facial complexion.
12. Face washing reduces the impact of oily skin and retarded the growth of acne,
pimples, wrinkles, and other facial spots.
13. Ears cleaning during ablution are quite effective to prevent wax accumulation.
Cleaning ear with wet fingers five times a day is also good to remove dust and germs from
the outer region of the ears.
14. Washing the feet during Wuzo helps to clean dirt, fungus. It also acts like acupressure
while fingers are passing through the bottom area of the toes. Rubbing the toes with fingers is
also good in case of diabetes and removing pain from the body. As lots of Accu points are
present in the upper and lower parts of toe regions and pressing these during ablution is
helpful in curing of pain like back pain, arthritis joint pain, etc.
15. Offering Namaz (Sala’at) has many benefits such as spiritual, religious, physical,
mental, social, economical, social, etc.
16. Namaz is highly beneficial to activate all the seven Chakras as per the Yogic
philosophy.
Namaz and Yoga
17. There is a great correlation between Namaz and Yoga. Yoga rejuvenates the mechanism
of body and mind. Yoga Therapy, a refreshing process as well as a cost-effective solution; try
to find out the very root cause of diseases. It helps to restore harmony among various
components of lifestyle- physical, social, emotional, spiritual, mental and psychological. The
basic concept of Yoga is to relish and cherish life with exhilarating excitement. The system
provides psychological and emotional well-being. Being drugless therapies, it enhances the
sustainable and functional ability of the body. The same case is also with Namaz. Yoga and
Namaz are certainly a substitute for stress and disease free personality.

There are many yoga postures which represent namaz viz. Vajrasana, Tadasana,
Padhastasana, Yoga nidra, etc.
Namaz is the finest form of meditation
18. Namaz is one of the best forms of meditation or Dhyan from a Yogic point of view where
the person unilaterally surrenders to Allah. Meditation is defined as the uninterrupted flow of
mind towards a particular object. Namaz is one of the best stress buster and tension reliever
modules. Namaz (Salaat) is the perfect example of meditation where the performer thinks
only and only about Allah. Thus, Namaz provides the ultimate satisfaction and peace to the
mind thus save you from many diseases and disorders. It enhances your concentration and
reduces the level of depression. Namaz helps to develop positive milieu around the Namazi.

Namaz and physical health benefits

 19. Namaz has multiple many health and fitness benefits. Some of the important physical
health benefits are as follow:

 Namaz is one of the important means of health, happiness, and harmony.

 Offering regular Namaz keeps one fit and healthy by burning extra calories thereby
losing weight. Namaz is one of the effective ways of weight loss as well as to control obesity.
 Namaz stretches your muscles and helps to provide a toned body.
 It is good to overcome arthritis as Namaz is good to enhance the flexibility of the
body and reduces stiffness.
 Namaz is a good source to balance the Anabolic and Catabolic biochemical processes
of the body.
 Namaz is good for the heart, brain, above all for the entire body.

 Standing posture in Namaz (Qiya’m) ensures proper blood flow in the lower portion
of the body. It is also good in strengthening the leg muscles.
Health benefits of Ruk’u
20. The forward bending position of Namaz (Ruk’u) is good for your lower vertebral column.
It helps to ease your back pain as per Yogic philosophy. Doing Ruku properly helps to
control backache and vertebral column related diseases. Namaz Ruku is effective in
developing flexibility to shoulder, elbow wrist, knees and ankle regions. Ruku exerts
abdominal pressure thereby eases constipation and peristaltic movements. During Ruku, the
kidney experiences a sort of massage thus helpful to kidney problems.

Health benefits of Sajdah

21. During Sajdah, one sits in Vajrasana, a very important yoga pose from a health point of
view. Vajrasana strengthens the thigh and calf muscles. It is good for digestion and keeps
your spine firm and erect. Sajdah is very beneficial in the proper functioning of the brain,
lungs, body muscles, joints, and entire vertebral column. Sajdah helps to maintain smooth
blood to the brain region and also stimulates the master gland pituitary gland as well as the
pineal gland. Sajdah reduces the chances of brain hemorrhage and headache due to smooth
blood flow to the head region. While performing Sajdah, the toes are experiencing
acupressure which is good for better health of the body, especially for body pains.

Health benefits of Salaam (Neck Yoga)

22. Salam is an excellent form of neck and upper vertebra exercise. Namaz’s Salam is the
Griva-Sakti-vikasaka (Strengthening the Neck) of Yogic Sukshma Vyayama, which is helpful
in loosening the neck joints and also helps to relax the shoulder and upper back muscles.
Salam helps to refresh all the nerves passes through the neck, thus good in case of headache
and contend migraine.