‘I Prayed for Him’: Faith, Mystery, and Meaning in Medicine
Summary
In this article, psychiatrist and physician-ethicist Harold Koenig recounts a case in which he chose to pray for a patient enduring chronic pain, severe depression and thoughts of suicide. After back surgery left the patient in lasting agony, Koenig engaged not only in medical treatment but also daily prayer and discussion of the patient’s spiritual struggles. The article uses this story to explore how many physicians hold beliefs in a higher power and how this shapes their work even in a system that mostly views medicine as a secular, scientific endeavour. It discusses how spiritual history–taking and recognizing “sacred moments” can enhance care, lower physician burnout and address human suffering that clinical protocols cannot fully explain.
Relevance
This article ties into how faith-based health-care institutions and practitioners navigate the interplay of spirituality and medicine. It highlights how religious or ethical convictions shape provider behaviour and patient experience, even when institutional identity isn’t explicitly religious.