You may not laugh as you pray, or pray while you laugh, but prayer and laughter have some crucial elements in common. Both help to lift you out of a situation, or the feeling of being trapped by the circumstances of your life. That is, they offer you an immediate way of stepping back from, if not transcending your current conditions. Prayer and laughter free your inner being, even if it is only for a time.
Some of the best laughter I have been fortunate to share, has been with families at hospitals while awaiting the results of surgery, or worse, an expected approaching end of life for a loved one. It is not of course as if the circumstances were anything less than grave, or that they were laughing at its seriousness. Rather, the humor, just like prayer, gave them temporary relief, a brief lifting of burdens, a short forgetfulness, helping to re-balance their listing souls.
In philosopher Frederick Nietzsche’s view, the religiously stiff and hypocritical persons were those who claimed that there were things about which one must never laugh. I have known such humorless persons, and I felt sorry for them, even if my own sense of humor was upsetting to them and their sad misunderstanding of the Christian faith.
I had a very real dream, if not a visitation, during seminary in which an angel was sitting above me on our bed post, legs crossed and looking down at me. The angel said one thing, which woke me up immediately. Even though it was many years ago, that statement from heaven remains vivid. Though I could not see the angel’s face, the words were spoken with apparent understanding and warmth. The angel said, “Yes, Hal, God does have a sense of humor.”
One of the greatest laughs in Biblical history came out of Abraham’s wife Sarah, when, at age 90, God said she would finally, after twenty-five years of waiting, give birth to a son. Though she denied laughing to God, God told her to name the child, “Isaac”, which means “he laughs,” or simply “laughter.” Rather than criticizing Sarah for her laughter, God wanted her laugh remembered and celebrated. Nothing is impossible for God.
The one who laughs last, laughs best. In your destined tomorrow, the best laughter will yet be yours. The Psalmist said, “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’” (126:1-2).
Even in his suffering Job believed that, “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouts of joy” (Job 8:21). This goes along with Jesus’ promise: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21b). As laughter can transform your mood, so too can prayer.
Like prayer, laughter may be good medicine. That is what recent studies are suggesting, confirming what sages have been saying for millennia. Researchers recently reported that a daily dose of laughter can be beneficial to the heart because, just like exercise, it makes our blood vessels work more efficiently. Depression, on the other hand, can increase the risk of dying from heart failure, yet another study found.
Laughter has been called “inner jogging,” and its total health benefits are impressive. Laughter elevates mood, revs up the immune system, improves brain functioning, protects the heart, enhances creativity, lowers blood pressure, reduces pain, fosters relaxation, connects you to others, and spawns an overall sense of well-being. A session of giggling also reduces stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine, helping you to cope better with daily tension.
Prayer offers many of these benefits. Prayer calms and uplifts the heart, strengthens hope, and elevates your mood and brain function. Just as you need to laugh a little every day, so too do you need to pray.
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