The effects of a prayer intervention on the process of forgiveness.

Abstract

Throughout the psychological literature there has been a vast amount of research examining forgiveness as well as prayer within the context of the discipline of psychology; however these 2 constructs have rarely been examined together. This study examined the relationship between 2 important religious and spiritual constructs: forgiveness and prayer. Recent studies suggest Christians who forgive often use prayer. This intervention study looked to see more specifically what benefit there is to those who specifically use prayer as they seek to forgive an interpersonal offense. Participants consisted of 411 undergraduate students from private Christian colleges across the United States. They were randomly assigned to a prayer group, a devotional attention group or a control group, consisting of a sixteen day intervention. Those who were in the prayer and devotional attention groups were found to have significant changes in state forgiveness. In addition, those in the prayer intervention group showed significant changes in empathy toward their offender. Implications include the importance of exploring forgiveness as a spiritual construct, as well as help clinicians integrate their clients’ Prayer and Forgiveness iv journey towards forgiveness with their clients’ spiritual practices. In addition, these findings can help clinicians educate their clients on the relational benefits of spending daily time with God. Prayer and Forgiveness v Table of