New Testimonies Show Prayers Can Heal, Solve Other 'Impossible' Problems

A Catholic priest from New York, an Ebola survivor and an Academy Award-winning actress are just three of the many people who have recently attested to the power of prayer.

Father John Murray of Brooklyn, New York, was paralyzed from the chest down following a fall four years ago when bone chips from his neck sliced into his spinal cord. In a recent NBC News report, Murray recalled what doctors told him when he was brought to the hospital: "You should expect no voluntary movement. That's a quote. No voluntary movement for the rest of your life," he said.

But within a year and a half after the accident, Murray was able to rise from his wheelchair and walk.

"I think it's a result of prayer," he said. "Other people's prayers and my prayers, without a doubt."

Dallas nurse Nina Pham was fighting for her life after she contracted the deadly Ebola disease in October while caring for the first Ebola fatality in the U.S., Thomas Eric Duncan, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

The 26-year-old nurse, described by friends as a devout Catholic, is living a normal life once again after being declared free from the disease with still no known antidote.

During a press conference, she said she could not have survived without the prayers she received during her stay in the hospital.

"I feel fortunate and blessed to be standing here today," Pham said. "I would first and foremost like to thank God, my family and friends. Throughout this ordeal, I have put my trust in God and my medical team."

"I believe in the power of prayer because I know so many people all over the world have been praying for me," she said. "I join you in prayer now for the recovery of others."

A recent study said half of all Americans believe that prayer can heal. Medical studies have also shown the same thing, according to Dr. Harold Koenig, the director of Duke University's Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health.

"People who are more religious just live longer; that's kind of the bottom line," Koenig.

He said more than 4,000 studies have examined the connection between spirituality and health. Most of these studies show that religious people have better mental health, are less likely to experience depression, and cope better when they do, he said.

In his own research, Koenig said he found out that people who pray daily are 40 percent less likely to have high blood pressure.

"They have greater well-being, in general," he said. "Religious people who are part of a faith community and have a relationship with God, so to speak, just have higher levels of well-being. They're happier. And that's been shown -- hundreds of studies have now shown that."

Another health expert said scientific test has proven the power of prayer. Dr. Andrew Newberg of Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia hospital said he has been studying the effect of prayer on the human brain for more than 20 years, injecting radioactive dye into subjects and watching what changes inside their heads when they pray.

"You can see it's all red here when the person is just at rest," said Newberg, pointing at a computer screen showing brain activity, "but you see it turns into these yellow colors when she's actually doing prayer."

These changes, said Newberg, are signs of the power of prayer to heal.

Aside from healing, prayer can also solve other seemingly impossible problems. Take the case of Angelina Jolie, the 39-year-old actress who reportedly turned to prayer when she encountered a big problem while filming her latest movie, "Unbroken."

The film chronicles the inspiring story of Louis Zamperini, a devout Christian, an Olympic long distance runner, and an American soldier who spent 47 days on a raft in the ocean before being captured as a prisoner of war by Japanese soldiers during World War II. He became close friends with Jolie during the production of "Unbroken."

Cynthia Garris, Zamperini's daughter, recalled what happened on the set during a Dec. 5 conference in New York.

"She (Angelina) was not a person of faith and had never prayed before, but she found herself at the very last scene of the movie ... They needed sunlight to shoot this very important scene and there had been a storm that had been going for a while," Garris explained.

"[Angelina] said, 'I don't know what I'm going to do so I'll do what Louie would do.' She got on her knees and she prayed for a miracle," Garris added. "Everybody saw it ... It stopped raining. The sun came out, a rainbow came out. She said, 'Let's get this take,' [and] they shot the take. When she said 'cut,' it started to rain again."