I have just been listening to a report on a study that was conducted on 'what prayer does to your brain.' In part it was stated that prayer helps to lessen pain. It causes us to forget about ourselves and focus on others. It talks about the limbic system in our brains, which even reptiles have. This is the part of the brain that produces negative emotions. Prayer turns off the limbic system, according to the study! Pretty amazing, huh?

If you'd like to learn more, the following is a link to the source of the study.
http://w3.newsmax.com/newsletters/mhr/prayer_video.cfm?s=al&promo_code=10710-1#