Doctors believe in the power of prayer

HOW strange that an advert reciting the lord’s Prayer has been banned from cinemas. Who could it harm? even though I don’t believe in God, I do believe in the power of prayer.

as a doctor, I’ve seen many people in their final moments. Times when no scans, blood tests or drugs offer hope. Times that make medics feel small and powerless.

But we do have a little-known service to call on — a last resort in the face of hopelessness. It’s called Dial- a- Priest and it’s literally a godsend.

Up and down Britain, day and night, there are priests on-call for hospitals. you can even pick the denomination you want. It’s like ordering a pizza.

I first used it for an elderly patient I’ll call Mr Bernard. His milkman had looked through the letterbox and seen him collapsed on the floor with a brain haemorrhage. The blood vessel was still bleeding and it was only a matter of time before he died.

But the really tragic thing was that Mr Bernard was totally alone. There was not a single soul in the world who loved him.

His wife had died five years earlier. His next-door neighbour was down as his next of kin, but when I rang them they didn’t even know his surname.

It was then I noticed that on a section on his notes for religious beliefs, someone had written ‘roman Catholic’.

It was past midnight and Mr Bernard was fading fast. I made the call. Father Stephen was at my side before I knew it, holy water in one hand and a coffee in the other.

‘you’ve done all you can,’ he smiled. ‘I’ll take care of it now. Go and get some rest.’

as Mr Bernard drifted in and out of consciousness, Father Stephen stayed by his side, quietly praying for him. My patient died three hours later, but at least someone who cared was there, doing all that could be done for him: praying.

Tennyson wrote: ‘ More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.’

That morning, I remember signing the death certificate and hoping, desperately, that this was true.