Prayer for stress relief?  Almost sounds a bit sacrilegious...  Yet those of us who pray know that prayer works.  Jesus himself used it when he had to get through challenging times.  And praying works very well for us too -- for relieving stress and anxiety, for giving us the faith and trust that we will be alright and that we will be guided to take the actions that will get us there.

Here are four ways in which praying can help relief stress and anxiety.

1) Direct prayer

Pray for yourself.  Pray for guidance, for help, for whatever makes you feel better. Have a conversation with your Higher Power and ask for help, insight, strength, and guidance. And then, release the issue to God and have faith that all will be well.

2) Pray with others

You could call a friend, or pray with someone at your place of worship. Or you could call a prayer line where people will pray with you.

The one that has helped me through many a challenging time is the Unity prayer line at 1-800-NOW-PRAY. They are there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and their prayers are wonderful.  They will also add you to a prayer list afterwards and continue to pray for you for an additional 30 days -- and they'll send you a letter of support if you would like that.

3) Meditate

Meditation -- or just being quiet and listening to the voice within -- is another form of prayer.  Praying the rosary can also be seen as a meditation at some level. I rediscovered the rosary when I went through times of extreme stress and was amazed by its calming power.

4) Pray for others

Either join your place of worship's prayer team if there is one, or create a list of your own with people who you would like to pray for.  Then pray for them.  You'll be surprised how much that helps calm your own concerns.  And, of course, since your name should be on that list too, you'll be including yourself in your prayers.