News: Study fails to show healing power of prayer

[Marnie]

[T]he study found some of the patients who knew they were being prayed for did worse than others who were only told they might be prayed for -- though those who did the study said they could not explain why.

"Our study was never intended to address the existence of God or the presence or absence of intelligent design in the universe" or to compare the efficacy of one prayer form over another, said the Rev. Dean Marek, director of chaplain services at the Mayo Clinic, one of the authors.

...Do you reckon this dude is a Presbyterian?

Read the dopey article.

[Arthur Durnan]

I personally choose Jesus Christ & His healing power OVER a Dean Marek at Mayo! To the Mareks of the world who don't believe, no explanation is possible. To those of us who do believe, no explanation is necessary. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your healing Touch!

http://arthurdurnan.freeyellow.com

P.S. Might Dean Marek NEED that Healing Touch himself one day? Hmm.

[Razberry]

Like God didn't know what was going on with this "study group." Don't you think this is really close to falling under the category of "Though shalt not tempt the Lord thy God"? This is calling for God to prove Himself, rather than prayers of faith going up.

How confusing for those participants who were sick and lost.

[Scarletprayers]

I personally choose Jesus Christ & His healing power OVER a Dean Marek at Mayo! To the Mareks of the world who don't believe, no explanation is possible. To those of us who do believe, no explanation is necessary. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your healing Touch!

http://arthurdurnan.freeyellow.com

P.S. Might Dean Marek NEED that Healing Touch himself one day? Hmm.

Wow, Arthur.................I finally understood all of one of your post, and agree with you! Wonder if I would have agreed with you on others if I knew what you were talking about?

[Marnie]

Wow, Arthur.................I finally understood all of one of your post, and agree with you! Wonder if I would have agreed with you on others if I knew what you were talking about?

C'mon now. You just have to read Art's post three or four times to get the gist of them. He is almost always right, about 95% of the time, you know.

[Giaour]

This is another article on the same study.

Read the bold type.

Study Finds No Effect of Praying for Health of Heart Surgery Patients

03-30-2006 8:03 PM

By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer

NEW YORK -- Does praying for a sick person's recovery do any good? In the largest scientific test of its kind, heart surgery patients showed no benefit when strangers prayed for their recovery.

And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications. The researchers could only guess why.

Several scientists questioned the concept of the study. Science "is not designed to study the supernatural," said Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at the Duke University Medical Center.

The researchers who tested the power of prayer emphasized that their $2.4 million study could not address whether God exists or answers prayers made on another's behalf. The study could look only for effects from the specific prayers offered as part of the research, they said.

The highly anticipated study "did not move us forward or backward" in understanding the effects of prayer, said Dr. Charles Bethea, a co-author and cardiologist at the Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. "Intercessory prayer under our restricted format had a neutral effect."

Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School, co-principal investigator of the study, agreed. "We cannot come to a conclusion, except to say that by this study design, with its limitations, this is what we found."

The researchers also said they didn't know why patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of complications than patients who only knew that such prayers were a possibility.

Maybe they became anxious by the knowledge that they'd been selected for prayers, Bethea said: "Did the patients think, 'I am so sick that they had to call in the prayer team?'"

The researchers said family and friends shouldn't be discouraged from telling a patient about their plans to pray for a good recovery.

Experts called it the largest and best-designed study ever to test the medical effects of intercessory prayers _ praying on behalf of someone else. That's different from studying the effect of a person's prayers and spiritual practices on his or her own health; many studies of that have shown a positive effect.

The new study followed about 1,800 patients at six medical centers. It was financed by the Templeton Foundation, which supports research into science and religion, and one of the participating hospitals. It will appear in Tuesday's issue of the American Heart Journal.

The research team tested the effect of having three Christian groups pray for particular patients, starting the night before surgery and continuing for two weeks. The volunteers prayed for "a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications" for specific patients _ their identities known only by first name and first initial of the last name.

The patients, meanwhile, were split into three groups of about 600 apiece: those who knew they were being prayed for, those who were prayed for but only knew it was a possibility, and those who weren't prayed for but were told it was a possibility.

The researchers didn't ask patients or their families and friends to alter any plans they had for prayer, saying such a step would have been unethical and impractical.

The study looked for any complications within 30 days of the surgery. Results showed no effect of prayer on complication-free recovery. But among patients who did receive prayers, 59 percent of the patients who knew they were being prayed for developed a complication, versus 52 percent of those who were told it was just a possibility.

Paul Kurtz, professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, had a blunt response when asked why he thought the study found no effect of prayer.

"Because there is none," he said. "That would be one answer."

He added that while he tries to keep an open mind, he's seen no good evidence for such an effect in past studies. The new work, he said, "gives added emphasis to those who have been skeptical."

Koenig, of Duke University Medical Center, who didn't take part in the study, said the results didn't surprise him.

"There are no scientific grounds to expect a result and there are no real theological grounds to expect a result either," he said. "There is no god in either the Christian, Jewish or Muslim scriptures that can be constrained to the point that they can be predicted."

Within the Christian tradition, God would be expected to be concerned with a person's eternal salvation, he said, and "why would God change his plans for a particular person just because they're in a research study?"

Dr. David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, said he believes intercessory prayer can influence medical outcomes, but that science is not equipped to explore it.

"Do we control God through prayer? Theologians would say absolutely not. God decides sometimes to intervene, and sometimes not," he said.

As for the new study, he said, "I don't think ... it's going to stop people praying for the sick."

[Giaour]

I think this study has flaws.

Let me tell you where I see a problem.

The "patients" were not asked about THEIR beliefs.

If the patient is unsaved, that would have a negative effect on the results of the intercessory prayer.

They only had catholics and presbetarians praying.

I think for the study to be more accurate, they should have used ALL denominations, or at least 10 of them.

There were no emotional ties between the prayers and the patients.

Maybe a lack of sincerity in prayer.

I know that when I pray for someone close to me, I POUR out my heart to God.

I also see it as them "testing" God.

I don't think God likes that.

That might effect the outcome of the tests.

Did any of the patients pray for themselves?

Did they pray for God to guide the doctors hands?

Did they pray for survival or a speedy recovery?

Too many "if's" in this study.

[Marnie]

I think this study has flaws.

Too many "if's" in this study.

Right...like I said...Fishy

[Candi770]

John G Lake in his classic book "Diary of God's General" wrote about doing an experiment using an x-ray machine (back early 1900's) on the changes on his body when the Spirit of God came on him and when they took a man from the hospital that had inflammation on his leg/shin- He laid hands on the man and he was healed- They professionals (doctors) watched the whole thing. Some have this gift in this measure but we are all called to intercession-

We must have faith!! The man being prayed for did he have faith-I don't know.

God can work through our faith, their faith anyway he wants to-Awesome God.

They will always try to say that pray doesn't produce a result-they better hope that the faithful intercessor God calls to pray for them does his and/or her job!!

[Jorge S]

Like God didn't know what was going on with this "study group." Don't you think this is really close to falling under the category of "Though shalt not tempt the Lord thy God"? This is calling for God to prove Himself, rather than prayers of faith going up.

How confusing for those participants who were sick and lost.

I agree with you, brother, and I replied to a similar question in another board with your same arguments.

Christ used this same verse to neutralize Satan's temptation in the wilderness.

Those studies purport to contain, classify and predict God's Will within a statistical model that fits human comprehension. It is so ridiculous and disrespectful that I wonder why a person who calls him/herself a Christian agrees to participate in something like that.

One of the first things a Christian learns in walking with God is to accept God's Will in everything, including issues concerning sickness and death. We know that our Heavenly Father is more concerned about our spiritual health because the faithful does not taste the second -and definitive- death.

So, let us remind our tireless seekers of worldly things about the Sign of Jonas that Jesus left for the unfaithful who expected a 'miracle on demand': His own atoning death and resurrection by means of which saving Grace was given to mankind.