can prayer help people heal? is there any scientific evidence?
By deriellevc73
@deriellevc73 (982)
Philippines
December 25, 2010 11:45pm CST
it has always been ingrained in most of us that prayer helps people heal, just like when Jesus prayed over those diseased people mentioned in the Bible and them being able to just get up and got well after His pray-over. In this contemporary times, do you see any scientific evidence or any evidence at all that prayer helps people get well from disease and other sufferings?
Reports are varied regarding this matter. Some studies have linked spiritual and religious practice to lower blood pressure, stronger immunity, less depression and even greater longevity. There have been a lot of stories regarding diseased people getting healed through prayer but as to scientific evidence, there have been basically none to prove such matter.
Personally, I do believe prayer may improve our well-being and health in a number of ways. Faithful believers to their religion and practitioners of their faith will likely avoid being tied up to alcohol and even drug abuse. Spiritual people with vast social network will be able to cope with stress better than those who don't.
How about you? have you had experience wherein prayers had help cure someone you know? please do share.
3 responses
@RebeccaScarlett (2532)
• Canada
31 Dec 10
In Richard Dawkins' book, The God Delusion, he cited a study that was funded and carried out by the Templeton Foundation (a religious organization dedicated to scientifically proving religious claims) that studied the effect of prayer.
There were three groups of people dying from cancer. One group was not prayed for. (control group) One group was prayed for and didn't know about it. One group was prayed for and knew about it. The prayers were done by church congregations of the same number of people, for the same length of time, the same number of days.
The group that was prayed for and didn't know it had the same number of deaths and remissions as the group that was not prayed for. The group that was prayed for and KNEW they were being prayed for did...worse! They had more deaths and fewer remissions that the other two groups.
It was thought that perhaps knowing that people were praying for them put stress on the patients (they thought they had better improve because the faith of others was riding on it) and the stress made them sicker. That's just a theory though. The only thing the study showed was that prayer didn't help in this case and that it actually hurt the patients that knew they were being prayed for.
@deriellevc73 (982)
• Philippines
31 Dec 10
hello rebecca!
well, that was certainly some study, and it just proved that prayers per se doesn't really have any bearing on sick people. However, there maybe some exceptions but on case to case basis. thanks for sharing.
@jugsjugs (12967)
•
28 Dec 10
There have been lots of years that i have prayed for other peoples health like my dads health, as well as i have prayed for other peoples health and none of my prayers have ever been answered.I feel like all the good people that die are needed some where else and we get left with all the rubbish people.
