Posted on 03/30/2006 3:17:30 PM PST by paltz
By Michael Conlon
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study of more than 1,800 patients who underwent heart bypass surgery has failed to show that prayers specially organized for their recovery had any impact, researchers said on Thursday.
In fact, the 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.
The patients in the study at six U.S. hospitals included 604 who were actually prayed for after being told they might or might not be; another 597 patients who were not prayed for after being told they might or might not be; and a group of 601 who were prayed for and told they would be the subject of such prayer.
The praying was done by members of three Christian groups in monasteries and elsewhere -- two Catholic and one Protestant -- who were given written prayers and the first name and initial of the last name of the prayer subjects. The prayers started on the eve of or day of surgery and lasted for two weeks.
Among the first group -- who were prayed for but only told they might be -- 52 percent had post-surgical complications compared to 51 percent in the second group, the ones who were not prayed for though told they might be. In the third group, who knew they were being prayed for, 59 percent had complications.
After 30 days, however, the death rates and incidence of major complications was about the same across all three groups, said the study published in the American Heart Journal.
COMPLICATIONS AFTER SURGERY
"Intercessory prayer itself had no effect on whether complications occurred (and) patients who were certain that intercessors would pray for them had a higher rate of complications than patients who were uncertain but did receive intercessory prayer," the study said.
There is "no clear explanation" for the latter finding, it added.
The study -- called the largest of its kind -- was designed only to try to measure the impact of intercessory prayer on heart surgery patients, an intervention that some earlier reports had showed seemed to be beneficial.
"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.
The patients in the study had similar religious profiles with most believing in spiritual healing and almost all also thinking that friends or relatives would be praying for them as well, he said.
"One caveat is that with so many individuals receiving prayer from friends and family, as well as personal prayer, it may be impossible to disentangle the effects of study prayer from background prayer," Manoj Jain of Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, another author of the report.
The authors said one possible limitation to their study was that those doing the special praying had no connection or acquaintance with the subjects of their prayer, which would not usually be the norm.
"Private or family prayer is widely believed to influence recovery from illness, and the results of this study do not challenge this belief," the report concluded.
Why don't they do a study about whether preschoolers' actually recieve all that they request of their human fathers?
That would be just about as relevent and meaningful as this study.
Whoever did this study obviously doesn't understand prayer or the will of God.
Hank the Bible answer man, was answering questions on his radio show. The caller was asking why some people were healed. Hank said sometimes God heals people because it makes him feel good.
Somehow I doubt you'd say this if the results came out the other way.
Correct. If the results came out the other way, I would instead say "I'm surprised!" But I would never have gotten the opportunity because those who did the study would have declined to publish. Under that hypothetical, even though I would suspect intellectual dishonesty in their decision not to publish, it is plausible that flawed methods would have been the correct explanation for the result.
Prayer works but it's not automatic, you must be "worthy" for it to work for you.
Ten years ago I almost died. There was a pray vigil for me. Enough said.
My opinion is that the most important change that prayer can effect takes place in the person doing the praying. We shouldn't expect God to bend the world for us, but should instead try to live a life in harmony with God; prayer helps us do that.
I have faith that prayers are answered 50% of the time.
All prayers are answered, sometimes God just says NO...
50% is not bad. If you prayed to win the lottery everyday, you would win every other day. Have you tried it?
done by the same folks that did the study that showed the American media to be ACCURATE and UNBIASED!
Ah, the randomness of prayer. When prayer 'works', people jump for joy and claim a miracle...even when just one guy survives a mining accident that kills a dozen others. When it doesn't work, they say, "God had other plans for him", "It wasn't God's will", etc. They can't lose the arguement.
What is really funny is when someone thinks their god had a hand in winning the ball game......
My take on prayer helping people is that it DOES work. It helps the person doing the pray-ing (much like meditation), and it makes the person who is being prayed for to feel good, if they know others are wishing well for them. But, so far a supernatural effect...I don't think so.
This study says it doesn't
The study doesn't address what I said prayer is good for (calming the pray-er, and giving the person prayed for a little mental lift IF they know they are being prayed for).
It isn't going to clear clogged arteries, shrink a tumor or reattach a severed limb.
Do they think the Architect of the Universe could be trapped inside the confines of a two way T-test?
What imbeciles!
remember, this is satan's domain here on earth...
Who said 50% was bad? BTW, do you do the lotto prayer?
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