Posted on 04/13/2006 8:24:36 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
The headlines seemed almost triumphal in tone.
“Prayer Doesn’t Aid Recovery, Study Finds.” That was the Washington Post. “Long-Awaited Medical Study Questions the Power of Prayer.” That was the New York Times.
Both papers were describing a study designed to determine the power of prayer. Not only did it show that prayer apparently makes no difference, but some prayed-for patients in the study actually fared worse than the unprayed-for ones.
The research, led by Jeffery Dusek of the Harvard Medical School, involved 1,802 heart-bypass patients. One-third were told they would be prayed for (but they weren’t), one-third were told they might receive prayer, and one-third were told they would definitely be prayed for. Catholics and Protestants who agreed to pray for certain patients were told to ask for “a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications.”
Patients in the two groups that did not know if anyone was praying for them had about the same rate of complications—52 percent—regardless of whether they were being prayed for. But 59 percent of the patients who knew they were being prayed for suffered complications.
The researchers were quick to downplay the unexpected results. Knowing they were being prayed for may have led to stress among patients, they noted. And as one doctor put it, “Did the patients think, ‘I am so sick they had to call in the prayer team?’”
Naturally, some observers were delighted at the results. They think the study proves conclusively that prayer doesn’t work, and it’s time for men of science to “stop dabbling in the supernatural,” as one academic put it.
But wait a minute. The researchers acknowledged that they could not control for the fact that many “unauthorized” people may have interceded for loved ones in the so-called “unprayed-for” group. And plenty of other studies indicate that intercessory prayer does have an impact.
But perhaps the study’s biggest flaw involves how the results were interpreted. Christians know that there are three possible answers to prayer: “Yes,” “no,” and “wait.” The Harvard study measured only the “yes” answers. But just because we don’t get the answer we’re looking for does not mean God is not listening or answering.
We are given a glorious example of this truth by Jesus Himself. On the night before His arrest, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, an agonized Jesus asked God to remove the cup that was before Him. He prayed that He would not have to go to the Cross. And yet, not long afterward, Jesus did die on the Cross.
To a modern researcher, this is the perfect example of a prayer that went unanswered. But we know that God did answer this prayer. He answered it in a way that led, over the next twenty centuries, to salvation for millions. And on Easter Sunday, millions of Christians around the world will thank God for answering it the way He did.
Yes, Jesus died on the Cross. But He rose again on the third day. And thanks to that so-called “unanswered prayer,” you and I can say this Easter, “Hallelujah! Christ is risen!”
And no matter what the researchers tell us, we know we can trust God to hear, and answer, every prayer.
There are links to further information at the source document.
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While many of us believe it to be so, how would someone really know whether prayer worked?
I find it puzzling why some "academics" as they are referred to here, are so anxious to disprove the existence of a higher power.
He's not a tame lion...
"but some prayed-for patients in the study actually fared worse than the unprayed-for ones. "
Sometimes, the answer is no.
That said, I often pray for others as a way to support them and also to benefit from the prayers myself. Of course, I recognize that, being human, all my prayers are most likely for me anyway, despite my attempts to be altruistic with them.
God Bless
I believe in the original study the authors claimed that a group of Evangelical Christians tried to "Fix" the results. I was curious about that statement when I read the first article here at FR. I don't see anyhting about it in this report, which is why I read this post. I guess I need to dig a bit and find out what I really read the first time.
Catholics and Protestants who agreed to pray for certain patients were told to ask for “a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications.”
Why stop there? Why not give God a list of demands? Treat Him like Santa Claus at Christmas?
The Lord's prayer includes "Thy will be done." This is what Christ taught, not this divine bank hold-up used in the "study".
People want God to be Santa Claus, and prayer to work like magic - if I do this ritual, that result will happen.
But it doesn't work like that.
God is interested most in spiritual growth, and we are all the tools in his hands. The seeming no we get from one prayer may be because the caretaker needs to care for us, or because it's time to come home, or because the place we would end up is not the place that would be good for us, or for someone whose life we are going to touch.
Prayer is about relationship, and being open to God, and to sharing our cares, and connecting.
It is not, and never will be x + y = c in a way that the study they did can measure.
This article does not identify the "prayers." THe protestant group was from a Unity church, which is a generally recognized cult that does not specifically even teach in a belief of God. As a former Catholic, I'll withoold my opinion on that group as well. I would also bet that the "Prayers" were paid to pray, which kind if dilutes the fervency of said prayers.
This study was mainly by religious people. The author is a firm believer that prayer on the part of the patient is beneficial, and he works at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (a combination Jewish and Methodist hospital). And two of the participating hospitals were Baptist.
I do think this controlled study gave strong evidence that third-party prayer does nothing. However, other studies do show that prayer on the part of the patient does help. On the other hand, so does meditation. It's not about a deity helping a recovery, but about the mental state of the patient. The mental state of the patient is a known factor in health care, and both prayer and meditation put the patient in a mental state that helps recovery.
So in the end, go ahead and pray. It can't hurt, but prayer on the part of the patient does help.
Simple.
Academic atheists are typically arrogant narcissists who condescendingly "speak down" to other people.
They angrily defy all things Judeo-Christian because they know they will be judged in the hereafter, but pretending it away allows their conceited shallowness to endure.
They are in for a big surprise when they die.
Every single prayer was heard and answered.
HE IS RISEN! Amen! Alive and well and living inside this humble servant, that's for sure!
The flaw in these kinds of silly studies is that the world's definition of "answered" means "yes." For the Christian with unwavering trust in God it doesn't matter what the answer IS...yes, no, wait...it is answered, regardless, because God hears and answers. And He will answer according to His own wisdom and sovereign will, not according to what we think he should do or say. Prayer is always answered in one way or another.
No, but he's good.
The Almighty is not deaf.
A friend of mine drank, alot. He told me God had saved him from drinking. I asked him how he knew God was the one responsible. He told me "Because he's the only one I asked."
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