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| The Healing Power of Prayer Numerous reports from across various cultures and traditions testify to the power of prayer. People who were gravely ill experienced a sudden improvement or full recovery when they were being prayed for. Some have reported seeing their loved ones in the room with them comforting them and praying. The loved ones were indeed praying for them, but they were hundreds, even thousands, of miles away. Even mainstream mass media have been paying attention. Following are a few recent reports by ABC News, BBC World Service, and CNN. ABC News Can Prayer Heal? Scientists Suggest Recovery May Be the Hand of God at Work. High in the Himalayas of Nepal, Kopan Buddhist Monks are praying for a man named "Jimmy P." Halfway around the world, American Sufi Muslims join in. Fundamentalist Christians add their prayers, as do Orthodox Jews at Jerusalem’s Western Wall. "Jimmy P," a heart patient at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, is part of a global scientific experiment trying to find out: Does prayer heal? The experiment was launched by Dr. Mitch Krucoff, a cardiologist at Duke University Medical Center. "If in addition to all the prayer routinely going on all the time, we were to add prayers from religious groups all over the world focused on one individual's recovery, is there a measurable incremental benefit?" he wondered. So he is putting prayer to the test in a global scientific study that is scheduled to be completed next year. Read the article BBC World Service Healing power of prayer revealed Research shows prayer has a beneficial effect. A massive study has found that patients admitted to hospital with heart trouble fare better if someone is praying for them. None of those involved were told that people were engaging in what is known as "intercessory prayer" on their behalf. Just over half of these, picked at random, were made the subject of intercessory prayer. However, on average, the 500 patients prayed for had 11% less complications during their stay in hospital. Read the article CNN Probing the power of prayer Most research in the field looks at how people who are sick are affected by their own spiritual beliefs and practices. In general, these studies have suggested that people who are religious seem to heal faster or cope with illness more effectively than do the nondevout. But a few scientists have taken a further step: They're trying to find out if you can help strangers by praying for them without their knowledge. A recent, controversial study of cardiac patients conducted at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, concludes that this type of prayer -- known as intercessory prayer -- may indeed make a difference. "Prayer may be an effective adjunct to standard medical care," says cardiac researcher William Harris, Ph.D., who headed the St. Luke's study. The study was published in the October 25, 1999 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Read the article |
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| Guide to Effective Prayer |