"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. Doctors in the $2.4 million study could only guess why.
The researchers emphasized that the study could not address God’s existence or answer prayers made on another’s behalf. It looked only for an effect from the specific prayers offered in the research, they said.
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 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.
Researchers tested the effect of having three Christian groups pray for particular patients, starting the night before surgery and continuing for two weeks.
The study looked for complications within 30 days of the surgery. Results showed no effect of prayer on complication-free recovery.
But 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."
Accidental Blogger 
2 responses to “Pray For My Health? May Be Not”
It would worry me to know that others were worrying about me. The more I worry, the more I tend to be susceptible to illness or physical discomfort. That’s just me, but I know other people for whom it’s the same way.
If someone says “I’ll be praying for you” I try to be as polite as possible, and I ususally say “Thanks for your concern”… but inside, I tend to think they ought not to add worries about me to their plates. And at the same time, I add their worries to MY plate. Even though it starts out with the best of intentions, I have found that worry builds upon worry, often needlessly.
I like what George Carlin said about praying, in that he prayed to God for a long time, but now he prays to the sun. The success rate of his prayers is the same, about 50%, and he can SEE the sun.
I’m an agnostic, and while I know others mean well when they pray, I can’t help wanting to roll my eyes. I tend to be a “show-me” kind of person. I tend strongly toward secular humanism, and I try to avoid what I consider superstitious behaviors or magical thinking. Those things have been part of my OCD throughout my life, and it has only been during the past 6-8 years I have given up on trying to find a “personal relationship with God”… and these have been some of the most relaxed years of my life. I’m 48, so it was too long in coming. But it did, and I am a much happier person!
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It definitely has to do with anxiety. First, as the article says because you may worry that you are “really” sick if people have to pray for you. Second, if you are a believer, then you also don’t want the power of prayer to fail by kicking the bucket. That too can make you anxious.
The problem with the overly religious is that they are NOT the “show me” kind of people like you and me. They operate on faith and that is not open to debate. Which is fine with me as long as they don’t get huffy when others reject their lure of eternal life, kingdom of heaven, seventy two virgins etc. And with such goodies awaiting the believers after death, why are they afraid of dying ? One would think that instead of a speedy recovery, their friends should actually pray for their hasty departure so they can partake of the prize. Doesn’t make sense to me.
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