Is Prayer Good for Your Health?

Is Prayer Good for Your Health?

www.alternet.org

Arising partly out of religious belief and partly out of frustration with high-tech medicine, millions of prayers cross the lips of patients, family members, and even doctors and nurses each day in America's hospitals and examining rooms.

That has prompted a post-2000 wave of research aimed at determining what, if anything, all that praying accomplishes: Can it directly improve patients' health? Does it simply soothe? What happens if the patients aren't told they are being prayed for?

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is something that I've always been interested in.

The question for me is this;
Is it merely the power of positive thought?
or is it the "power" of prayer?

Whichever of these is true, it seems that we have the power to help ourselves if we believe enough that what we are doing does actually help.

www.alternet.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

I have no doubt that prayer has an effect on the patients health. Well at least when the patient does the praying himself and he actually believes in what he is doing.

The placebo effect has been researched quite a bit

reply to post by Alphard


In the article, there is mention of the fact that very sick people have become better after others prayed for them, even when they (the sick person) did not know they were being prayed for.

I find this interesting - of course it may just be coincidence and I'd really like to see some stats or tangible evidence, but I'm pretty sure they don't exist.

Now would anyone like to pray for me so that this bloody flu goes away

Of course I have prayed for you, your flu will go away in 2 days