Does praying for a sick persons recovery do any good?
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 could only guess why. Several scientists questioned the concept of the study. Science “is not designed to study the supernatural,” said Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at the Duke University Medical Center. The researchers emphasized that their $2.4 million US study could not address whether God exists or answers prayers made on another’s behalf. The study could look only for an effect from the specific prayers offered as part of the research, they said. The study “did not move us forward or backward” in understanding the effects of prayer, said Dr. Charles Bethea, a co-author and cardiologist at the Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. “Intercessory prayer under our restricted format had a neutral
