The power of prayer

[EastMidsMummy]

We've been debating in the another thread about whether prayer can bring comfort to teenagers who might be stressed about their exams. One poster suggested widening the subject to ask about the power of prayer in general.

So, could someone explain more to me about the power of Christian prayer? If prayer 'works', does that mean that God brings extra comfort for people who've been prayed for compared to those who haven't? Why does God need prayer to do this? Why wouldn't He do it anyway?

I was taught as a child (convent school) that prayer was a way for you to feel closer to God, Jesus or the Virgin Mary, and that if you opened your heart to them, they would fill you with strength and love.

I was also taught that God doesn't work directly by influencing events, but only by influencing people.

That would seem to indicate that praying for someone who doesn't know about it, is not going to work. However, if you said to someone Christian, "I'll pray for you during this time of trouble", they would find it a comfort, at least.

(I was at Catholic convent - I was moved to another school after 3 years and my family weren't Catholic, so I don't know if this is current Catholic teaching or what. Other churches may have a different viewpoint.)

I'd be interested to know if there have ever been any empirical studies on this. EG three groups: one group who is told "we're praying for you", one group who is told nothing but is prayed for anyway, and one group who isn't told anything or prayed for. Actually maybe four groups: another group who is told they will be prayed for, but aren't.

empirical studies

Harvard did one

Interesting link, thanks Alan!

"One theory is that those who knew so many outsiders were praying for them felt a stressful anxiety to do well. "It might have made them uncertain, wondering, Am I so sick they had to call in their prayer team?" says Charles Bethea, a cardiologist at Integris Baptist Medical Center, who was part of the research group in Oklahoma City."

Yes I've got to say I would find that very worrying if it happened to me. A bit like waking up from the anesthetic and finding the priest giving you the last rites

It sounds like this was basically run as "Oh and by the way Mr Smith, we're going to have our Prayer Team praying for you during surgery and recovery, okay?" - so the patient wouldn't know the people praying or have any connection to them. I think if the patient was a church goer and was told the congregation were praying for him, it would perhaps have been more comforting.

Yeah which suggests the power of the prayer is just psychology and that there's nothing supernatural. But besides the participants have had to agree before hand and would have met with the researchers to explain the study. Not doing so would have breached serious and hefty research requirements.

Yes that would be my take, I certainly don't think that someone praying has a physical effect on anything.

I have seen studies where there has been a link shown between positive mental attitude towards a disease, emotional support from friends and family (which is the label I'd put on praying), and the outcome of the disease. However, correlation is not causation of course.

Ime of friends who pray on the street, asking passes by if they'd like prayer, the vast majority say yes and are very heartened to have it offered. So not everyone thinks uh-oh, thinks must be bad if they're paying.

I understand where you're coming from, op. Eg I can't pray 'please have mercy' bcs God is merciful. To me it's insulting to ASK him to be merciful when he so clearly and extravagantly is merciful.

I suppose I do see prayer as 'your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven' ie bringing 'heaven' to earth, directly into people lives. Almost like a legal proclamation in a way: this is God's law, we insist on it on earth and in the heavenlies, the spiritual realm. 'Your will be done'. It's work, really.

Quite a lot going on in the heavenlies, mind. Not all good...

Typos!