Prayer

Do you think it works?

Statistics were acquired from the prayer and placebo groups both before and after prayer, until the patients were discharged from the hospital. There were no statistical differences between the placebo and the prayer groups before prayer was initiated. The results demonstrated that patients who were prayed for suffered "less congestive heart failure, required less diuretic and antibiotic therapy, had fewer episodes of pneumonia, had fewer cardiac arrests, and were less frequently intubated and ventilated." Statistics demonstrated the the prayer group had a statistically significantly lower severity score based upon the hospital course after entry (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis of all the parameters measured demonstrated that the outcomes of the two groups were even more statistically significant (p < 0.0001). In science, the standard level of significance is when a "p value" is less than 0.05. A value of 0.01 means that the likelihood the result is because of chance is one in 100. A p value of 0.0001 indicates that in only one study out of 10,000 is the result likely to be due to chance. Table 2 from the study is reproduced below. The remarkable thing which one notices is that nearly every parameter measured is affected by prayer, although individually many categories do not reach the level of statistical significance due to sample size. However, multivariate analysis, which compares all parameters together produces a level of significance seldom reached in any scientific study (p < 0.0001). The author points out that the method used in this study does not produce the maximum effect of prayer, since the study could not control for the effect of outside prayer (i.e., it is likely many of the placebo group were prayed for by persons outside of the study). It is likely that a study which used only atheists (who had no Christian family or friends) would produce an even more dramatic result. However, since atheists make up only 1-2% of the population, it would be difficult to obtain a large enough sample size.

I have this running argument with my husband. He claims that it was the medical treatments that made me well, and all the meditating in the world would not have "fixed" me. I counter by saying that it was the meditating that gave me the peace of mind and the strength to enable me to get through my treatments successfully.

I think that prayer, for a believer, accomplishes the same thing as my meditating. But it is not a higher power that heals, but the ability of human beings to achieve an more efficient immune system. I DO believe in a strong mind-body connection.

Does your husband not believe in a mind-body connection?

How often do you do it?

Do you do it in earnest or do you do it out of habit?

What is prayer to you?

Do you think it works

Seed wrote:

Do you think it works?

Quote:

Statistics were acquired from the prayer and placebo groups both before and after prayer, until the patients were discharged from the hospital. There were no statistical differences between the placebo and the prayer groups before prayer was initiated. The results demonstrated that patients who were prayed for suffered "less congestive heart failure, required less diuretic and antibiotic therapy, had fewer episodes of pneumonia, had fewer cardiac arrests, and were less frequently intubated and ventilated." Statistics demonstrated the the prayer group had a statistically significantly lower severity score based upon the hospital course after entry (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis of all the parameters measured demonstrated that the outcomes of the two groups were even more statistically significant (p < 0.0001). In science, the standard level of significance is when a "p value" is less than 0.05. A value of 0.01 means that the likelihood the result is because of chance is one in 100. A p value of 0.0001 indicates that in only one study out of 10,000 is the result likely to be due to chance. Table 2 from the study is reproduced below. The remarkable thing which one notices is that nearly every parameter measured is affected by prayer, although individually many categories do not reach the level of statistical significance due to sample size. However, multivariate analysis, which compares all parameters together produces a level of significance seldom reached in any scientific study (p < 0.0001). The author points out that the method used in this study does not produce the maximum effect of prayer, since the study could not control for the effect of outside prayer (i.e., it is likely many of the placebo group were prayed for by persons outside of the study). It is likely that a study which used only atheists (who had no Christian family or friends) would produce an even more dramatic result. However, since atheists make up only 1-2% of the population, it would be difficult to obtain a large enough sample size.

do u think that prayer and god helped people through illnesses ???

because i believe that it is pretty much the same as therapy talking about your problems and putting things into perspective and so you recieve less stress and lets be honest stress does cause physical illness whether it be CHD or the FLU it makes you ill if not relieved

so i put it to you is it God that helps or relief of stress??

Max209 wrote:

do u think that prayer and god helped people through illnesses ???

because i believe that it is pretty much the same as therapy talking about your problems and putting things into perspective and so you recieve less stress and lets be honest stress does cause physical illness whether it be CHD or the FLU it makes you ill if not relieved

so i put it to you is it God that helps or relief of stress??

No, I do not believe it is God. In fact, I am agnostic. I don't know (nor does anyone else!) whether there is a God or not.

I understand that the mind is part of the body. Therefore, if one attends to the mind, as in meditation/positive thoughts/keeping things in perspective, I believe that affects how the body reacts.

:wink:

Yes I pray. Almost always right before I go to sleep and through out the day. I have had some incredible spiritual experiences.

Yes I pray. Almost always right before I go to sleep and through out the day. I have had some incredible spiritual experiences.