Do Thoughts and Prayers Work?
Summary
New generations want spirituality that is real. Not some flight of fantasy. Thoughts and prayers are the butt of jokes. But do they actually work, or are they a convenient fantasy? The short answer is yes, they work. The long answer is, it’s very complicated.
Bible reference verse
“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5: 14-15 (NASB)
Primary to understanding if prayer works is whether or not there is a spiritual world. If there isn’t, prayer can’t work. If there is, why wouldn’t prayer work? First we’ll look at the spiritual world.
The spiritual world is the arena of the superconscious. It’s the ability of the mind of the person to go beyond its physical limits. There are many definitions of spiritual, but for this article I’ll limit the scope to just this ability.
People who scientifically study Near Death Experiences (NDEs), find commonly repeating patterns in them that can’t be explained by science. Replication validates them. In addition, they see things in the physical world that they were unable to see, leading credibility to their experience.
The CIA found that remote viewing can be done by some people with 95% accuracy, and others have found that multiple people doing remote viewing increases accuracy. It’s an ability that most can develop to an extent. I personally can see to the end of my nose.
The NOETIC Institute, founded by a former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, does scientific studies on the paranormal. Their findings validate that there is a spiritual world or paranormal abilities, and are beyond reproach.
Second, we’ll look at scientifically done studies of spirituality and prayer.
The common complaint that thoughts and prayers are not enough, is still valued. As a practical matter, those who can should take action on events and conditions in our world that cause suffering.
The Governor of New York declared my hair a disaster area. I don’t even live in New York. I’m not complaining – my wife does. At my age I’m lucky to still have hair. Prayer hasn’t helped it.
End Summary
Deep dive
Can prayer be scientifically studied?
Possibly. The parameters have to be very specific and studies very well designed.
Studies are very easily corrupted. There are many confounding factors in scientific studies of this type:
- The beliefs of the people doing the study create bias. Some may fudge the statistics to show better results, such as removing people who die. Confirmation bias also applies in that some don’t believe there is a spiritual world and attack studies and explain them away, saying, “it could have happened this way,” never offering proof or accepting the results as valid. They believe that if science can’t explain it, it doesn’t exist. Tradition and reputation can also cloud judgment, asserting that exceptional proof is required if the results go against standard thinking in the field. Bias can happen in any scientific study. Faith healing scams in the 20th Century make prayer difficult to accept as having an impact.
- Psychological, sociological, and medical studies are notoriously difficult to replicate. Up to 64% fail to be replicated. The reasons include poor study design, small sample sizes, publication bias (favoring positive results), and lack of detailed methodology reporting. This is considered a replication crisis in these fields. If a study can’t be replicated to give the same results, it fails the scientific method.
- The endpoint (outcome) may not be well defined or may be too short or long, so actual results are left out or confounded by other factors. Outcomes can be reinterpreted or subjected to endless questioning.
- Some believe studying prayer outcomes is “testing God,” which is purposely doing something to see if God will intervene. Well, people don’t get sick on purpose to test God. Others believe that prayer is not mediated by God at all, but is simply a paranormal device.
- Some consider the vicissitudes and variables of prayer to be impossible to interpret. They don’t feel that the scientific method can apply.
- Some think that prayer only works for certain people, such as practicing Christians.
- Meta studies, which look at the results from all studies, can include studies with bad data and bad experimental design, giving misleading results.
- Prayer for yourself is differentiated from interceding for others. Generally studies show that praying for yourself is effective. Intercession for others gives mixed results. It may be that simply having a positive attitude affects outcome.
- It may be (my opinion) that we don’t physically move mountains with prayer, and we can generalize that to mean we are much less likely to change end of life outcomes. We are less likely to affect processes that don’t have biological remedies, such as some types of arterial sclerosis. Prayer is more likely to affect biological processes, such as recovery time from bacteria and viruses.
- Most of the things we worry about get better on their own. Only ~8% of things we worry about actually happen. To test prayer on things that might happen, tests would only get a maximum 8% result. In perspective, 5% (P value of .05) is considered statistically significant. The P value could only reach 8%, and that’s a big ask when there is only 8% available. Wowzer. That’s a tough reach for any scientific study.
In the medical field, viral and bacterial infections generally clear on their own without medical intervention. Bones heal. Changing lifestyle can improve heart, back, diabetes, and other conditions. It’s difficult to know if prayer actually helped. So anecdotal evidence of prayer working about worries and medical conditions is not scientifically valid. It simply reinforces the person’s beliefs. - Correlation doesn’t mean causation. For example, the sun doesn’t cause day and the moon doesn’t cause night, even though we may have 100% correlations for the sun.
The Earth’s rotation causes both day and night by changing the position of the sun’s rays hitting the Earth.
This is a major problem with studies we hear in the news. Scientists spot a correlation and notify the public. They’re often wrong about the cause. For example, it may be that healthy people are the ones that take care of themselves, and part of that care regimen may be taking vitamins. Vitamins and supplements can help. I take several noted for more rapid healing from viruses. These and prayer helps. But vitamins and supplements are also notorious for creating expensive urine. Many are more hype than reality. - Religion, such as belief in Jesus, is confirmed by the fact that following his teachings bring us a better life. This doesn’t necessarily mean there is a spiritual world, even though I and others believe there is.
- We have to consider that the answer may be: “No. You’re not going to get a palace and a Rolls Royce. That’s reserved for Assad and you know what happened to him. Still want it?” Just kidding.
Are prayer experiments legitimate? Twenty criticisms
Example of intuition, a difficult to study phenomenon
Intuition is scientifically valid, with exceptions. Intuition – It’s More Than a Feeling. It’s one of those things science finds difficult to study.
“Intuition can be thought of as insight that arises spontaneously without conscious reasoning,” according to a Scientific American article. Most just call it a “gut feeling.”
I used to say that I like to have all my ducks in a row, then let my intuition decide. There are usually many ways to reach a goal. Research will sometimes support one more than another. Research is the rational approach.
In the end, given competing ways to get to a goal, you have to make a decision. Intuition is a good way of choosing which way to get to the goal. Experience and emotion are important components in intuition.
Noted about intuition are these findings:
Brain activity: Studies have shown specific brain regions associated with intuition, demonstrating a neurological basis for this phenomenon.
Pattern recognition: Psychologists believe intuition relies on the brain’s ability to quickly identify patterns based on past experiences, allowing for rapid decision-making.
Context matters: Research suggests intuition is most reliable in situations where individuals have extensive experience and knowledge within a particular domain.
Dangers of using intuition
Our decisions are often influenced by how a question is framed. The Scientific American article alludes to this. We are more influenced by the loss of something we have than by the possibility of gaining something. So when questions are posed as loss, we’re less likely to choose loss. If it’s reframed as gain, we’re more likely to choose gain.
An environment full of noise from conflicting opinions and other distractions can also cloud our intuition. This is true in studies of the spiritual or paranormal world as well.
Our own biases or lack of education on a topic can get in the way.
Emotions can strongly influence intuition, sometimes leading to biases in decision-making.
Scientists find ways to study psychological influences and things like intuition. It also finds ways to study spirituality even if some scientists refuse to believe.
Studies on intercessory prayer
In this section I’ll list several studies and their results. These all were well designed studies with positive results.
The Institute of Noetic Science is known for its scientific approach to studying the unseen world. A recent study, “Thoughts and Prayers” is Now Evidence-Based, had an outcome of 10,000 to 1 odds. They do intention based studies, such as this one where they posed the question, will “beneficial intentions—a blessing—directed toward chocolate would elevate the mood of people who ate it, more than the exact same chocolate that wasn’t blessed.” That was a huge yes.
From the US Government PubMed: Prayer and healing: A medical and scientific perspective on randomized controlled trials.
A study of “219 consecutive infertile women, aged 26-46 years, who were treated with in vitro fertilization embryo transfer in Seoul, South Korea. These women were randomized into distant prayer and control groups. Prayer was conducted by prayer groups in the USA, Canada and Australia.”
“… the women who had been prayed for had nearly twice as high a pregnancy rate as those who had not been prayed for (50 vs. 26%; P <0.005). Furthermore, the women who had been prayed for showed a higher implantation rate than those who had not been prayed for (16.3 vs. 8%; P <0.001). Finally, the benefits of prayer were independent of clinical or laboratory providers and clinical variables. Thus, this study showed that distant prayer facilitates implantation and pregnancy.”
Odds of this being pure chance was less than thirteen out of ten thousand.
“… a study on the effect of intercessory prayer on wound healing in a nonhuman primate species. The sample comprised 22 bush babies (Otolemur garnettii) with wounds resulting from chronic self-injurious behavior.”
“the prayer group animals had a greater reduction in wound size and a greater improvement in hematological parameters than the control animals.” This study removed the possibility of a placebo effect.
In the same article, a study of cardiology patients showed no significant effect. This is consistent with many other cardiology studies.
In two studies in the coronary care units, significant results were obtained. The Byrd study in 1988 was one, but others failed to replicate it. The other was reported as A Randomized, Controlled Trial of the Effects of Remote, Intercessory Prayer on Outcomes in Patients Admitted to the Coronary Care Unit. In this study, “Remote, intercessory prayer was associated with lower CCU course scores. This result on 999 patients suggests that prayer may be an effective adjunct to standard medical care.”
This was a study of 3393 adult patients whose bloodstream infection was detected at the hospital. Remote, retroactive intercessory prayer said for a group is associated with a shorter stay in hospital and shorter duration of fever in patients with a bloodstream infection and should be considered for use in clinical practice.
This study is why I say that studies should concentrate on results on viruses and bacteria. It and other studies have even worked retroactively, which is really spooky.
Meta studies on intercessory prayer
Even meta-analyses give conflicting results. What do you want to believe?
“In the one hundred plus years of studying and discussing intercessory prayer, there have been conflicting results. The findings of prominent intercessory prayer studies have found positive correlations, negative correlations, and no correlation.” Livin’ on a Prayer: An Analysis of Intercessory Prayer Studies.
The following meta study is more revealing:
“a meta-analysis of several studies related to distant intercessory healing published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2000 looked at 2774 patients in 23 studies, and found that 13 studies showed statistically significant positive results, 9 studies showed no effect, and 1 study showed a negative result.” Efficacy of prayer.
Can Science Prove that Prayer Works?
What Can Science Say About the Study of Prayer?
Conclusion after this about church planning:
Church planning season – strong impact course
How can churches minister to new generations if they won’t come to church? The church has been losing people at 1% a year, and now most of new generations won’t come.
I developed and presented a course on understanding and working with new generations. I would like to say I had rave reviews, but on a scale of 1 to 5 it averaged 4.5. Well, some people were raving.
The course helps people understand new generations, their values, and their differences. It helps people understand how to build a bridge to them and minister to them. The old worn-out things we used to do don’t work, and for good reason. This solutions focused course enables people to find new ways, appropriate ways, to minister to these generations in their local circumstances. It’s for church groups and generates deep discussion. </p>
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Course on Udemy: Understanding and Working with New Generations
Conclusion
The difference between knowledge and faith is slight. Knowledge is proven or generated through the scientific method, which is based on testing and experience. Faith is proven through exercising belief based on experience. Blind faith is taboo. Experiential faith is based on the love of God. In blind faith, God can be frivolous.
Christian faith is not blind faith because it’s supported by objective factors and is reasonable from thousands of years of experience. It’s supported by experience and intuition. People abandon faith that doesn’t work.
On the practical side, the way to live that Jesus showed us works. Like most things in life, it isn’t 100%, but it’s much better to live by than alternatives.
On the spiritual side, do things like prayer work? In my deep study and publications, the answer is yes.
There is a spiritual world. The evidence may be contested by those who don’t want to believe, but the evidence is strong. Why would there not be effective prayer?
Scientific studies of prayer for healing for others have given contradictory results. Results may depend on the belief of the people doing the testing, poor experimental design, and other confounding factors.
I think if you’re asking to move solid objects or to extend life during end-of-life situations, you’re on shaky ground. But if you ask to affect biological agents like bacteria and viruses, you are more likely to get positive results. This seems to be supported in the studies literature.
While God can work miracles, often God acts through human efforts and scientific advancements. We are instruments of God, using our skills and knowledge to bring about positive change. For example, we have vaccines that prevent major diseases, made by many scientists who are religious.
The power of prayer is awesome. The power of each of us is awesome. Our answer is God. God’s answer is us. Together we make the world better.
Probability Space
What probability spaces can we open in our minds to develop practices that cultivate a deeper connection to the superconscious and enhance our spiritual awareness? How can we effectively integrate spiritual principles into our daily lives to foster personal growth and contribute to a more compassionate and just world?
(A probability space is where all of the elements necessary for something to happen are present and it’s almost inevitable. All it takes is intention.)
Potential Space
If you think creatively and allow your mind to wander and explore, what role does discernment play in evaluating the validity and usefulness of spiritual experiences? How can we reconcile the subjective nature of spiritual insights with the objective demands of scientific inquiry?
(A potential space is where entirely new things can happen.)
More: Is Music A Form Of Prayer?
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My friend, David Ketcherside, former Christian broadcaster, has written a book series that I gave feedback on. It’s for men, written from his experience, thoughtful analysis, and heart. Gen A, Z, and X (Millennials) would find it very helpful. It’s available in print, on Kindle, and as an audiobook on Audible. Check out The Whole Dude. His description: “My hope is to remind readers what being whole looks like, and help them recognize the distortions that stop us from feeling totally awesome all the time.” He’s also excellent at marketing if you have marketing needs.
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Bible scripture verses are New American Standard Version (NASB), unless noted.
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Author and books
Appease the Volcano: What does God require from people? The voices of the ancients from many religions echo much of the same things: It starts with law, then mercy and forgiveness, then love. Love is a major emphasis in all major religions and replaces law.
The Prophetic Pattern: Ancient and Modern Prophecy: How to distinguish the intent of various types of prophecies and oracles, both ancient and modern.
Preparing For the Future Of Work and Education: Analysis of the kinds of jobs that AI and Robotics will displace, and the educational requirements for them. AI will replace or augment thirty percent of jobs. This is an in-depth analysis citing many authoritative sources.
Author Website: Dorian Scott Cole
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