Praying for a sick person speeds recovery – Not supported

For example, Krucoff et al.[35] reported no benefits with off-site prayer in patients (n = 748) undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions and Astin et al.[36] found that neither remote prayer delivered by professional healers nor remote prayer delivered by nurses with no training or experience in distance healing resulted in benefits to patients (n = 156) with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-defining opportunistic infections. Benson et al.[37] described a triple-blind, randomized controlled study that examined whether remote intercessory prayer influenced recovery after coronary artery bypass graft surgery and whether the certainty of being prayed for was associated with better outcomes.

Checking your browser before accessing pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Click here if you are not automatically redirected after 5 seconds

Checking your browser before accessing pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · Click here if you are not automatically redirected after 5 seconds

Intercessory prayer has different effects that favor the recovery of patients and improve the prognosis, which is why it can be recommended as an adjuvant therapy for patients with terminal illnesses or critically ill patients.

Scientists have no way to measure the existence of a higher power, of course. And they’ve done little research on any health benefits of prayer, largely because of a lack of funding in the medical community for spiritual research, says David H.

I come to You now asking that You would work a full recovery in my body - whatever is causing this persistent problem. I pray that You would, in Your mercy, give me back the health and strength I need. Guide me along the path that You have planned for me. ... Think, O' God, of our friend who is ill, whom we now commend to Your compassionate regard. Comfort him/her upon his/her sickbed, and ease his/her suffering.

The benefits of intercessonary prayer are more controversial. A 2007 review of research on intercessonary prayer concluded that most of the data is equivocal and that "it is not sensible to interpret any of the interesting results with great confidence." The following issues exist in studying prayer and healing. Some are true of most medical research and some are unique to prayer. ... In a healthcare setting, there are several sanctioned roles for a spiritual adviser, including chaplain, ordained clergy, rabbi, priest, minister, and spiritual director.

A recent survey of more than 1,100 ... health and recovery. But, only 6 percent of these doctors believed it had any effect on the “hard” medical endpoints, such as speed of recovery or death....

But if you’re like me, you may not have prayed diligently that God would heal. We generally feel like we know how the typical winter sicknesses progress, and although we might quickly pray for recovery, we expect them to pass regardless.