Can the effects of prayer be observed and studied?

[ZombieHorde]

For example: http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=prayer+hospital+surgery+researchers+help&hl=en&ned=us&sa=N&cid=8616082352898117

[Catch22Dem]

1. No different than me asking Santa for a Red Ryder BB Gun (n/t)

[Pyrzqxgl]

2. There's no way to prove prayer works!

If there was there would be books showing examples, not speculation.

[ZombieHorde]

3. What do you think of the example I posted?

[rgbecker]

7. Since reading that study, I'm very careful not to tell anyone I'm praying for them.

They think it makes people nervous if they hear people are praying for them, but they don't know if it is because the patients are convinced things are really bad if everyone thinks they need prayers or if they are just concerned that they are causing people anxiety with their illness. The big question this all raises is what if you pray up the wrong GOD and cause some sort of short circuit between the Jesus, Mary, Mohamed, Buddha, the Lord?

[Taverner]

4. Yes they can - and the conclusion is prayer has no significant effect

[varkam]

5. So long as people make positive claims about prayer's ability to do certain things....

then yes, it can be studied.

[islandmkl]

6. does voodoo work..or not?

accomplishments of the mind should not be confused with 'higher power' answering the 'call'...

[Random_Australian]

8. Yes, it has been observed and studied. It didn't do anything, though.

(Well, one would expect it has various psychological effects on the person saying it, and I suspect those have been studied as well)

[TZ]

11. self-delete

[Ian David]

9. If prayer worked, Bush would have turned into a pillar of salt by now. n/t

[FirstLight]

10. Try reading "The Isiah Effect" by Gregg Braden

Prayer is nothing more than aligning our consciousness to a possibility. T
he longer we hold that vibration the better the chance it will appear in our field of expereince or expression.
Of course, the universe is not clear on specifics, and sometimes we get what we asked for, when the question could have been worded differently....or the intention behind the question is not clear, so we get a lesson in disguise.

I do believe it is associated with the power of the mind, but the trick is to align your Self with the 'cosmic mind' right?

[Goblinmonger]

14. Wow

you and I could not be much more different. :hi:

[John Gauger]

12. Yes, it can be observed doing nothing.

[Occam Bandage]

13. Any particular claim about prayer can of course be observed/studied.

Such studies have yet to indicate any advantage to prayer.

[tinrobot]

15. Praying for what?

Praying for a new car? Praying for another person's illness to go away? Praying for your own illness to go away? Praying for clarity in a difficult situation?

Prayer probably won't get you the new car or heal other people, because those things are external. But it can calm your own brain and relieve stress so you heal faster or find the clarity that you seek.

There have been numerous studies where they put Buddhist monks into brain scan machines to see what meditation does. It has been proven to significantly alter brain patterns, relieve stress, and do a lot of other great things. Since prayer is just another form of meditation, I think it can have profound effects on a person's individual well being.

[ZombieHorde]

16. "Since prayer is just another form of meditation"

I think that this depends on how you pray. A 10 second prayer; "God, please deliver us from liberals, small cars, and recycling. Amen" probably will not yield the same results as 30 minutes of meditation.