If Prayer works, why dont we stop all medical research? read on...?

Question

from someone's post:

"there was article in the local paper a few years back that said there was study and people in the hospital who were prayed for got better by forty percent over people who did not get prayed for.I could tell you of some actual mighty miraculous miracles have witnessed.but there is so many.and there so wonderful and amazing you probably wouldn't believe me.I am going to include you in my prayers tonight, i Will make a very special prayer for you, with total faith that you will do fine.very fine."

what i believe in is that they will all have a 40% success rate even if the one's who pray are pastafarians and the patients dont know and they pray in a different unintelligible language.

PLACEBO

i wonder which placebo would work better:

prayer or a billion dollar reward for those who will get better... both using the same medical practices btw.

you all say that prayer changes things(not "prayer to the christian god")... and i can see the conclusion that prayer does change things regardles which god you are praying to... mine's mother goose...

hence, placebo

lol Jan you surprised me with your comeback.

the mud was the placebo. see? even jesus doesnt believe in god. (kidding)

im thinking of another bottomline.

prayer doesnt help heal sick wild animals.

Answer 1

I believe that person is mistaken.

Earlier this year, in a study in England -- and circulated widely via the AP on March 30, 2006 -- it was found that prayer had absolutely no positive effect on a patient's recovery. People who were prayed for -- and didn't know they were being prayed for -- got well (or worse) in statistically the same numbers as those who weren't.

Most interesting in the study was that those patients who *knew* they were being prayed for actually got *worse* in slightly higher numbers than others.

So, prayer does nothing and, in some cases, may actually be harmful. Interesting.....

Answer 2

If the patient under medical care....is being prayed for and is unaware of the prayer and does not believe in the religious denomination that is praying for them....I guess it would have a placebo affect.

If the patient is aware of the prayer and condones the religious denomination that is praying....then it will be more than a placebo affect. Belief will accomplish a better result.

As for the medical research...there should be no reason to stop research....we all believe in medicine and are aware of the affects of illness. To heal the body we go to the doctor. To heal the soul we go to?????(fill in the blank). To heal the mind....we find peace within our self.

The components of the human being are intricate and finely tuned.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, there have been reported cases of healings when the patient has no knowledge of being prayed for at the time. For example, healings of babies, people in comas, people who are not at the same location as those praying for them, and resurrections (and yes, there are reported cases of ressurections, within the last few years in fact). Secondly, there are miracles which don't necessarily involve healing, such as recently, during the war in East Timor before gaining independence from Indonesia, there were reports of events similar to those of feeding the five thousand. Suprisingly enough, rice does not respond to placebo. You don't have to believe in these miracles, I'm not asking you to.

Thirdly, if you do believe in God, you also believe that medicine is given as a gift by God, so refusing to develop it and so forth would be to reject something granted by God.

Answer 4

Well, being a person who believes that pray is more than a placebo I need to say that medical research needs to continue because every prayer for physical healing isn't answered the way we want it to be answered. If it were there would be no reason for doctors etc.

Sometimes the answer to prayer is.....wait, other times it is death, other times it is healing.

Prayer isn't in the answer but more in the communication with the creator. In order to have a relationship with someone (even God) there needs to be communication.

Answer 5

it is God that answers prayers. if we stop the few ways on which God could answer our prayer like the reaseches, then how could we have the answer when we pray?? God works in ways that are so human. what i'm telling is, it is not always miracles that happen to answer a prayer. oftentimes, God intercede through human acts to answer our prayer. well i believe it is not a loss of faith when we trust God that a medical research would be successful against something that migjht cause a huge advancement to all human activities.

Answer 6

I guess first you'd have to answer does your praying work, and if it does, what Spirit form are you praying too. I think the thing with people now a days is they here of one called God, learn that he is all loving all kind and that he answers prayers and whallaaa they decide to pray, First to clarify for all who might want to know, read one scripture and decide whether it is God that is answering your prayers, because you see there is only one type of people that God answers prayers for and that is stated in

John 9:31
Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

Lets not forget that we have a great adversary called satan, whom if we all took a good look at the bible would learn has powers beyond most peoples knowledge for example for those "PENTACOSTALS" who believe that through their great prayers miracles happen and people are healed and those sorts of things, God says

2 Thessalonians 2:11
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Lets be realistic the way we are living our lives, do we deserve for god to answer our prayers? if your living unrighteous (if you want to know whats considered unrighteious, read 1corinthians6:9 ) God isnt hearing what you might call prayer.

Answer 7

Lets approach this critically. At creation God made herbs and other wonderful things to help man cope with the present world.

Most times we pray for God to use what he has created to help us. And this prayer must be by faith. Prayer ofcourse is not done for healing alone, but a meanse by which we talk to God.

However you cannot rely completly on medison because without prayer and belief it will fail. Let me give you a good example:

Jesus Christ bent down spat on the ground, mixed it with sand and formed a mud. He used the mud to heal the blind. What do you say to this?

Think and do not question the supremacy of Prayer to God.

Answer 8

that's a good question, i see where your coming from. God is so mighty that maybe oneday he will make it so we don't need doctors, but for that to hapen, first we hav to get everyone to belive because if anyone doesn't belive in what they pray 100%, then their prayers not going to work the way they want it. also, if it happened that way, then when god decided it was time for someone to leave this plannet and he wanted to use a medical reaon to take them, then when people prayed for them and they didn't get better, they would totally blame god for it. it's sad, but i think its also true.
WOW, its amazing what happens when i think, i actually figure out stuff. LOL
thanx for the question though, i think it just helped me in some ways i can't explain
xx--megan--xx

Answer 9

This is true. As George Carlin put it, you'd have just as good of odds praying to Joe Pesci as you would to God. The thing about prayer is it makes people feel like they can do something when there is really nothing else they can do. SItting in your hospital room at night wondering if you are going to make it, it gives you comfort to talk to the almighty being you believe in and ask him to make you better. That's really all it is. I have to admit I do believe in prayer and I pray everyday, but I kind of look at it as a life raft I refuse to let go of. I understand that my prayers do not always get answered yet it gives me a certain level of comfort to pray anyway.

Answer 10

I always wondered what the point of prayers of request were when God already knows what you want, what you think, and what's best for everyone. Not that I believe God exists...

The only praying I do these days is to thankfully enjoy the life I have been given by whoever or whatever.