Prove that prayer works.?

Question

My mother said that just this morning a squirrel was in the middle of two main highways and she prayed it would be all right and find the ground off the side of the road and it did. She says that this is proof prayer works.

Well, I know it isn't. Is this really the main reason ANYONE who believes in prayer believes in it? Because of coincidences? I bet somewhere else in the world the same scenario happened except THAT squirrel got killed by a car.

This is not proof. I'm asking for REAL proof. Go on show me.

And PLEASE... no one use that "yes, no and wait" method.

Look here for information on why that does NOT work: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jk6ILZAaAMI

It's an optical illusion.

Answer 1

New England Journal of Medicine ran a real scientific study on this with people recovering from surgery within the past two years. Guess what happened?

Well? You're sort of right. People who were prayed for didn't do any better. Statistically they actually did a little worse.

(This is from CNN) [P]atients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications [59% rather than 52%]. ... They ... said they had no explanation for the higher complication rate in patients who knew they were being prayed for, in comparison to patients who only knew it was possible prayers were being said for them.

The work, which followed about 1,800 patients at six medical centers, was financed by the Templeton Foundation, which supports research into science and religion. It will appear in the American Heart Journal.

But maybe your mom is right and its just that God loves squirrels more than hospital patients.

Answer 2

Prayer is more real than what you seem to know. first of all how can you pray for something that you do not believe can be done.you have to have faith to back it up.otherwise what are you praying for.i bet if you were in a situation where you were about to die you would really be praying whether you believe or not.you would still have that hope that something would change your situation. which is exactly why God allows things to happen to people b/c after everything else you tried has failed, you call on him and he always comes through.he may not come when you want him but hes always on time.And in some cases some things come by praying and fasting.sometimes god might be protecting from what you think you want even though you prayed for it.which is why you need to have a relationship w/ god and his spirit so that mind that is in christ jesus can be in you as well.then you will began to think like him and understand things a little clearer.how about i challenge you or everyone who reads this. now the bible says that god is here for the just as well as the unjust so anyone can do this. pray about something personal in your life that you may need god's help with.don't do this as some time of magic trick or test.but for those who dont really know god.pray and seek god's face for whatever it is. dont just pray.fast and read the bible. god will speak to you. he will hear you. he knows our hearts so he will know who's sincere.wait patiently and hold fast to your faith b/c i garentee you its gonna look too impossible in your eyes for god to or fix whatever your situation but hold on.then"oh taste and see that the lord is good.back to the question.nothing that happens is a coincidence.all things happen for a reason. and just b/c the squrrel may have died somewhere else is a whole other situation.prayer works for me and many others.i think the best thing for you would be to experience prayer and its affect for yourself.take my challenge.

Answer 3

Even if I tell you a story will that make you believe that prayer works? Don't you always have a rule that "I need proof first and if not then this is just your delusion" There are doctors who can't explain when a patient is suddenly cured by prayer. A woman from the Philippines was driving the car with her family in the back. As a hijacker pointed a gun at her directly to the head she was praying for protection. When the gun fired the bullet dramatically changed direction as it smashed through the glass and hit her leg instead but she didn't feel pain her leg suddenly turned num. As she went to the hospital, the doctors couldn't explain how the bullet didn't go straight to her head. Car windows are suppose to break easily since in accidents it was safer to smash to a window that would break easily than 1 that doesn't. What's amazing is from a prayer she not only survived the unsurvivable but also felt completely no pain through out it all. When I was young I had been sick for 2weeks. You know that feeling when you can't stop vomiting even if you have nothing to puke out. It hurts like hell so bad. My mom didn't know what to do. But she told me to make a prayer before i sleep. by the time I woke up it was gone. Prayer is something that simply doesn't get answered. Why? Because people out the're dont know how a prayer really works. The bible tells us we must have "Full Faith First" when we ask. "Yes I''ve had full faith but it still didn't work therefore God is just some delusion" many peoples faith are destroyed simply by time. Time is a test. What do we really pray for? "God pls make me rich, God why am I suffering, If you are reall make me past this test, etc. only me and my concerns. Would God see this as something right to answer? Over all how I see it is prayer requires faith. But how can peoples prayers be answered when they have little to no faith first and reject his existence? my atheist friends always ask me for proof other wise Its all just my delusions. But I tell you now it's not something for me to show you. It's something for you to see for your self

Answer 4

The Proof That Prayer Works

There is ample proof that prayer works. Many scientific studies have been conducted that validate this observation.

A 1993 Israeli survey following 10,000 civil servants for 26 years found that Orthodox Jews were less likely to die of cardiovascular problems than "nonbelievers." And a 1995 study from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., monitoring 250 people after open-heart surgery concluded that those who had religious connections and social support were 12 times less likely to die than those who had none.

In an attempt to understand the depression that often accompanies hospitalization, Duke University researchers assessed 1,000 hospital patients from 1987 to 1989; patients who drew on religious practices, including prayer, were found to cope far better than those who didn't.

NIH recently convened a panel to determine the merits of integrating conventional medicine with behavioral and relaxation therapies to treat hypertension. The team found that the conflation of therapies, of which prayer was a key component, "can lower one's breathing rate, heart rate, and blood pressure."

The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque is studying the power of prayer to heal alcoholics. And there is a prayer-and-healing study in progress at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington, the nation's leading naturopathic-training institute. Certainly, following a spiritual or religious lifestyle might lead to better health; the devout may be less likely to succumb to the hazards of smoking, drinking, and sleeping around. However, for the non-believers, it is hard to understand how intercessory or non-local prayer works. This is thew situation when the sick persons are prayed for and don't even know it.

In the most widely publicized studies of the effect of intercessory prayer, cardiologist Randolph Byrd studied 393 patients admitted to the coronary-care unit at San Francisco General Hospital. Some were prayed for by home-prayer groups, others were not. All the men and women got medical care. In this randomized, double-blind study, neither the doctors and nurses nor the patients knew who would be the object of prayer.

The results were dramatic and surprised many scientists.The men and women whose medical care was supplemented with prayer needed fewer drugs and spent less time on ventilators. They also fared better overall than their counterparts who received medical care but nothing more. The prayed-for patients were:

Significantly less likely to require antibiotics (3 patients versus 16)
Significantly less likely to develop pulmonary edema-a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid because the heart cannot pump properly (6 versus 18).
Significantly less likely to require insertion of a tube into the throat to assist breathing (0 versus 12).
Less likely to die (but this difference was not statistically significant).

Answer 5

Real proof? I prayed as a kid that I would be Santa when I grew up. Look where I am now.


Of course, in reality prayer is in the supernatural realm, just like God, and thus cannot be sufficiently proven or disproven. You just need to accept that not all things can be proven by science.

Merry Christmas to All!

Answer 6

Miracles. God does not always answer every prayer with a yes. Sometimes He says no and that doesn't mean that prayer doesn't work it just means that there is something better planned for you than what you want at that moment. Miracles are proof though that prayer does work. You can't say that every single miracle is a coincidence. How can they be?

Answer 7

I have many prayers answered and it was not coincidence.I asked for children in my life and they started showing up and staying.I asked to live in the country and a house became available at no initial cost.I asked for money and i have five hundred thousand dollars with out working for it.There are many examples but i can not list them all.If you pay attention,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they will happen for you toYou pray as if some thing has already happened,You visualise it coming true

Answer 8

Christians like your mother give the rest of us a bad name. You want something tangible. You can't prove prayer anymore than you can prove thought. You can't hold thoughts, or love in your hand. They just exist whether or not you agree. I do not believe the squirrel lived b/c of your mother's prayer.

Prayer is not a magic trick.

Answer 9

Basically prayers help you to become more receptive and soften the heart. Once you are receptive enough, you will be prepared to accept any outcome after the prayer. If it's bad, then you will be stronger. If it's good, you will be more thankful.
You can only prove this to the believer.
Try it.

Answer 10

First, the Bible tells us to pray. God answers prayer . . . sometimes He just says "no."

There was a man about in his 60s that went to our church a few years back. He had mental disabilities and was diagnosed with lung cancer.

He came to the altar and we all prayed for him. He was anointed with oil (a scriptual thing) and prayed over.

The next time he went in for a check-up, THE CANCER WAS COMPLETELY GONE. The doctors were astounded. They got more doctors to come in and see the x-rays. They had no explanation to how this could ever happen. It just went away.

Of course, we all knew, and told the doctors, how it had happened. God healed him.

The Bible says that if we have full faith like a little child, we can be healed. Most people will never have that child-like faith once they outgrow it. Our church member did, though, because his mind was that of a child's.

Now THAT is a miraculous answer to prayer.