Christians: Do you really believe in the power of prayer?

Question

If so, if your child were dying from a curable disease and you were given the choice of only one of these option:

a) Take your child to a hospital but offer no prayers
or
b) Offer prayers but no hospital

Which would you choose?

curt: thanks, you answered the question brilliantly! you DON'T believe in the power of prayer

Answer 1

I'm a 'recovering-christian', here are a few links about prayer that I hope will help any currently deluded 'christians'.

Proving that prayer is superstition

http://godisimaginary.com/video.htm


The best optical illusion in the world-!

http://godisimaginary.com/video8.htm


Many more medical articles about the efficacy of prayer.

Prayer-Related Articles by Gary P. Posner, M.D.

http://members.aol.com/garypos/prayer.html

Even more links:

Proof #2 - Statistically analyze prayer

The fact is, God never answers any prayers.

The entire idea that "God answers prayers" is an illusion created by human imagination.


Watch the video

http://godisimaginary.com/video.htm

How do we know that "answered prayers" are illusions?

We simply perform scientific experiments.

We ask a group of believers to pray for something and then we watch what happens.

What we find, whenever we test the efficacy of prayer scientifically, is that prayer has zero effect:

It does not matter who prays.

It does not matter if we pray to God, Allah, Vishnu, Zeus, Ra or any other human god.

It does not matter what we pray about.

If we perform scientific, double-blind tests on prayer, and if the prayers involve something concrete and measurable (for example, healing people with cancer), we know that there is zero effect from prayer.

Every single "answered prayer" is nothing more than a coincidence.

Both scientific experiments and your everyday observations of the world show this to be the case every single time.


For example, this article says:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2005/07/25/a_prayer_for_health/

One of the most scientifically rigorous studies yet, published earlier this month, found that the prayers of a distant congregation did not reduce the major complications or death rate in patients hospitalized for heart treatments.

And:

A review of 17 past studies of ''distant healing," published in 2003 by a British researcher, found no significant effect for prayer or other healing methods.
This article from March, 2006 discusses the fact that the same conclusion was reached in another study:

http://www.livescience.com/othernews/ap_060330_prayer.html

In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery.

In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.

In this article

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/opinion/11lawrence.html?ex=1302408000&en=643ff6eac0f51086&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

we find an amazing quote where theologians and religious leaders declare that prayer has no actual effect:

http://godisimaginary.com/i32.htm

Religious leaders will breathe a sigh of relief at the news that so-called intercessory prayer is medically ineffective.

In a large and much touted scientific study, one group of patients was told that strangers would pray for them, a second group was told strangers might or might not pray for them, and a third group was not prayed for at all.

The $2.4 million study found that the strangers' prayers did not help patients' recovery.

This is a remarkable example of "positive spin" -- religious leaders are "breathing a sigh of relief" because prayer has been shown to be meaningless.

The fact that prayer is a total waste of time does not matter to them.

It does not matter that all of Jesus' promises about prayer in the Bible have been proven completely false.

http://godisimaginary.com/i1.htm

A peer-reviewed scientific study published in 2001 did indicate that prayer works.

http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-09/miracle-study.html

According to this article:

"On October 2, 2001, the New York Times reported that researchers at prestigious Columbia University Medical Center in New York had discovered something quite extraordinary. Using virtually foolproof scientific methods the researchers had demonstrated that infertile women who were prayed for by Christian prayer groups became pregnant twice as often as those who did not have people praying for them.

The study was published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine.

Even the researchers were shocked.

The study's results could only be described as miraculous"

This study was later proven to be completely fraudulent.

However, everyone who cut out the original article in the NYTimes and posted it on their refrigerators still has that article as "proof" that prayer works.


This article entitled A prayer before dying uncovers another case where a "scientific study" of prayer is unmasked as fraudulent.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.12/prayer.html

It's not just prayer that is ineffective.

Not even a hopeful attitude helps.

According to this article:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-02-09-cancer_x.htm

A positive attitude does not improve the chances of surviving cancer and doctors who encourage patients to keep up hope may be burdening them, according to the results of research released Monday.

The dictionary defines the word "superstition" in this way:

An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.

[ref]

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=superstition

The belief in prayer is a superstition.

It has been proven scientifically over and over again.

When a prayer appears to be answered, it is a coincidence.

Quite simply, prayer has absolutely no effect on the outcome of any event.

The "power of prayer" is actually "the power of coincidence."

Prayer does not work because God is completely imaginary.

Answer 2

No, it doesn't scare democrats. We're logical, reasonable people who know that god doesn't elect presidents, people do. If the power of prayer is so great...why don't you all get together and pray for a peaceful end to the Iraq war, TODAY. Tell your all-powerful god to end all the bloodshed, much of it by innocent people and by our brave soldiers. Go ahead, have god end it. Oh, wait...supposedly millions of christians already *have* been praying for this. But it's still going, and May was the bloodiest month ever. So much for the power of prayer. Here's an idea: vote for a president who won't lie to start wars, who won't run up the biggest deficits in history, and who doesn't pretend that an imaginary being tells him what to do. Now *that* would be a positive step for peace in the world...'cause god doesn't exist. Peace.

Answer 3

the closer your relationship with God becomes, the more you find prayer to be continuous. My communication with God, aka prayer, ranges from school stress to minor decisions to little happy thankful seconds that pass by every day. you cant just stop communication with God once that relationship builds. I never want to be somewhere where God isnt talking to me and listening. that's not a choice. you cant just stop prayer if you are praying without ceasing. that is a God-follower. not just calling on God and saying the 'magic healing words' to make someone better or save a life.
it's a relationship, not a get-out-of-jail-free card.
and yes, I'd trust God to heal someone over a man. every time.

Answer 4

"...and you were given the choice of only one of these option:"

WHO is given me the choice? WHO has that much control over humans? I feel your question is not something that would ever happen in reality.

I have FREE will, and FREE choice, period. No one controls or limits my choices. And I can take ALL of my options.

I'd take them to the hospital, where God created the human, the human who became the doctor, and the doctors knowledge to get them well and I'd pray for everyone involved.

Answer 5

For me, I believe in power of prayer. Not praying alone but pray in symphony pray in groups more greater than praying alone.
For like case above, I will pray first for my child's life is in His hand and then I also will bring my child to hospital for He already give wisdom to doctors...

Answer 6

God helps those that help themselves--meaning do whatever humanly possible such as take the child to the hospital and then ask God to guide the hands of the doctors and staff to heal--Its not as cut and dry as you make it out to be--Do I believe in miracles?? Yes say there were no hospital--and still prayed for the knowledge to heal --I think God would work through my hands just as well--

Answer 7

this is not a cop-out answer but this is a silly question since we do have the choices.

As a Christian for 45 years, I have done a lot of praying and have had answers I wanted and many I did not but rather than believe in the "power of prayer", I base mine on the power of Almighty God who answers prayers (in His time,His will and for His plan and purpose in our lives that we have no idea of).Trust Him-He knows more than any of us.

Answer 8

It looks like they've all chosen option C for "cop out"

Isn't it rather obvious that when faced with life or death situations they choose rationality over superstition?!

Lucky them for living in a world that allows them the safety net of science under the tightrope of religion.

Answer 9

You obviously don't understand the basic foundation of Christianity or you wouldn't ask this question. As a Christian, I would do both. If you need further explaination, try actually reading the bible and you wouldn't have to ask.

Answer 10

The person that prays knows that God will use medicines and doctors to assist getting well,It is he who gave the dr. wisdom, but I would choose God over anything man can come up with.