Can You Pray Your Way to Health?

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Why could prayer help you when you pray for yourself but not help others when you pray for them? Intercessory prayer could only function via mystical power, but prayer for the self might have an effect similar to meditation, endorsed in both secular and spiritual theories of healing. The "answers" that come from prayer might be divinely provided, or reflect a person's own contemplative understanding of his or her condition. The nonsectarian form of prayer, which is akin to meditation and used for stress reduction, has long been recognized by clinicians to improve one's sense of well-being.

Martin Seligman, a former president of the American Psychological Association, has supposed that prayer helps recovery from illness and depression by focusing the mind on things to be grateful for in life. Studies by Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard University have shown that inducing a relaxed state of mind is good both for health and immune-system response. Prayer might work partly in this way. Says Koenig, "I view the benefits of prayer mainly as psychological or social, not as a supernatural effect, though of course the research can't rule that out. All the research can show is that prayer sometimes really does confer benefits."

Put another way: Lack of strong evidence for intercessory prayer seems to argue against standard ideas about the supernatural as a commanding force that intervenes to cure. Yet the presence of evidence for effects of prayer on the self seems to argue that we would be foolish to assume away faith.

SMART PEOPLE PRAY
Clearly, Americans as a group think prayer is beneficial for health. A 1999 CBS News poll found that 80% of Americans believe prayer improves recovery from disease, and 63% believe doctors should pray with patients if asked--though only 34% think prayer should be "a standard part of the practice of medicine."

The kicker is that a surprising number of scientists agree. Francis Collins, a Darwinian biologist and head of the federal government's genome-sequencing initiative, says he prays daily. John Houghton, one of the world's foremost atmospheric physicists and a leading proponent of global-warming theory, has written articles on the value of prayer. The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Charles Townes, principal inventor of the laser beam, says he prays each day. Pundits might snicker, but if regular prayer composes the mind and confers health benefits, the person who prays is following the intelligent course, regardless of the verity of any religion.


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