This is a commentary: on the recent study of how effective prayer is in terms of healing. That study can be found here. The Daily Show covered it here.
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One thought on “Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer”
So let’s look at this for a moment, and forget the fact that we have to shell out 30 clams to get the full study article.
Good points are made in the commentary that we have serious methodological problems when we try to control the supernatural. And perhaps, the are correct when they say that in these studies prayer is viewed as some sort of magic box where demands go in, and answers come out. Of course, I was taught at a young age that God answers all prayers, but that the answers are Yes, No, or the ever frustrating “maybe/not now.” Always seemed to me to be a bit of a cop-out, though. Hmmm… God has other ideas, His ways are not our ways, He is a mystery…
So, let’s look then at this study. God should, by all accounts of His nature, know that the study is being conducted, that these researchers are seeking some sort of validation of His presence, and His caring nature… They are simply following the Biblical example, putting out a methodological fleece. So why did God choose to allow these findings? What, assuming that God is a loving, caring God, was He thinking when He allowed this study to end up this way?