Prayer is rooted in an understanding of our God who hears us and responds to our needs and concerns. As Christians we often pray for ourselves or for others when we / they are ill. Prayer can / does aid healing, but scientists do not understand why. One report published in a popular medical journal summarized studies of the effect of prayer on healing (Astin, Harkness et al. 2000). Two of the studies found that praying for others, i.e. intercessory prayer, had a positive effect on people who had undergone surgery while other studies noted that praying for others made absolutely no difference in recovery. Reports such as these leave one to wonder if prayer can be or should be tested like any other therapy; and / or if it makes sense to assess prayer by the scientific method, a method designed to evaluate the physical world.

Those that support studying prayer as a therapeutic option point out that prayer concerns the mind and further scientists to strive to understand the influence of the mind on the body and vice versa. For example, scores of studies have shown that using the mind to practice relaxation therapy and / or meditation has direct physical effects, slowing respirations, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and reducing levels of stress promoting hormones and chemicals.

Not everyone can agree that prayer can / does directly influence the healing of the individual(s) for whom prayers are offered. In one particular situation in which one of the authors was present, scientists were asked to review a proposed...