Don't Worry, I Won't Pray For You

Isn't it interesting that when someone a person cares about has trouble, they often say, "I will pray for you?" Churches have moments to pray for people they care about or problems for which they seek help.

There are a variety of ways to pray or meditate. Many people pray or meditate for different reasons including the expectation of particular outcomes or no outcomes at all. I recall countless moments of bowing in front of the television begging God to carry my team to victory.

Does this prayer work?

I recently read about a study in "What Don't You Know" by Micheal LaBossiere. The book isn't about prayer or meditation. It is a book of philosophical provocations ranging from metaphysics and epistemology to ethics and social thought as well as politics. But it devotes a small section to the efficacy of prayer.

It cited two studies that had similar results. The first, Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEM), was conducted with scientific rigour in an effort to find out if prayer had any medical effects. (LaBossiere pg 33-34)

This study followed 1,802 cardiac bypass surgery patients. There were three groups. Between the first two groups, one was prayed for and the other was not. The doctors and the patients had no idea which group was prayed for and which one was not. The third group was prayed for AND told they were being prayed for. Catholic and Protestant groups did the praying.

The results revealed that there was no difference between the first two groups who had one receiving prayers and the other not receiving prayers. Adding to the intrigue was that the third group who were prayed for and knew it, actually suffered from more complications.

Ironically, this study was funded by an organization that promotes religious beliefs which means they were most likely contradicting their objective.

A second study, MANTRA II, showed the same results.

There are a number of conclusions one can draw from this. One would be that the stress of thinking you need to be prayed for, which was experienced by the third group, could have played a role in the complications they suffered. It has been shown that stress is unhealthy.

I mentioned this study to three trusted friends and family of mine who work in the church. As expected, they gave in depth reflection on the study and all seemed unswayed by it.

For them, prayer already transcended requests to God. Prayer was more of an experience to bring them closer to God. They don't seem to look to God to solve their problems or fix their mess.

So why say "I will pray for you" then?

Interestingly, I have heard a number of times from priests and ministers that we need to turn our problems over to God. We should go to God for help.

Maybe there is some reassurance or comfort in that phrase or thought. Of course, the third group may have had added stress as a result. So that would contradict that theory.

I recall what I have read about meditation through my exploration of Buddhism and how similar the art of meditation is to prayer. Also, the reading I have done seems to describe meditating less as a route to achieve a need or particular outcome, but a way to center one's self and find peace.

This inner peace relates to the thoughts of my three trusted experts. They all seemed to feel prayer was a way to find inner peace with God.

So next time you are in trouble, I won't pray for you to get better. I will pray or meditate in hope to find inner peace and hope that you do too. Hopefully, you can transcend your trouble and find inner peace.