In America researchers claim to have proved the existence of God’s healing powers by showing that heart patients who are being prayed for do better than those who are not. The study at a coronary care unit in Kansas City covered 990 patients over 12 months. They, as well as their doctors, had no knowledge of the trial.
Volunteers from a prayer group, contacted by the hospital chaplain prayed for four weeks for the patents whose medical record carried an even number. The 470 patients who were prayed for did significantly better than the 520 who were not. The scoring system rated symptoms such as fever and whether patients had antibiotics. The principal researcher, Dr William Harris claimed that the study was as rigorous as many drug trails. "If people are willing to accept the outcome of a drug study they have to accept this one too" he said.
A prominent cardiologist, Dr. Randolph Byrd, conducted a fascinating study. A computer assigned 393 patients at the coronarycare unit of San Francisco General Hospital either to a group that was prayed for or to a group that was not remembered in prayer.
The prayer groups were given patients' first names, along with brief descriptions of medical problems. They prayed each day until the patient was discharged, but were given no instructions on how to do it or what to say.
When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed-for patients were:
- Five times less likely to require antibiotics.
- 2.5 times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure.
- Less prone to cardiac arrest.
If it had been a new drug on trial, instead of prayer, this would have been heralded as a breakthrough. Even hardboiled sceptic Dr. William Nolen, who had written a book questioning faith healing, stated: "If this is a valid study, we doctors ought to be writing on our order sheets, ‘Pray three times a day’ If it works, it works"!
