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I read with interest the study by Harris et al,¹ which suggests that prayer may be an effective adjunct to standard medical care. The authors failed to cite 2 other studies that arrived at a similar conclusion.^2-3 Both studies, however, were criticized on methodological and statistical grounds.⁴

More than a century ago, Galton⁵ pleaded for a scientific inquiry into the efficacy of prayer. But does the efficacy of prayer have to be scientifically proved? Prayer can ameliorate or prevent despair and despondency. Prayer sets a psychological frame of mind to allow the body's psyche to be at rest with itself. Since ancient times, it has been known that the state of mind of a sick person influences the response to treatment.

The general use of prayer as a modality of treatment for the sick is not in itself a prima facie argument in favor of the efficacy of prayer. The . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Experiments on Distant Intercessory Prayer: God, Science, and the Lesson of Massah
Chibnall et al.
Arch Intern Med 2001;161:2529-2536.
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