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Prayer DOES work, says researcher
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 UNITED STATES. Two recent much-publicised studies of the efficacy of prayer concluded that it didn’t work. But David R. Hodge, an assistant professor of social work in the College of Human Services at Arizona State University's West campus (right), has come to the opposite conclusion.
The results of his exhaustive meta-analysis on the effects of intercessory prayer among people with psychological or medical problems have just been published. Hodge, a leading expert on spirituality and religion, says the evidence confirms that prayer can produce positive results.
As reported by www.ParanormalReview.com in September last year, research was conducted with 1,800 patients recovering from heart bypass surgery but the results were inconclusive and paradoxical (see: … and prayer does not heal).
Dr Herbert Benson of the Harvard Medical School (below) led that research, which cost $2.4 million and was funded by the John Templeton Foundation and the Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation of Memphis.
 The conclusion was: Prayers don’t help heart surgery patients – and some fare worse when prayed for.
But according to Hodge’s study, “A Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature on Intercessory Prayer,” the answer to the question, “Does God – or some other type of transcendent entity – answer prayer for healing?” is “Yes”.
“There have been a number of studies on intercessory prayer, or prayer offered for the benefit of another person,” he explains. “Some have found positive results for prayer. Others have found no effect. Conducting a meta-analysis takes into account the entire body of empirical research on intercessory prayer. Using this procedure, we find that prayer offered on behalf of another yields positive results.”
Hodge's work is featured in the March 2007 issue of Research on Social Work Practice, a disciplinary journal devoted to the publication of empirical research on practice outcomes. It is widely recognised as one of the most prestigious journals in the field of social work.
Hodge notes that his study is important because it is a compilation of available studies and is not a single work with a single conclusion. His “Systematic Review” takes into account the findings of 17 studies that used intercessory prayer as a treatment in practice settings.
“Some people feel Benson and associates’ study from last year, which is the most recent and showed no positive effects for intercessory prayer, is the final word, “Hodge observes,” But this research suggests otherwise. This study enables us to look at the big picture. When the effects of prayer are averaged across all 17 studies, controlling for differences in sample sizes, a net positive effect for the prayer group is produced.
“This is the most thorough and all-inclusive study of its kind on this controversial subject that I am aware of,” Hodge adds. “It suggests that more research on the topic may be warranted and that praying for people with psychological or medical problems may help them recover.”
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Posted on Monday, April 23, 2007
Category: Health
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