The Scientific Efficacy of Intercessory Prayer

1. The Scientific Efficacy of Intercessory Prayer Douglas A. Vander Griend, Ph.D. Rev. Alvin J. Vander Griend, D.Min.

2. Outline • What is prayer? • Are the effects measurable? • Are the effects reproducible? • Are the causalities discernable?

3. What is prayer according to the Bible?

4. Definition of Prayer • Prayer is communication with God. • Prayer is the conversational part of a love relationship with God. • Worshipful • Subordinate • Dependent – Petition for oneself • Collaborative – Intercession for others and the creation

5. Theology of Prayer • Who God is determines what prayer is. • The God of the Bible reveals himself as: • Personal • Loving • Creator • Redeemer • Most misconceptions about prayer are really misconceptions about God. • Intercessory prayer helps us fulfill our biblical mandate.

6. Why Pray? • God has appointed us to act as His agents of renewal. • He has chosen to act in accord with our prayers. • Prayer directs God’s power in establishing His kingdom here on earth. • We are also called to subdue the earth. • It is appropriate for believers to use prayer as a means to subdue the earth.

7. Prayer Changes Things • Prayer produces prosperity - Jeremiah 29:7 • Prayer yields peace - Phil. 4:6-7 • Prayer lifts leaders and fosters social transformation - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 • Prayer provides wisdom - James 1:4 • Great works are possible through prayer in Christ’s name - John 14: 12-14 • God’s governance hinges on intercessory prayer - Ezekiel 22:30-3(Psalm 106:23) • Prayer ushers in the close of history - Rev. 8:1-5 • “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” - James 5:16b

8. Physical Effects • Intercessory prayer is key to this battlefield victory - Exodus 17:8-13 • Prayer stops rain - 1 Kings 18:41-45 • “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” - James 5:15 • “Pray for each other so that you may be healed.” - James 5:16a • Prayer raises the dead - Acts 9:40 • Prayer loosens chains and opens prison doors - Acts 12:1-17

9. Intangible Effects • Placebo – Hopefulness • Psychological • Thankfulness • Faithful Reliance • Fellowship • Physiological – meditation • Spiritual • Wisdom • Peace

10. Are the effects measurable?

11. First Experiments • Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911) compared average life spans • Kings vs. lords • Clergy children vs. other children • Frequency of disaster for ships carrying missionary’s • Result showed negative correlation based on his hypothesis

12. A Plethora of Studies • Human health studies • Medical • Psychological • Addiction related • Animal health studies • Plant Studies • Seed germination • Bacterial growth • Tomato fungus

13. Can Prayer Cure? • 5 – 7 Intercessors prayed for each of 192 patients in the CCU of San Francisco General Hospital. Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit, R. C. Byrd, Southern Med. J. 1988, 81, 826-829.

14. A Famous Experiment • Building on the study by Byrd, William S. Harris heads a study aiming to measure the efficacy of remote intercessory prayer on the outcome of nearly 1000 patients admitted to a coronary care unit. A Randomized, Controlled Trial of the Effects of Remote, Intercessory Prayer on Outcomes of Patients Admitted to the Coronary Care Unit, W. S. Harris, et al. Arch. Intern. Med. 1999, 159, 2273-2278.

15. Parameters • Double-blind • Patients were not informed at all about study • Medical staff were unaware of study • Intercessors received no feedback • Only chaplain’s nurse knew assignments • No attempt to estimate ‘background’ prayer.

16. Patient Distribution Admitted to CCU over 11.5 months N = 1019 Elimination of Patients Admitted for Cardiac Transplantation N = 6 Randomized N=1013 Usual Care Group N = 529 Prayer Group N = 484 Elimination of Patients admitted for less than 24 hours Prayer Group, N = 18; Usual Care Group, N = 5 Final Prayer Group N = 466 Final Usual Care Group N = 524

17. Prayer Protocol • Patients were assigned to a group based on the parity of the last digit of their medical record number. • Intercessory prayer team leaders were contacted with only the first name of the patient to be prayed for. • 15 teams of 5 prayed individually for 28 days for each patient. • Specifically requested “a speedy recovery with no complications” and anything else that seemed appropriate to them.

18. Intercessory Selection • No particular denominational affiliation required. • All intercessors acknowledged: • “I believe in God. I believe that He is personal and is concerned with individual lives. I further believe that He is responsive to prayers for healing made on behalf of the sick.”

19. Quantification of Outcomes • Predefined end point: weighted MAHI-CCU score

20. Results • 11% reduction in score for those in prayer group (P = 0.04) • 6.35  0.26 compared to 7.13  0.27 • Unweighted score reduction: 10% • Mean lengths of stay were not statistically different • 6.48  0.54 vs 5.97  0.29 • 2 patients in prayer group stayed 137 & 161 days, while no other patient in either group stayed over 70 days • 6.48  0.54 down to 5.84  0.31 days • 35 other parameters showed no difference

21. Critique • What does 11% signify? • P = 0.04 is too weak to justify a change in “current theories”. • Unethical treatment of patients • Theology is too haphazard • Invalidated scoring system • Statistical design • Randomization technique • What about all the studies by others that are not reported?

22. Systematic Review • 23 trials involving 2774 patients • Intercessory prayer at a distance (5) • Non-contact Therapeutic Touch (11) • Alternate forms of distant healing (7) • 13 yielded statistically significant effects. • Intercessory prayer at a distance (2) • Non-contact Therapeutic Touch (7) • Alternate forms of distant healing (4) • 9 showed no effect. • 1 showed a negative effect. • Non-contact therapeutic touch on 38 puncture wound patients. The Efficacy of “Distant Healing”: A Systematic Review of Randomized Trials, J. A. Astin; E Harkness; E.Ernst, Ann. Intern. Med.2000, 132, 903-910.

23. Are the effects reproducible?

24. Reproducibility • The effects of prayer to the God of the Bible are as reliable as His promises. • Forgiveness is always granted • Salvation in Christ is always granted • Any petition in accordance with His will (I John 5:14-15) • Implies Faith (James 1:6) • Implies abiding in Him (John 15:7) • Implies obedience (I John 3:22-23) • It is difficult to isolate a reproducible situation that is easily measurable.

25. Any possibilities? • Is it possible to design a controlled trial of the efficacy of intercessory prayer that is consistent with biblical theology? • The problem of dosage • Length of time • Fervency of prayer • Degree of sincerity or prayer • Faith of prayer • True control groups don’t exist

26. Hypothesis • Church randomly selects 160 households from phone book in neighborhood of church. • Prayer: “The family would be receptive to the church’s offer to come to their home, and lift up their needs in prayer to God the Father.” • If only 80 were prayed for, the receptivity of the 2 groups would be statistically different. • If successful, ‘treatment’ is then made available to control group.

27. I Timothy 2:1-5 “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” • Reproducible effects based on God’s revelation: • Social Transformation • Effective Evangelism* • Spiritual Growth

28. Expectations • Dosage will make a difference • Fervency • Time line • Number of intercessors • Relationship of intercessors to the God of the Bible • Lack of participation may have negative effect. • God does not override free will.

29. Dosage • The Spindrift group found that the rate of germination of rye seeds changed with prayer. • When seeds were stressed with brine water, prayer worked even better. • Twice as much prayer produced double the positive effects. • Intercessor’s awareness increased effectiveness. • Non-directed prayer was more effective that directed prayer. Who’s direction? Prayer – Old Approach, New Wonders, Dr. L. Dossey, 1989.

30. How does it work?

31. Causality • God answers prayers of believers according to His promises. • God also may answer prayers of non-believers. • Satan may also be able to act in response to prayer. • Non-contact interpersonal connections • Non-local consciousness • Empathetic bonds

32. Mechanism at a Distance • Miraculous • Angelic or demonic • Material explanation • Quantum opportunities • Designed Coincidence • Reestablishment of created order • Heretofore unknown forces

33. Unconventional Research • Era Three Medicine • Non-local consciousness – Dr. Dossey • Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research • The role of consciousness in the physical world. • Journal of Scientific Exploration • The Global Consciousness Project • Pertubation of random number generators by human consciousness on a global scale. • James Lind determined that lemons and limes cure scurvy without ever even understanding the concept of a nutrient (1753).

34. Conclusions • God ordains the parameters of effective supplicative prayer. • Prayer is the way in which we co-labor with God to accomplish His purposes in the world. • Prayer can effect the natural world, so the scientific study of prayer is valid. • The physical effects of intercessory prayer seem to be measurable. • Only the promises of God guarantee the reproducibility of appropriate intercession. • The mechanism of prayer and other distant effects is largely unknown. • More study is warranted.