From AOL News Thursday 11 September 2003

Praying Really Works, Say Scientists

SAYING your prayers can help heal the sick, according to controversial new scientific research. According to the findings, appealing to the Almighty has helped both heart disease patients and those with fertility problems. Recent studies into the effects of prayer on sample groups of patients appear to indicate that prayer - scientifically known as 'directed intention' - seems to help the sick in ways beyond current understanding.

Dr Peter Fenwick, a neuropsychiatrist from London's Institute of Psychiatry, said: "There has been a huge change in people's views, and its being driven by scientific data." Dr Fenwick was presenting his findings to the Festival of Science, in Salford, Greater Manchester, this week. The studies indicate that prayer may help people lock into powers of the human mind which are currently beyond understanding.

The position is a scientific version of what many devout religious believers have always maintained. Research carried out in San Francisco showed that half of a sample group of 393 patients who were prayed for suffered fewer complications and needed less drug treatment than their counterparts who relied solely on medicine.

Dr Fenwick said: "These are very good studies properly done. "Subjects who are unaware they are being prayed for can be significantly helped. "The fact that science seems to confirm the ability of prayer, or directed intention, to heal other people raises the question that the mind may influence other people directly."