Prayer is not ineffective

The first scientific study on intercessory prayer in the 1980s, a low profile double blind study conducted properly, found that it had a noticeable impact on the health of the patients being prayed for. However, the issue has been tested since, and and in some of these studies, including this most recent one, no results have been noticed. The scientists who conducted the test have cautioned people not to read too much into their study, noting that it looked at specific kinds of prayer for a specific kind of patient.

But why would these tests have produced no discernable result, some might wonder? Should this shake peoples' faith?

I would argue, no. It is just as likely that if there is an omnipotent God responsive to prayer, a being that powerful and intelligent may not appreciate being poked and prodded by science, as though he is a lab rat. Or as the Bible puts it, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." (Deuteronomy 6:16 and Luke 4:12)

At any rate, praying is not about forcing God to do difficult stuff for us. Praying should not be a results-oriented exercise. I was horrified by the Jabez prayer movement for this very reason. Prayer is not just petition - it is praise, thanksgiving, and contrition, too. But even more fundamentally, it is a conversation. Sheryl Crow, of all people, put it best: "You gotta talk to the one who made you, talk to the one who understands, talk to the one who gave you all the light in your eyes."

Praying is not just a means to an end - it is the end that has meaning.