In my e-mail inbox this morning were two stories (one from the NY Times and the other from BeliefNet) on the recently released findings of another study on prayer, the conclusions of which suggest, as the NY Times puts it, “Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery of people who were undergoing heart surgery.” In fact, according to this study, being the object of prayer might actually be harmful to your health.Ack. Where do you even begin with something like this? Sputter. Sigh.
Thank goodness I don’t have to come up with a way, because others are already doing so. Here’s a response from Dave Burchett on Crosswalk.com. While not a response to this study, Christianity Today’s Prayers That Move the Heart of God is timely. You can also read this article by Philip Yancy . Or this interview with Richard Foster.
Let me know if you find any more good responses.
(Image: Lady-bug from flikr.com)