page_title: Studies on intercessory prayer
hierarchical_section_title: Studies on intercessory prayer
caption_attribution_description: English: Dr. David Rice, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, listens to a patient's heart beat during an exam on August 4th in the pulmonary clinic.
context_page_description: Some religions claim that praying for somebody who is sick can have positive effects on the health of the person being prayed for.
  Meta-studies of the literature in the field have been performed showing evidence only for no effect or a potentially small effect. For instance, a 2006 meta analysis on 14 studies concluded that there is "no discernible effect" while a 2007 systemic review of intercessory prayer reported inconclusive results, noting that 7 of 17 studies had "small, but significant, effect sizes" but the review noted that the most methodologically rigorous studies failed to produce significant findings. Statistical trends in an additional 5 of the 17 studies favored the prayer group over the control group.
context_section_description: Some religions claim that praying for somebody who is sick can have positive effects on the health of the person being prayed for.
  Meta-studies of the literature in the field have been performed showing evidence only for no effect or a potentially small effect. For instance, a 2006 meta analysis on 14 studies concluded that there is "no discernible effect" while a 2007 systemic review of intercessory prayer reported inconclusive results, noting that 7 of 17 studies had "small, but significant, effect sizes" but the review noted that the most methodologically rigorous studies failed to produce significant findings. Statistical trends in an additional 5 of the 17 studies favored the prayer group over the control group.
caption: A medical examination
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