Maryland Study Finds 5-Minute Prayer Eases Pain, Anxiety More Than Music

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 31

A randomized trial of 180 adult patients found five minutes of in-person prayer produced bigger drops in pain and anxiety than five minutes of music after routine medical visits.
Pain relief from prayer remained stronger at the two-week follow-up, while anxiety reductions stayed statistically significant immediately after the session, at two weeks and at six weeks.
Researchers said the gains did not depend on Christian faith, religious intensity or expecting prayer to work, and 97% of participants were neutral or supportive of offering such prayer in care.
The team said the study cannot prove prayer alone caused the effect because the prayer group also received human contact, including eye contact and gentle touch, unlike the music group.
Published in The Annals of Family Medicine, the study suggests proximal intercessory prayer could be a low-cost complement to standard care, with future research planned to isolate the role of interpersonal contact.

Is prayer a new tool for pain relief, or does this study just prove the healing power of human touch?

If prayer can soothe pain, what stops patients from choosing it over life-saving treatments with deadly results?