Can prayer help cure illness?

Scientific research tends not to measure the curative results of prayer. In this video, Dr. Weil discusses the prayer/healing connection.

Research has demonstrated that those diagnosed with cancer tend to seek out alternative treatments slightly more than the general population (Complementary Therapies in Medicine 2007).

The conclusions of curative prayer are not well determined by science, but many report healing benefits.

Alternative Health Medicine (Sept/October 2012) recently published a study on the use of prayer with those diagnosed with various cancers. The researchers compared questionnaires on emotional, functional, and spiritual wellbeing to groups that received intercessory prayers vs. those who did not. The results demonstrated that those who were randomly assigned intercessory prayer showed small but significant improvements in spiritual well-being, as well as moderate increases in emotional and functional wellbeing. The conclusion was that due to the previous indicators being important predictors of quality of life, prayer may have a useful place in medicine.