Clinical trials of proximal and virtual intercessory prayer

SUMMARY: Healing prayer is one of the most common alternative healthcare practices, but studies of distant intercessory prayer as complementary medicine yield mixed results. We investigated commonly utilized proximal intercessory prayer (PIP) practices, in-person prayer for another, to treat pain and anxiety in a family practice setting. Five minutes of in-person prayer yielded significant improvements in pain and anxiety scores immediately and up to six weeks later relative to a control group that listened to soft music. A separate, smaller group of tele-health patients was also randomized to receive healing prayer or music via tele-health, but effects did not reach significance. The intervention was well-received, with open-ended comments showing positive experiences with the prayer intervention. PRESENTERS: Joshua W. Brown, PhD, is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, where he directs the Cognitive Control Laboratory. He is the author of Proving a Miracle (Harper, 2026) and is also the Director of the Global Medical Research Institute, a non-profit focused on medical and scientific investigation of how Christian healing prayer practices influence health. Katherine Jacobson, MD, is Clinical Assistant Professor in Family Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. She is board-certified in Family Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.