The Surprising Science of Healing Through Prayer

For people of faith, prayer is a regular part of daily life. It connects us to the Creator, brings spiritual clarity, and opens us to divine blessings. But beyond the spiritual benefits, does prayer offer physical and emotional benefits? Can it even influence the material world? Recent scientific studies suggest the answer is yes.

Professor Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist specializing in the study of religion and the brain, explained in an interview with Vice magazine that prayer has measurable health and emotional benefits. “Prayer affects the autonomic nervous system, which regulates heart rate and blood pressure,” he said. “It helps generate a sense of calm not only in the brain, but throughout the body. Practices such as meditation and prayer lead to decreased heart rate, lower blood pressure, and reduced stress hormone levels.”

Newberg added that during prayer, the brain releases serotonin and dopamine—neurotransmitters associated with peace and happiness. Prayer also strengthens key areas of the brain that enhance cognitive function and mental well-being.

A number of studies have pointed to a direct correlation between regular prayer and psychological resilience, attributing it to increased feelings of meaning, gratitude, and connection.

Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard Medical School lecturer, spent over 30 years researching the health effects of prayer. His conclusion? Regular spiritual practice can suppress genes linked to inflammation and cellular aging, potentially slowing down biological decline.

Can My Prayer Influence Others?

Professor Dimitrios Karussis, a senior neurologist and director of the Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Center at Hadassah Medical Center, has received over ten major research grants and participated in numerous clinical trials. In a podcast interview with Shahar Cohen, he addressed a controversial subject in science and medicine: remote healing through prayer.

“These aren't exactly mainstream ideas in the medical world,” said Karussis. “Still, we can’t ignore them. There seems to be a capacity for people to send messages- through prayer or meditation- that can either improve or worsen another person's condition. It may sound like science fiction, but there are already studies and clinical trials indicating that when groups of people focused positive energy through prayer, this improved the health outcomes of others in significant, measurable ways.”

Skeptics often attribute such outcomes to the placebo effect- that the patient’s belief in improvement triggers the healing. To test this, researchers conducted experiments in which groups of people prayed for seriously ill patients who had no idea that they were being prayed for. The results showed that the prayed-for patients experienced improved survival rates and fewer complications—up to two or three times better than those in the control group.

In another experiment, participants were placed inside MRI scanners, which block electromagnetic and magnetic signals. While inside, other people prayed specifically for the frontal lobes of the participants’ brains. Surprisingly, the MRI still detected changes in brain activity, despite the electromagnetic shielding.

In a separate study in Japan, a group of participants prayed over only half of a set of blood vials, requesting the red blood cells live longer. The lifespan of the red blood cells in the prayed-over vials doubled compared to those in the control group.

“How can a person influence red blood cells or another person’s brain scan? It’s astonishing,” said Karussis. “Perhaps in the future, we’ll discover explanations for phenomena that science currently can’t explain. For now, we see that it really does happen.”

Why Prayer May Be More Powerful Than Meditation

Karussis eplained that humans are composed of body and soul, like animals, but we also possess a third dimension: spirit. “The key insight from these phenomena is that the greatest force within us is the spirit. This is the part we must explore further to understand remote healing and human connection at a deeper level.

“I would emphasize the word prayer more than meditation, because prayer involves connecting to a higher source of energy. Meditation is helpful for health and stress, but prayer belongs to another realm and creates spiritual transformation by connecting us with a divine power.”

He concluded: “It’s not me sending energy—rather, through prayer, a person taps into a greater energy source. That connection changes everything. And when it’s combined with genuine love and care for the other person, the effect becomes much stronger. All the cases of effective remote healing that we’ve studied involved prayer and love.”