Commentary on "Can Prayer Harm?"

by Gus Stevenson

Christianity and many other religions believe that prayer has the power to heal. In a majority of studies done on the subject, faith does seem to be beneficial. In some of the studies, the patients seemed to be helped by the prayers of others even when they didn't know they were being prayed for.

But there is the inevitable question, if prayer has the ability to heal, what is its capacity to harm? Well, we already know of the placebo effect, positive impact due to positive expectations, but the flip side to that is the nocebo effect, harm caused by negative expectations. In other words, if someone believes that something, such as a drug or a curse, will harm them, to some degree it will. There have also been studies in which people have been able to inhibit the growth of a fungus using only their will. Studies such as these suggest that our minds can help or harm other living things, and a distance, without them even knowing it.

Some prayers might seem positive to one person, but not another. Take for example the story of the monks and the grasshoppers. The monks prayed, seagulls came and ate the grasshoppers, and their crops were saved. Sounds good for the monks, but not so good for the grasshoppers.

Then there is negative prayer. Many people, even normal, good people, often wish harm onto other people through prayer. Curses, a form of negative prayer, can be found in many religions. There are several instances in the Bible in which someone cursed someone else. Some illnesses are even thought to be the result of negative prayer.

There are also prayers to "manipulate God." Instead of asking God what they should do, many people will tell God what to do. It is warned that we often don't understand the consequences that our prayers, if answered, might generate. However, it also reassures that the evil inside us all is not totally bad. After all, "the supreme evil is part of the supreme good."

I'm not much of a praying man, but this article did bring up some rather interesting points. I find it disturbing that other people might have that much influence over the well being of another individual. However, I've already known about the placebo effect, and I also believe that people, to some degree, possess psychokenesis, the ability to manipulate matter with the mind. I've always been taught that prayer was something very powerful. As I don't necessarily believe in a supreme being, I see prayer more as a way of looking within yourself, and finding the answers that are within, but you've got to find a way to get to them. As for its capacity to harm or heal people, or manipulate situations, I don't know. I guess that's just another question about life that we may never have an answer for.

While prayer is generally seen as a positive force, it might also have negative effects. Curses are a porwerful form of negative prayer that exists in many cultures. There are several theories as to why prayers for harm or healing seem to work, including the placebo or nocebo effect, mind-over-matter, divine intervention, or simple belief. Perhaps it is simply the human mind, and not a divine force, that is behind the power of prayer.

Works Cited

Dossey, Larry. "Can Prayer Harm?" Psychology Now. March, 1997

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