Millions of dollars have gone into studying the effects of prayer. Most of this money comes from faith-based organizations such as the Templeton Foundation.
One interesting study actually shows that prayer is bad for you! Specifically, if a sick or injured person is being prayed for and they are aware of that activity, their chances of recovery diminish by as much as 7%.
This may seem a contradiction with previous studies that show a positive correlation between recovery and some form of personal prayer or meditation, but there is a key, subtle difference between praying and having someone pray for you. The former may only improve your chances, but the latter provides only a source of additional stress.
In other words: keep your faith to yourself!
