A new study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine demonstrates that just 5 minutes of in-person intercessory prayer (PIP) produces both immediate and long-lasting benefits for physical pain and anxiety. Researchers focused on proximal intercessory prayer—prayer administered in person—rather than distant intercessory prayer, finding measurable improvements in patient outcomes.
Participants experiencing pain reported immediate symptom relief that persisted at 2 weeks but declined after 6 weeks. Anxiety participants experienced both immediate and lasting relief. A control group given soft music to treat pain and anxiety did not experience the same healing relief as those who received prayer. Researchers note that positive effects have been associated with prayers administered in-person in a Christian context, involving “petitioning God in the name of Jesus by power of the Holy Spirit, commanding healing by Jesus’s authority, while an intercessor gently lays hands on the recipient for approximately 5 minutes.”
Prayer is already recognized as the most common complementary medicine, with 43% of Americans desiring in-person intercessory prayer. Research has documented medically unexplained recoveries from conditions including gastroparesis, malabsorption, muscular atrophy, seizures, immunodeficiency, and juvenile macular degeneration. After experiencing the positive effects of prayer, study participants expressed significant interest in PIP as a routine part of medical visits. When asked whether they would like this prayer available in future medical visits and whether medical offices should offer it to patients who desire it, 97% of participants agreed, strongly agreed, or remained neutral, with most agreeing or strongly agreeing. No participants reported adverse events from the PIP intervention.
The study concludes that “the results suggest significant benefits to patients from a 5-minute PIP intervention that could be implemented in primary care offices, providing relief for pain or anxiety or both while addressing unmet patient need and desire for spiritual care.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/health/2026/june/in-the-name-of-jesus-scientific-study-confirms-power-of-just-5-minutes-of-in-person-prayer