A randomized controlled trial conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that a 5-minute session of Proximity Intercessory Prayer (PIP), in-person prayer performed by trained volunteers, significantly reduced pain and anxiety in primary care patients compared to a music control group. The findings were published in the May/June 2026 issue of the journal. Family medicine annual reportsuggest that proximal intercessory prayer may provide a practical, nonpharmacological complement to conventional care, especially for underserved populations.
Researchers enrolled 180 patients at a university family medicine clinic who reported clinically significant pain (score 4 or higher on a 0-10 scale) or anxiety (as measured by the GAD-7 scale). After a medical appointment, participants were randomly assigned to either receive 5 minutes of Christian intercessory prayer, which incorporates the laying on of hands, from a trained volunteer, or 5 minutes of gentle music as a control. Participants were followed up after 2 and 6 weeks.
Main findings
- pain: Participants in the prayer group reported significantly greater pain relief immediately after the session and at a two-week follow-up compared to the music group. At 6 weeks, the difference was not statistically significant.
- anxiety: Participants in the prayer group showed significant reductions in anxiety scores immediately after treatment. This effect lasted for two and six weeks, suggesting that the lasting effects last for at least a month and a half.
- Safety and acceptability: No participants reported any adverse events. Ninety-seven percent of those who received prayers were neutral, agreed, or strongly agreed that PIP could be used as part of a future medical visit.
- Who benefited the most: Black participants reported significant reductions in both pain and anxiety after prayer. The authors believe this finding is particularly meaningful given the documented disparities in pain treatment and the higher rates of use of prayer as a complementary medicine among Black Americans.
why is it important
Prayer is the most common form of complementary medicine in the United States, used by 43% of Americans, and 62% of this group identify as Christian. Despite this widespread use, there have been few rigorous clinical trials of in-person intercessory prayer. This study is one of the first fully powered randomized controlled trials of proximal intercessory prayer conducted in a standard primary care setting.
Proximity intercessory prayer was safe, effective, and popular as a complementary treatment for pain and anxiety. It is a low-cost, non-pharmacological, and effective adjunct to standard treatments and may be particularly relevant to underserved populations. ”
Katherine Jacobson, MD, first author, assistant professor of family and community medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine
“Prayer interventions were effective regardless of the patient’s religious affiliation,” said co-author Joshua W. Brown, Ph.D., professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University and director and co-founder of the Global Medical Research Institute. “Our findings add to research showing how prayer changes brain function in ways that promote health.”
Dr. Brown is the author of the newly published book Proving a Miracle (Harper, 2026). He was diagnosed with a brain tumor more than 20 years ago when he was just beginning his career as a neuroscientist. That sparked his interest in whether prayer had medical benefits, as he explains in his new book, and led to numerous medical studies on healing prayers around the world.
Context and limitations
The study population was primarily black, female, and low-income. Although this reflects the clinic’s patient population, it limits broader generalizability. It is not possible to blind participants or prayer practitioners without compromising the ecological validity of the intervention, so non-specific factors such as placebo effects or human presence or contact cannot be completely excluded. The authors note that future studies should include interpersonal contact or control conditions with touch but no prayer to better isolate the specific effects of PIP.
About research
This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT07565142) and approved by the University of Maryland, Baltimore Institutional Review Board. Funding was provided by the Global Medical Research Institute MESH Grant. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Indiana University, and the Institute for Global Health.
sauce:
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Reference magazines:
Jacobson, K. Others. (2026). Prayer for pain and anxiety in primary care settings: A randomized controlled trial. Annual report on family medicine. DOI: 10.1370/afm.250302. https://www.annfammed.org/content/24/3/192
