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[–] SkepticalMartian 4 points -1 points (+3|-4) ago  (edited ago)

Prayer is the least effective thing you could do for him. I could do nothing and it would have just as much impact.

Instead of relying on "magic" to help, why not think of something more practical to do for him?

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[–] Enigmius1 2 points 2 points (+4|-2) ago 

Prayer is the least effective thing you could do for him.

That's not true at all. At the end of the day, an agnostic such as myself respects the benefits of spirituality and the rituals that form around it even if I don't believe that the explicit process is doing what believers claim it to be doing. The impact of spirituality on emotional and mental health is far greater than revolutionary atheists gave it credit for, and the impact of mental and emotional health on physical health is generally regarded as significant and irrefutable even if the science can't map it out just yet.

In other words, if you believe prayer matters and you know people are praying for you, it can absolutely lead to improved health.

We don't need to turn every mention of prayer, God, or a particular religion into a soapbox to tell everyone who supports a religious view that they're wrong and their beliefs are meaningless.

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[–] SkepticalMartian 2 points 0 points (+2|-2) ago  (edited ago)

It has nothing to do with whether or not I believe in God or my degree of spirituality. This has been studied ad nauseam by science.

Prayer when used by an individual may have some degree of physiological benefit for that individual, in the same way meditation may have some degree of physiological impact. However, other people praying for you is entirely worthless from a medical perspective. It is in fact a waste of time and effort to peruse such an idea with the notion that it will have any real benefit. It's only making you feel better by way of thinking that you did something useful, when in reality that is simply a lie you're telling yourself.

If the goal of this is to just show support, a more constructive and universally accepted method is to send him a "get well" note or card. This is completely religion-neutral, and it's a tangible token of appreciation for the man and his work that he can actually quantify.