Prayer and Healing: A Study of 83 Healing Reports in the Netherlands

The setting: 83 reports of healing related to prayer (HP) were evaluated between 2015 and 2020 in the Netherlands. Research questions: What are medical experiential findings? Do we find medically remarkable and/or unexplained healings? Which explanatory frameworks can help us understand Methods: reported healings investigated using files patient narratives. An independent assessment team consisting five consultants, representing different fields medicine, associated 27 selected cases. Fourteen them received in-depth interviews. Instances could be classified as ‘medically remarkable’ or unexplained’. Subsequent analysis was transdisciplinary, involving medical, experiential, theological conceptual perspectives. Results: diseases covered entire spectrum. Eleven remarkable’, while none labelled A pattern with recurrent characteristics emerged, whether deemed not: instantaneity unexpectedness healing, often emotional physical manifestations a sense ‘being overwhelmed’. HP experiences interpreted acts God, transformative impact. Positive effects on health socio-religious quality life persisted most cases after two four year follow-up. Conclusions: research found it difficult frame data terms, especially many healings. We need broader, multi-perspective model findings. Horizontal epistemology, valuing both ‘subjective’ (experiential) ‘objective’ data, may helpful. open dialogue science religion too. There is an analogy narratives Bible throughout church history. Future studies documentation needed verify clarify found.