Prayer for healing ME/CFS

Prayer and spiritual practices have been investigated for healing or symptom improvement in a number of illnesses, including ME/CFS. Prayer is not a cure for ME/CFS - it is widely accepted that the is no cure for ME/CFS and prayer or spiritual practices are not a suggested or approved treatment.

Theory
The use of prayer may come from deep religious beliefs that God is all-powerful and can cure any disease, however there is no scientific evidence behind this hypothesis in ME/CFS research.

Evidence
Evidence from clinical trials is limited but shows the use of prayer or other forms of spiritual healing does not have a significant effect on either ME/CFS symptoms or on patient mental health. Walach et al. (2008) conducted a trial of 409 chronic fatigue syndrome patients who had others praying for them or healers conducting healing practices on their behalf, known as distant healing, and found no overall effect after six months compared to a control group. CFS patients who knew that they were being prayed for (known as unblinded to their treatment) did not show any improvement in physical or mental health, but those who were told that they were not being prayed for reported experiencing some deterioration in symptoms, showing that effects were due to the lack of expectation of improvement. All outcome assessments used self-report questionnaires, rather than activity monitors or physiological measurements.

A British study by Bayliss et al. found that Black patients and patients from minority ethics groups were more likely to avoid primary care doctors, and use alternative/complimentary therapies instead to manage ME/CFS symptoms.

Fennell et al. (2021) describes how some patients with ME/CFS may be pressured by others to pray to be healed, and how some patients may perceive their illness as the result of a negative judgement from God: "Elizabeth can tell that her coworkers are annoyed and believe that she could function a lot better if she just pulled herself together and put her mind on the job. One of them knows a ME/CFS patient of moderate functioning and tells others at work that she cannot understand why Elizabeth does not manage as well as her friend does. Elizabeth is not imperceptive. She knows that people think she is not trying hard enough. To make matters worse, a close friend with deep religious convictions has urged Elizabeth to pray, saying that if Elizabeth has a sincere desire to get better and asks for God's help, God will cure her. Elizabeth does not share her friend's convictions, but deep inside she fears that maybe she is sick because she is somehow unsatisfactory in God's eyes."

Risks and safety
Largely unknown due to a lack of studies reporting on negative effectives or safety. Some patients with strong relief beliefs avoid physicians and medical practitioners as a result.

Notable studies

 * 2021, Elements of Suffering in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The Experience of Loss, Grief, Stigma, and Trauma in the Severely and Very Severely Affected - (Full text)
 * 2020, Reinscribing the Lived Body: A Qualitative Study of Extraordinary Religious Healing Experiences in Norwegian Contexts - (Abstract)
 * 2020, Diagnosis and management of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalitis in black and minority ethnic people: a qualitative study - (Full text)


 * 2008, Effectiveness of Distant Healing for Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Randomised Controlled Partially Blinded Trial (EUHEALS) - (Abstract)

Learn more

 * Treatment for ME/CFS