Prayer is not effective

Firstly, it was argued that the existence of God is not relevant to the power of prayer, not that people's beliefs that prayer is answered is irrelevant. Whether or not a God exists to grant a request made in a prayer is irrelevant because it has never been proven whether or not a God exists or not. The effectiveness of prayer rests in the mental peace it gives to a person who prays and the belief that some higher being is listening to that prayer. Human belief and faith can be one of the most powerful forces on earth, capable of inspiring nations to war, politicians and citizens to political action, and to bring people together. The belief that prayer has been heard is what gives prayer its effectiveness. Secondly, it is important to note that while the Soviet Union was officially atheist, even the Soviet Council of Religious Affairs estimated at least 10-20% of the USSR's population was religious. Also the US is an officially secular nation with a growing atheist population. It should also be noted that a God would never come running everytime a baseball player or even a nation state wants glory and victory. All the major monothesitic religions believe that hans exist to worship, glorify, and serve God/Allah, not the other way around. Pro brings up the health benefits of Theraputical Meditation (TM). Dr. Harold Koening, the director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health says that a majority of the 2,000 plus studies done on the effects prayer has on health link prayer to better health. One study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that people who pray regularly are 40% less likely to have high blood pressure. A 2010 study published in Social Psychology Quarterly find that prayer significantly helps manage emotions. A study by the University of Cincinnati finds prayer leads to a reduction in sysmptoms for people with asthma. Studies cited in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin of Ohio State University shows that people who pray regularly are less likely to harbor anger towards others and be aggressive towards others. Dr. Herbert Benson, of Harvard Medical School finds prayer to resuce overall stress which is linked to depression, high blood pressure, ulcers, and migraines. Dartmouth Medical School find that people with strong religious beliefs are three times more likely to recover from heart surgery. Finally a study of 4,000 seniors that appeared in the Journal of Gerontology found prayer to be linked to longer lifespans and better coping with illness. Pro's arguments have all been centered around people using prayer for personal gain. What Pro fails to realize is that while all humans are inherently selfish, most religions emphasize prayer as a link between a human and whatever higher being they worship and that this link has nothing to do with requests for material gains. In most Christian churches prayer during a worship service focuses on helping those who are less fortunate, those living in poverty and with illness, for world peace, etc. On the issue of requests in prayer not being granted, the claim that prayer isn't effective because personal requests aren't granted is absurd. If a God went around granting every wish made humans would never learn and never grow. When a parent teaches a child to ride their bike, the parent eventually lets go and the training wheels eventually come off the bike. Sure the child will most likely fall a few times and get scrapes and bruises, but how does the child learn and become more independent if the parent sits there holding them the entire time. Getting a no or a non answer in a prayer can be just as effective (if not more) as a yes, the request is granted, because it forces the person to do something on their own and become stronger and more independent.