The way I see it, we do not have to make absolute choices between prayer and high-tech medicine. If you have appendicitis, I believe you should have an appendectomy, because it is the most effective treatment humankind has ever devised for this particular problem. Prayerlike thoughts, offered from a distance, have been demonstrated to increase the healing rate of surgical wounds, and religious faith is associated with faster recovery from surgery. In most medical situations there will be a place for both prayer and modern medicine. Although science tells us that prayer works, it cannot tell us how it works.
Science is limited in studying prayer.
Therefore, science can never swallow up prayer, as some people fear. The sacred mysteries will remain. From my heart, I am grateful.