From another report of the study:

Koenig, of Duke University Medical Center, who didn’t take part in the study, said the results didn’t surprise him.

“There are no scientific grounds to expect a result and there are no real theological grounds to expect a result either,” he said. “There is no god in either the Christian, Jewish or Muslim scriptures that can be constrained to the point that they can be predicted.”

Within the Christian tradition, God would be expected to be concerned with a person’s eternal salvation, he said, and “why would God change his plans for a particular person just because they’re in a research study?”

Dr. David Stevens, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, said he believes intercessory prayer can influence medical outcomes, but that science is not equipped to explore it.

“Do we control God through prayer? Theologians would say absolutely not. God decides sometimes to intervene, and sometimes not,” he said.

If Christians believe that God is above influence and that he has fashioned the world and it’s events already, why do the study in the first place?

And Dr. Stevens deserves distinction for the most wishy-washy statement contained therein.

“There is no god in either the Christian, Jewish or Muslim scriptures that can be constrained to the point that they can be predicted.�

Yep.  And a god that can’t be predicted is a god that can’t be distinguished from chance.

So why even pray in the first place?  Is it more like, God isn’t paying attention, and you have to jostle his elbow?  “Oh yeah, right, I was going to intercede this one time.  Sorry about that.  I was busy rescuing a sparrow.”

Or is it that he’ll only intercede if you pray because he likes begging? 

I think it’s more that people feel better talking to themselves and reassuring themselves.

That’s fucking hilarious!!!  I’m so bringing that up next time someone wants to fucking pray for me!  And the second study nails it down, showing that these ‘religious’ bigots simply can’t live with their own filth, so they have to pass everything on to someone else.  Brock, thanks for bringing that!