Prayer really is capable of healing the sick

London, Aug 5 (ANI): The power of prayer really can help cure the sick, according to a new study.

A US team from Indiana University, led by religious studies professor Candy Gunther Brown, examined the effects of prayer in Mozambique and Brazil where spiritual healing for the blind and deaf is common.

In the African country, a woman named Maryam could not see a hand with two raised fingers from a distance of one foot. But a healer put her hand on Maryam's eyes, hugged her and prayed for a minute.

She then held up five fingers, which Maryam was able to count from the same distance, according to researchers, reports the Daily Express.

She went on to read the 20/125 line on an eye chart - meaning she had 40 per cent sharpness of vision, if judged against 20/20 or 100 per cent perfect vision. Other visually-impaired people also showed improvement after prayers, the researchers claimed.

The team also reported that two deaf subjects showed a 50 decibel improvement in their hearing after spiritual intervention. (ANI)