Somebody drag me away from this pc, ASAP.
More from the article cited above:

Research consistently shows that prayer can have numerous benefits. For example, prayer can be a solid source of self-soothing and self-comfort when one is experiencing pain, coping with loss, or dealing with traumatic circumstances. Prayer can also be of benefit as a form of concentrated mental motivation for achieving personal goals. Prayer can also help people focus on the well-being of others. And, of course, when one finds oneself in a hopeless or helpless situation, with no real options, no clear solution, and no actionable form of alleviation, then prayer is something to engage in to—at the very least—make one feel like one is doing at least something in the face of dire circumstances.

Clearly, people pray because it makes them feel better, or makes them feel hope, or makes them feel love, or makes them feel just a welcomed hair shy of being utterly powerless. So, concerning all of the above, it can be said that prayer works.

But when it comes to prayer as a form of asking for something from a divine source and then getting it — there is simply no empirical evidence that such mental messaging to an invisible deity works. All stories of “answered prayers” are merely anecdotal, and nothing more.