Is thier any evidence to show prayer works?
I think if someone wants the re-assurance that someone is praying for them before they go to surgery, then they should ask for it. When I had surgery to have my ACL repaired, I wasn't worried, since my surgeon specialized in knee surgery, and had already performed almost a dozen of them before me. Sitting in the pre-op waiting room, the priest walked in, said him and his congregation would be praying for a safe surgery and speedy recover, and I told him I would rather him not, since I am not a Christian. Personally, I would rather have had no one come in. Now if it would have been a more serious surgery, then I would have appreciated having a Reiki (or any other form of energy healing) master working on me while I was in the recover room.