I cannot believe ... that prayer alone can keep someone from dying
If "prayer" is considered more broadly as a form of "emotional support", you might be more open to this possibility, Jackie. For instance, it has long been known that women breast cancer patients who are members of a support group have a better survival rate than those who are not. A couple of years ago, a lady medical researcher out of Boston (as I recall) proved a long-suspected relationship between stress and survival rates. It happens that stress produces an over-abundance of cortisol which depletes the supply of so-called "Killer T cells", in turn, weakening the immune system. Imagine the stress of being struck with a deadly psychic weapon such as a kundela bone, Jackie? Is it not possible that the sheer terror of such a reprisal, sanctioned by the gods, could shut down one's entire immune system almost immediately? In effect, the mind wills its own destruction in accordance with the dictates of divine justice - a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. In our society, people in this mental state prolong the agony by drinking or drugging themselves to death. (Did you see the movie "Leaving Las Vegas" starring Nicholas Cage?)
