Should maybe cross post this in the Health Forum, but the cover story in this month's National Geographic is about the healing power of faith. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/12/healing-science-belief-placebo/ Here is the section that blew my mind: Bolded part is mine. Placebo surgery and it worked. Mind blown.
The Placebo Effect is real and powerful, even if you know you're taking a placebo it can work, not sure I'd call anything about it faith healing though. I've read various things over the years about it and saw a good short piece on a recent CBS Sunday Morning segment that's probably still on their site.
I wouldn't call it faith healing either. I knew of the Placebo effect with regards to taking pills, but not from surgery!
Call it placebo, call it faith, the result is the same. The mind influences the body, thus changing someone's state of mind, even by tricking it, can have a positive effect on their body. A fake pill sometimes can heal, a fake surgery sometimes can heal, and so can a faith healer.
The good old memories of when my grandma took me to some guy that fixed me up with a chicken feather and an egg. A lot cheaper than a "real doctor".
There are published scientific papers out there indicating that prayer does help/heal others. They are small, something like 9 people praying for 3 sick people, but the indications are that prayer worked in those cases. Worked meaning that there was some improvement for some measurable amount of time.