Does this statement contain a argument if so what is the premises and conclusion in is there scientific evidence that prayer really works? the problem with any so called experiment regarding prayer is that there can be no such thing as a controlled experiment concerning prayer. you can never divide people into groups that received prayer and those that did not. the main reason is that there is no way to know that someone did not receive prayer. how would anyone know that some distant relative was not praying for a member of the group identified as having received no prayer