"Fair enough, Bill. But whether a common event or not, I think the fact that information alone can initiate a positive or negative condition of health is a really telling fact. I suppose you could and would argue that the brain has receptor sites for information, with concomitant biochemical sequelae, and so on. But it's a pretty far stretch, to my way of thinking.
" - Amos

Why is it a stretch? As Bill notes:

"Jiminy, Amos...you take in information all day long that is not exactly 'physical'. Hearing a siren, or seeing a TV show, of reading the paper is not like getting an injection or swallowing a pill...but they can [make] you sad or raise your blood pressure, ot even soothe you if you read the right things. :>) ....why shouldn't knowing of someone's concern (whether thru prayer or not) be just another form of 'information' which can affect your well-being?....without attributing metaphysical properties to it? Adrenaline and various other hormones are triggered by **the brain's** reaction to various stimuli." - Bill D

Anything that affects us on any emotional level, which amounts to a great deal of the non-physical information we receive, will affect our physical bodies because of the interaction of hormones with our brain, blood, heart, etc.

The concept of prayer is one of my personal bugaboos about religion. It's offered as a kind of spiritual multi-tool, good for talking to God, healing, safety, prevention of illness and accidents, good luck for your sports team, etc. Yet there is no evidence whatsoever that prayer works for any of these things. Its only proven use, in fact, is as a personal meditative device much like any other method of meditation, in which one essentially takes control of one's emotions in a positive way. Even then, it has to be a particular approach to prayer, as I imagine your standard passionate 'shouting out to the Lord' type of prayer most likely gets adrenaline flowing rather than slowing.