Prayer has been a subject of systematic research in the United States in the context of health. In Brazil, there have been frequent allusions to prayer in a variety of research in the health sciences, but it has appeared as only one of the findings. Based on theses, dissertations and articles, this text discusses Brazilian studies on prayer that have been produced in the Portuguese language in the social sciences, theology, psychology, and sciences of health. It starts with an overview of the studies on prayer followed by an analysis of them. The text concludes by pointing out some important issues that should be considered in future research on prayer and health, as well as some suggestions for developing research on prayer. [#]