Disclaimer

No content on this website should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health professional or clinician

We all know that ongoing, long-term stress can endanger our health.

But experts point out that what we might not know is that ongoing stress can have a serious impact on our brains.

I studied at length over a dozen articles published by health experts in the last 3 years.

Perhaps one of their most interesting statements of all is the following one (I’ve paraphrased it):

Contrary to what people often think of as the life-altering incidents that are most guaranteed to have negative health effects (e. g. a natural disaster, car accident, death of a loved one, etc.), researchers suggest that it is the everyday stress that we all seem to face that, over time, can contribute to a wide range of mental disorders.

Let’s all take note.

‘Good’ Stress versus ‘Bad’ Stress

Another researcher explains that not all stress impacts the brain and neural networks in the same way. 

He distinguishes between ‘good’ stress and ‘bad’ stress.

Good stress, he explains, is the type of stress that helps you perform well in the face of a challenge.

This kind of stress, he continues, actually helps to wire the brain in a positive way, leading to stronger networks and greater resilience.

Do You Think that Salvation Refers to Your Spiritual Health Only?

When we look at any form of stress or health issues as Christians, I need to ask you this:

Do you think that salvation refers to your spiritual health only?

If you do, it’s time to correct your false understanding.

It’s not what Jesus taught or ministered.

And it won’t serve you, or your life, or the significant others in your life, well.

You see, your overall health and wellbeing is a germane and foundational part of your salvation.

Your health and wellbeing is a critical part of the Lord’s saving grace towards you and me.

He died on the cross to bring you HEALING of mind, body, and spirit.

You ask: ‘How can you be so sure of this, Jan?’

I am sure of it for 2 reasons:

First, if you take away Jesus’ twofold ministries of

• Healing the sick
• Deliverance from evil

you are suddenly left with a severely —and dangerously —watered-down teaching and ministry of Jesus as recorded in the gospels.

Healing the sick and delivering folk from evil was part and parcel of the backbone of Jesus’ work on this earth.

So much so, in fact, that Jesus pointed to this part of His ministry as proof to reassure His questioning disciple, John, that He was indeed the Christ:

And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Matthew 11: 4 – 6 English Standard Version

 And second, I am sure of it thanks to the in-depth work of several Christian ministers who have not only taught and exercised God’s gift of healing but, just in case anyone doubted it, the profound theology that lies behind it.

Not one of these people was a ‘Johnny-come-lately’.

They studied, lived, and taught the scriptures and the Person at their centre.

I note here especially the late Francis Macnutt, Derek Prince, Katherine Khulman, and Oral Roberts.

Here’s the point.

Jesus viewed these two areas of His ministry as absolutely germane to His overall message of good and saving news.

That being so, you and I should make completely sure that we understand the nature of the salvation that the Lord offers us.

Only then can it we give it its rightful place in our lives.

Do you think that salvation refers to your spiritual health only?
If you do, it’s time to correct that false understanding.

What Current Scientific Studies Reveal About the Benefits of Prayer to Your Overall Health

Keeping this crucial fact in mind, let’s look now at what current science studies are revealing about the integral relationship between prayer and good health: in particular, good brain health.

You’ll discover...

• that negative thinking or overthinking. i.e. ruminating repetitively on one issue, (more commonly known as worrying), negatively affects your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health

• that prayer —in particular ‘mindfulness’ and praying/meditating in silence while letting go of words and thoughts) —helps greatly to heal this

• why this matters hugely to all Christian women

• the commonsense strategies that medical practitioners, including psychiatrists and psychologists, recommend as solutions for dealing with overthinking and worrying

Some Degree of Negative Thinking is a Normal Part of the Human Experience

This is definitely not to say that negative thinking always leads to illness.

In fact, a neurologist at a distinguished United States health care facility points out that some degree of negative thinking is a normal part of the human experience.

But experts also point out that accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative may not just put you in a better mood but is also good for your brain.

Prayer of the heart rises perfectly to this occasion.

Why?

Because praying with your heart accentuates the positive.

It connects you directly, firsthand, one-on-one, to the most POSITIVE ENERGY IN THE WORLD: namely, LOVE.

One of the very best ways to make sure you live the abundant, healthy life Jesus promised you is to discover —and  then put into practice —praying without words and thoughts, directly from your heart. 

Why?

Because, among innumerable other benefits, it improves the health of your brain.

You see, while the experts I studied conclude that any kind of prayer is good for the brain, they agree that ‘mindfulness’, or any form of prayer that focuses your whole being while keeping you in the present moment, is even better for your brain health than other forms of prayer.

Praying with your heart does both things. It focuses your entire being and it keeps you in the present moment.

When you Take Care of your Spirit, You Ensure Your Mental, Physical, and Emotional Health as Well

In highlighting the amazingly close link between prayer and good brain health, the current scientific research on which I’ve drawn for this article demonstrates that when you take care of your spirit, you ensure your mental, physical, and emotional health as well.

In other words, when your spirit is healthy, other health benefits automatically follow.

And Jesus said the same thing:

Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:33
New Living Translation

Note. The reverse is also true.    

When your spiritual health is weakened, the rest of your health suffers as well.

Worry is the enemy of all health, your brain health included.

Again, Jesus explained the same:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Matthew 6:25 NIV

And again:

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Matthew 6:27 NIV

But you say:

‘Jan, I lack the confidence (or replace ‘confidence’ with ‘time’) to pray without words.’

Or you say:

‘Don’t you know, Jan, that someone has to cook the dinner, and that I have to work my job if we’re to have enough money to put food on the table?’

OK

I get it. You’re busy. You don’t have the energy. You can’t find the quiet time with your noisy toddlers/teenagers, etc. etc.

I certainly do understand your concerns. I myself was once I very busy wife and mother, dealing with the pressing demands of daily life.

But ask yourself a few questions:

1. Can I really afford not to spend time in the Lord’s direct presence and pray with my heart?

2. Am I comfortable with losing out on receiving all that God wants so passionately to give me and communicate to me, simply because most times I pray, I do most of the talking and hardly any real listening? 

3. Am I satisfied to regard my prayer as mostly an ‘add-on’—rather than as a germane and foundational part of the woman that the Lord is inviting me to become?

4. Am I really sure that I want to continue my life falling short of the abundant, healthy life Jesus so wants me to enjoy (John 10:10)?

5. Can I really continue to juggle all the demanding balls in my life without damaging my overall health and wellbeing —spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical?

6. If I don’t take care of my health NOW, when will I?

7. Don’t I need dependable, quality health of mind, body, and spirit in order to carry out my responsibilities as Christian wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, and sister?

8. Don’t I need dependable, quality health of mind, body, and spirit in order to carry out my job well?

Current scientific research shows that when you take care of your spirit, you ensure your mental, physical, and emotional health and wellbeing as well.

So Why Continue to Struggle?

Why continue to struggle?

Why not just learn to pray with your heart?

It’s time to discover the multitude of overall health benefits that are yours when you discover how to let go of words and thoughts as you pray.

You don’t have to, and should not, restrict yourself to praying with your heart.

But this particular form of prayer should always be a highly prioritized part of your relationship with the Lord.

As the science experts have concluded, it provides huge health benefits!

And it hugely enriches all your other ways of prayer.

How Prayer of the Heart Helped Sonia Remain Calm and Balanced, and Reinforced Her Faith, When Things Looked Grim during the Covid Pandemic

Jan sent me her PDF GUIDE for prayer of the heart  in the middle of the Covid pandemic we were facing across the globe. The timing I believe was God appointed.

The concise and very practical way in which Jan explained the ease at which we can enter into the presence of God and envelope ourselves in the love He offers us as our Abba Father, was a timely reminder for me.

I have walked this journey with Jan for about thirty years, and quieting myself and spending time in HIS Presence is very much a part of my own walk with Jesus.

Discovering how to experience God’s love in this manner and journaling those things that the Holy Spirit speaks into my spirit helps my see my life with all of its challenges through the eyes of Jesus.

It truly dispels my fears and wipes away the anxiety that can so easily turn my life into turmoil.

One of the most helpful things about this article is that I can share these steps now so easily with friends and share this truly life changing process as we seek to know Jesus more intimately and make Him known.

Thank you, Jan, for sharing this with me. Sonia

 

 

Are You on Board?

Are you on board?

In light of these scientific findings, are you starting to better appreciate the critical brain health role played by prayer of the heart?

In order to write this article, I’ve consulted and studied well over a dozen articles and interviews published by medical and health experts in the last 3 years. These include medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists and professors in various medical fields.

These experts acknowledge that stress is a common part of everyday life, arising from ordinary life issues such as juggling family, work, and school commitments, or involving other considerations like personal relationships, health, and money.

But they believe that by understanding exactly how and why stress impacts the brain, they can provide insight into preventing, or even undoing, some of the damage stress brings.

Surely, the Lord —the chief proponent of human health and wellbeing —wants you and me to take full advantage of these people’s work and findings?

Overthinking (i.e. Worry) and Some of Its Negative Results

A team of psychology experts at Queen's University in Canada tell us that even an average person will typically have more than 6,000 thoughts in a single day.

And the experts note that everyone overthinks sometimes.

But the experts say that habitual worriers are different.

Habitual worriers, they explain, can't help over analyzing everything.

They call this ‘overthinking’.

 ‘Overthinking’ refers to a repetitive, negative pattern of thinking when you are faced with a problem that you can’t resolve.

A more common word for ‘overthinking’ is ‘worry’.

‘Overthinking’, the experts point out, is not in itself a medical term. But they point out that research shows that the habit can have real impacts on our health and well-being. 

The experts seem to emphasize overthinking and worry as a particular stressor on the brain.

They explain that continuous worry and anxiety leads to mental and emotional exhaustion.

Experts explain that this exhaustion can then manifest in several diseases such as…

• Heart disease

• Skin disease

• Bowel disease

• Allergies

• Infections

• A weakened immune system

In a new study, experts discovered that those participants who exhibited more repetitive thinking patterns showed more cognitive decline and problems with memory.

In addition, one expert points out that overthinking (worry) exhausts the brain cells, thus making them incapable of generating creative insights.

And researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have revealed that chronic stress causes mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders

Experts state that overthinking results also in...

• Difficulty in taking decisions
• Emotional disengagement
• Sleeplessness
• Digestive issues
• Aggression
• Resentment
• Difficulty in understanding other perspectives
• Loneliness
• Stress
• Repetitive thoughts
• Difficulty concentrating
• Problems with relationships
• Decreases confidence and fosters self-doubt

One of the psychologists points out that overthinking becomes a problem when it starts to affect everyday life.

Another expert points out that the longer you think about something, the less time and energy you have to take productive action.

In marked contrast to all the above, according to a professor and chair of the psychiatry department at a major American university, those who ‘age well’…

• Experience no cognitive problems

• Seem better able to think positively 

• Ignore negative inputs

• Focus on the positive

Finally, one psychologist makes an interesting point: namely, that ruminating on the worst possible scenarios and outcomes can be a misguided form of self-protection.

Some Solutions and Some Really Good News from the Science Experts:

‘You Can LEARN to be Optimistic’

At least one expert has stated that ‘you can learn to be optimistic’.

What tremendous good news!

Jesus would be/is so pleased by his belief!

Here now are some specific recommendations the experts offer to help us with overthinking:

1. Prayer and meditation 

2. Mindfulness

3. Letting go of stress

4. Letting go of anger

5. Keeping a diary.  This helps you to gain newer perspectives in a more relaxed way

6. Sharing your worries

7. Letting go of the past

8. Staying in the present.

9. Enjoying your present moments

10. Not being hard on yourself

11. Nurturing your relationships. Overthinking can sabotage them.

12. Saying no to perfectionism. Compulsive perfection leads to overthinking

13. Understanding your triggers

14. Moderating your news consumption

Note

During my spiritual and emotional crisis 39 years ago, God gave me a nugget of real wisdom: stop taking the newspapers! With some exceptions, I’ve stuck to this for 38 years and it’s done me only good. I choose only the news I believe I need to keep informed of. And I’ve found that I remain as well informed (and sometimes better informed) as most other folk! Neither do I carry much of the stress that others seem to carry, often without realizing it.

To Conclude…

Prayer of the heart helps greatly to HEAL overthinking and worry by…

• keeping you focused for a period of time in the present moment

• teaching you how to let go of thinking

• enabling you to accept your thoughts without judging them

You haven’t got to take my word for it. Why don’t you discover for yourself the innumerable benefits of this way of prayer? 

It’s a very simple way to help you maintain a healthy brain.

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Disclaimer

No content on this website should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health professional or clinician

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Related articles

How to Take Care of Yourself If You Are an Overworked Woman

The ‘Breath’ Prayer: A Prayer to Use When You’re Overwhelmed or Confused

How Your Spiritual Make-Up Gets in the Way of Your Prayer

 

Part 2 coming in 2 weeks