The Power of Prayer

 In this episode, we explore the incredible power of prayer—both spiritually and scientifically. For centuries, people of faith have believed that prayer changes things. Now, modern science is beginning to show that prayer and meditation actually change us—our brains, our nervous systems, and even how our bodies respond to stress.

If you’re walking through a season of starting over—after divorce, loss, or a major life transition—prayer can be a steady, grounding tool when everything else feels overwhelming. Today, we’ll talk about how prayer rewires the brain, why memorized prayers can calm you in moments of anxiety, and how connecting to a Higher Power brings comfort when you’re tired of carrying everything alone.

Transcript

Hello, my name is Tiffany, and welcome to the podcast, Working on Amazing. This is a podcast where we talk about the work that it takes to rebuild an amazing life. Now, in today's episode, we're going to be talking about the power of prayer.

And what I find really fascinating about today's episode is we're going to be talking about how science actually backs up what people of faith have known for centuries, and that is that prayer actually affects our bodies. It affects our brains.

It affects our nervous system. It affects even how our bodies respond to stress. So science backs this up, and I find that so fascinating.

Most of my life, I've always been a person of faith. I grew up in a Christian home.

But as I grew and went to school and got around people, there were people who were people of science, and it almost felt like if you believed the things of science, you could not believe things of faith.

And if you believe things of faith, it was tricky some of those things of science, and it felt like there was a great divide.

And I have always felt like maybe I was a little bit of an oddball or something different, because I firmly believe that science backs up my faith. I believe in the great creator. I believe God created the earth, so he created science.

I mean, biology, all of it is, to me, of course speaks to a creator. That's just my naive and simplistic way of looking at the world. But when there's actual science that backs it up, I have to bring it to you.

I find it so beautiful. I mean, that's really what I have to say. I find it beautiful.

I think it's important also to talk about prayer, because when you're going through a season of change and transition, I mean, this podcast is dedicated to women who are starting over in the middle of their life, and that is very stressful.

And so when we're walking through a stressful season, prayer can be a steadying, grounding tool, especially when everything feels overwhelming. So prayer literally can rewire your brain, and I think it's so important.

And that's why it's important to have some memorized prayers, because when we really have a moment of anxiety, where we feel like we're spiraling, if you can latch on to something that you've already locked into your memory, like the Lord's Prayer,

that can really help calm you back down and help you feel steady. It can bring you comfort. I just feel like prayer got me through. It was my anchor.

It was my relationship with God was such a foundation. That's why I say, you know, I focused on five areas when I started over, my spiritual health, my mental health, my physical health, my financial health and growth and goals. Those were the five.

Spiritual health came first. It's the first one for a reason because it's foundational. And prayer is such an integral part of my spiritual health.

So the fact that science backs up the power of prayer, of course, I had to do a podcast episode about that. I just find that awesome.

3:34

Brain and Prayer

So prayer isn't just spiritual, it's neurological. So recent studies using MRI brain scans have shown that prayer activates parts of our brain associated with peace, focus, compassion, and emotional regulation.

Isn't that really cool that they can tell that on a brain scan? Prayer literally helps calm the nervous system and reduces stress responses. Science is finally catching up.

We knew it all along, but I'm so glad that science can confirm that prayer changes us from the inside out. When you're in a stressful time, we talk about your breathing techniques and affirmations.

We talk about ways to calm ourselves down in an anxiety panic attack situation. Prayer literally has been shown via brain scans that it calms your nervous system.

So, if there were not so many reasons to promote the power of prayer, science is here giving us the assist. Thank you, science. I just appreciate that.

4:49

Rewiring the Brain

Now, prayer also rewires your brain through neuroplasticity, which I find so fascinating, neuroplasticity. But your brain is constantly changing based on what we practice and repeat. And I've said this before in other podcasts, right?

So, when we pray regularly, we train our minds to shift away from fear and into trust. Over time, prayer helps us move from panic to peace. It helps us move from chaos to clarity and from despair to hope.

We are rewiring our brain. Neuroplasticity, and that whole concept, says that our brain is constantly shifting. And what we do repeatedly, we train our brain.

So, if you pray constantly, and we know that prayer reduces stress and calms the nervous system, you are training yourself, you're training your brain to calm down. And the act of prayer is just dependency on God. It's shifting to trust.

It's such a beautiful thing. The posture of prayer, like internally, the posture of your heart is surrender. And I have prayed because I was anxious.

But most of the time, by the time I get to the end of my prayer, I'm no longer anxious.

And through surrender and trust in God, releasing those feelings of anxiety and fear, we're training our brain over and over every time we pray to do that, to release that and lean in to trust. And how beautiful is that?

6:51

Memorized Prayers

So, I want to talk about the power of a memorized prayer. And this is kind of like spiritual muscle memory, right? So, you can remember the words of a song, right?

Especially if the song was on the radio when you were in high school. It doesn't matter what your age is now. But you remember, like, there's a certain song that comes on, and you can say the whole thing.

I am of the generation of ice ice, baby. I memorized that entire song. And I hear that beat, and I can say the entire thing, because that's the way muscle memory works once we memorize something.

So, if you memorize a prayer, and I would definitely suggest with starting with the Lord's Prayer, because when the disciples went to Jesus, and they said, how do we pray? He said the Lord's Prayer.

That was how he was teaching the disciples how to pray. So, I think that's a great one to start with. And it's not that long.

It's easy to memorize. But if you repeat that and you pray it, then when you're overwhelmed, and your mind goes blank, or even worse, it starts to spiral, we've all been there, you have something to latch on to that you've memorized.

And you don't have to worry about coming up with all the things and knowing the right words to say, you've memorized it. I'm not a big proponent of long prayers. Sometimes I pray a lot because I talk a lot.

But it doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't matter how you say it. It matters that you say it.

God looks at your heart. But having something to say, you know, I go over the Lord's prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.

And then I just kind of rephrase that in everyday English. So I say, Oh, God, you're in heaven. My heavenly Father, holy is your name.

And then the next part, your kingdom come, your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. And so I say, God, your kingdom, your plan, your blueprint, the way you've mapped it out in heaven, may it be here on earth.

In my life, your kingdom come in my life. The heavenly plan for my life, may that happen here on earth, just like you've mapped it out in heaven. And sometimes I expand on things because I'm just a wordy person.

So I can expand on things. That's just what I do in every part of my life. But take the Lord's Prayer and just memorize it and put it in your own words.

Okay? Jesus was saying that. And sometimes the days and the vows and the those, when you say hallowed be your name, it feels a little weird because we don't talk like that.

So put it in your own words. What would you say instead of hallowed be your name? Well, I would say holy is your name.

But maybe you would say something different, like break it down. Once you've memorized it and you know it by heart, then you can start taking a little bit of liberty. Like, how would I say this in my own words?

How would I make it relational? If I were talking to God, Jesus was talking to his father. You are too.

How would I say it and make it a little bit more conversational? Make it make sense. So sometimes when I can't sleep at night, which happens a little more often these days, I guess it's something to do with middle pause.

I get up at night and I do, I repeat the Lord's Prayer and I put it in different phrases of regular English, like the way I talk, Southern. I don't bless anybody's heart, I promise. But I try to make it relatable to me.

I say it the way I've memorized it, and then I say it in my own words. And I just say it over and over until I feel peace. And then sometimes I get to go back to sleep.

And that's nice. Because prayer and repetition sometimes just really calms the anxiety and the stress. And just the...

Sometimes I wake up and I can't sleep, and it's not because of anxiety. Sometimes it's not because of stress. I just wake up, and prayer can calm my heart.

And latching on to something I've already memorized is really, really helpful. It's kind of like when you're driving home from work, and you pull in to the driveway, and you're like, oh my word, how did I get home? Muscle memory got you home.

You knew every turn, and you kind of zoned out a little bit, and you're like, whew, that was a little... How often have you done that? Well, when you've memorized a prayer, muscle memory works for you.

And that can be extremely helpful when you're in a difficult season, and when you're more prone to heightened anxiety and panic and things come up that feel emotionally overwhelming or triggering, having something memorized like that is extremely

helpful. helpful.

12:26

Not Alone

One, I think, of the most comforting truths about prayer is you don't have to carry everything alone.

When we go through a difficult season, when something traumatic has happened, when our whole world has been turned upside down, we feel like we've got to put it all back together. The responsibility feels overwhelming.

But when we pray, when we talk to God, it reminds us that there is someone bigger than you. That means there's someone bigger than your pain, bigger than your past, bigger than your problems. You're not alone.

And you don't have to carry it alone. And that is one of the beautiful things of prayer, is it reminds us we're not alone, and we don't have to carry it alone.

God is bigger than us, and that is probably one of the most comforting things, especially when you're overwhelmed and you're stressed, because overwhelm means I've got to do it all. Stress means it's all on me.

Prayer reminds me, I'm not the end of everything. God is bigger than me. And I can release control, and I can say, I don't have to do this by myself.

That is beautiful. You know, after divorce, after loss, after betrayal, or any major life change, prayer really becomes a lifeline. You don't know what's next.

But prayer keeps you connected to the one who does. Prayer helps you process grief. It helps you rebuild your identity, to find strength for the next step, even when you can't see the whole path.

14:40

Prayerʼs Effectiveness

Prayer is powerful. I am so grateful that that's the way I communicate with God. I'm so grateful that I have that powerful tool of prayer.

It has been invaluable in my life. It's like we have this beautiful tool, and sometimes we forget to use it, you know? It's like, oh yeah, I've got this.

Prayer is a lifeline, especially in a difficult season. If you feel overwhelmed, let me encourage you to pray. If you feel afraid, I want to encourage you to pray.

If you feel tired of being strong, let me encourage you to pray. You don't have to have fancy words. You don't have to have eloquent speech.

You don't even have to have perfect faith. Did you know that? You just have to be willing to show up and connect.

Prayer is spiritual. Prayer is powerful. Prayer is effective.

And I think it's really cool that science finally agrees with what believers have known all along.

If you would like to tell me about things you pray about, how prayer has been effective in your life, how prayer has made a difference for you, I would love to hear from you. You can find me online, www.workingonamazing.com.

You can also find me on social media. I have an account on several different platforms, but I do hang out on Facebook the most, and that's just a business page, Working on Amazing. Hit me up.

Send me a direct message. I would truly love to hear from you. How has prayer changed your life?

How has prayer been effective for you? I love to hear the stories. I love to hear the testimonies of The Power of Prayer.

They encourage me so much. Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to talking to you next time.

Bye.