This is Felicia Ferguson with Christian Mix 106, helping you build faith for the journey.
When did you learn “The Lord’s Prayer?” Sunday School? Youth group? Or later as an adult? It is probably the most familiar and universal Christian prayer. It covers the basic needs of life: commitment, behavior, provision, forgiveness, and protection. But did you know prayer can be an effective self-care strategy?
For the apostle Paul, prayer was first and foremost in his life and he encouraged everyone he taught to make it a priority for themselves. He directed Timothy, his spiritual son, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.”
Paul spent a great majority of his ministry in a prison cell in one city or another. Isolated at times, sick or abused at other times, he continually encourages young Christians to engage in prayer. In fact, prayer appears to be an early, if not his first, response to losing his sight on the road to Damascus.
His life was not without suffering, hardship, and loss, and yet he possessed a level of peace and joy that would seem unachievable in those circumstances. Is it possible his dedication to prayer as a way of life could create such a state of well-being that he could achieve what would appear to be the unachievable?
The practice of prayer has been gaining researchers’ interests and over the last few decades studies have been conducted to determine what, if any, impact prayer has on the human brain. What researchers have found confirms what the Apostle Paul said can happen. The mind can be impacted and renewed through the spiritual discipline of prayer.
During intense spiritual experiences, the levels of serotonin are increased in the brain. That is a chemical that is largely responsible for mood. If its levels are out of whack, then depression and other anxiety disorders can result. But hear me. This is not to say that medication might not be needed. It also doesn’t mean if you are taking medication that you are lacking in faith. It simply means that prayer can be an effective self-care technique to help combat depression and anxiety.
There are many ways to pray. Conversationally, ritually, or even structured prayers like The Lord’s Prayer or the Lectio Divina, which is guided prayer. But no matter which method you choose, if you’re stressed, depressed, or anxious, trying praying as the first course of your self-care regimen.
This is Felicia Ferguson. Thanks for listening to Christian Mix 106.
