Have you considered how prayer can help you?
You don’t need to be part of an organized religion to receive the benefits prayers bring you. But if you’ve never done it before, you might not know how they can help.
Don’t worry, we’re here to help! Read on for these seven benefits of prayer and how it could improve your life.
1.Helps Your Self-Control
In science, there is a reference to self-control as a “strength model”. This suggests that our brain’s resources (like our physical ones) have a limit. And a lot of us will have experienced this.
Ever feel like at the end of a long day, you’re mentally drained? That run you wanted to go on doesn’t happen. And you don’t end up making that healthy meal you wanted, but get takeout instead.
A study in Germany found that prayer can help counteract this mental drain. And it can provide a boost to your self-control. They studied people who prayed right before they completed a difficult task. They say that you should make angel prayers for your every wish, and it certainly looks like it will work with self-control.
It found that they could complete them without ending up mentally drained. Those who didn’t pray beforehand did not do as well on the test and suffered fatigue.
A Queen’s University study also found something similar. Over the span of four different experiments, people displayed more self-control. It was in an environment where there were subtle religious reminders.
2.Activates “Disease-Fighting” Genes
Harvard Medical School found that relaxation strategies can activate “disease-fighting” genes. These strategies include:
- prayer
- meditation
- mantra
- yoga
Relaxation practices active these genes that can help protect you from different disorders. Some of these include high blood pressure, infertility, arthritis, and even cancer. The more regular you are with these practices, the more benefit you should see.
3.Aids Pain Control
One study by Bowling Green State University found prayer to help reduce headaches. The study asked migraine suffers to pray each day. They were to use the mantra “God is good, God is peace, God is love.”
Another group used a nonspiritual mantra instead. The study ran for a month, and those who used the spiritual mantra showed good results. They reported more tolerance for pain and fewer migraines. But those who used the nonspiritual mantra reported no benefits at all.
4.Helps You Handle Stress
A study by the University of Florida found that 96% of older adults used prayer at a time of stress. Prayer was actually reported as an alternative treatment by the older population.
They said they used it to make themselves feel better and keep in good health. 1-in-3 who responded said they also used other spiritual strategies as well. This included:
- music
- art therapy
- imagery
- meditation
- humor
- energy healing
- religious counseling
Senior citizens who used prayer (and other spiritual strategies) also were more positive. They had better self-reliance and were able to cope better.
5.Helps Ease Depression
Prayer can have a positive impact on your general state of well-being. This could be because prayer (and other spiritual strategies) increase your dopamine levels.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, that your body releases when you feel happy. Or when you feel pleasure. It boosts your positive emotions, brain function, and fuels motivation. Healthy, adequate levels of dopamine also help to prevent anxiety and depression.
In another study, it focused on adults who had a risk of depression due to a family history of it. Usually, if people are at risk of depression, they show a thinning of the brain cortex in certain areas.
Using brain scans, they found those who had high spirituality had thicker cortices. In the same regions, those who had no spirituality showed typical thinning. And those who had spirituality in their daily lives were 90% less likely to get major depression.
6.Helps Boost Relationships
Prayer can be a huge boost to those close relationships you have around you. It’s shown that if you pray for a friend or partner, it increases your levels of forgiveness for them.
It also can help boost trust within these relationships. In fact, studies show those who pray for an intimate partner are less likely to commit infidelity.
As well as this, a study looked into how people viewed the sacrifices they made for those close to them. It’s one of the best ways to look at how satisfied you are with that relationship.
In this study, they found those who prayed for the person were more satisfied with the sacrifices. They were more willing to make them, and it helped improve conflict resolution. Participants also reported feeling closer to the person and understood them better.
7.Allows Self-Reflection
Sometimes, we all feel the pressure to fit into the world around us. In this age of social media and the internet, it seems like we’re always on view.
A lot of the time, the way we act and what we say reflect how we’re feeling inside. If we’re in a bad mood we can say ugly things, that make us ugly inside and out.
But it’s important at these moments to step back and take a hard look at ourselves. And prayer can help us do that. It gives us the chance to open our hearts and assess our darkest points, our blemishes, and our wrinkles.
Praying helps us to examine ourselves in the eyes of God. This allows us to become more humble, and understanding ourselves. This self-reflection helps make it easier for us to cope with the challenges in our lives.
Benefits of Prayer You Don’t Want to Miss
So, there you have it! Now you know these seven benefits of prayer, you should give it a try.
Prayer offers us a chance to get to know ourselves better, and those around us. It’s a moment to step back and reflect on our actions, as well as the challenges we face. It can help calm and guide us and give us motivation and purpose.
If you found this article helpful, check out our other blog posts today!