Prayer Literally Does This to Your Brain

Published: July 11, 2025

prayer, faith — Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash

By Movieguide® Staff

Pastor JP Pokluda shared the advice a therapist gave him about praying, even when you feel stuck.

“My nerves were shot,” Pokluda explained in an episode of “The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast,” talking about a difficult time in his life. “I started cutting corners on my quiet time, just getting busier and busier…I end up in this therapist’s office.”

The therapist began speaking to him about cognitive behavior therapy and meditation, which Pokluda was initially resistant to, but the therapist explained to him that prayer is a form of meditation.

“And he literally prescribes prayer,” Pokluda said. “And he’s not like, ‘Pray for healing.’ He’s like, ‘Praying will heal you…As you talk to God and you move to this deep, contemplative state, the serotonin levels of your brain, the pathways in your brain — it will begin to heal your brain.’”

Pokluda pointed to Philippians 4 as scripture that supported the therapist’s comments — “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” via Bible Gateway.

“And I was like, ‘Oh, this guy is prescribing something that’s 4000 years old,’” Pokluda explained. “‘He’s prescribing the ancient tradition that God told us to do.’”

Candace Cameron Bure has previously spoken about the importance of prayer. In a conversation with her brother, Kirk Cameron, she said, “God doesn’t always answer prayers the way we want Him to. But it’s so important because it not only connects us to Him, but it’s just saying, ‘Lord, I am dependent upon you no matter, no matter what happens.”’

“I pray so much and I see God answer so many things, to the smallest, tiny things, and sometimes really big things,” she concluded.

It’s a message that the FULL HOUSE actress is passing along in her latest book, 100 Days of Joy and Strength: A Daily Devotional Journey.

“It’s literally a couple of minutes every day,” Bure told Fox News of the book. “So, it’s like two little pages. There’s a reflective story that I’ll tell that’s a personal story, either something that has happened in my life or something that I observed, and then there’s a Bible verse that goes with it, and it applies to that Bible verse.”

She continued, “It’s just a couple of minutes every day to remind you to renew your mind, to connect with God and what His word says and remind you that He is your joy, that your joy comes from Him and He also is your strength.”

Prayer is a powerful tool, as both Pokluda and Bure remind us, and can change everything — from the way we view certain situations to encouraging us in our daily efforts.

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