New Study Finds Young People Who Pray Regularly Are ‘Flourishing’
By Movieguide® Contributor
A new study found that those who pray regularly report higher happiness and better mental health.
Dr. Josh Packard of the Springtide Research Institute recently reported on his findings about people aged 13 to 25.
“Faith and spirituality are good for you,” Packard stated. “If you’re a person who believes in some kind of higher power and has a connection to that higher power, you’re generally flourishing more than your peers.”
He continued, “Those who pray more tend to be flourishing more in all areas, including their mental health.”
Dr. Packard explained that these findings can teach culture and churches alike how to encourage young people to turn toward faith.
“Young people would be … better off if more of them had a connection to something bigger than themselves,” he explained. “But also, I think a lot of religious institutions and leaders would do well to take mental health into account, so that like faith and belief could be appropriately part of somebody’s overall approach to health.”
“We see lots of desire from Gen Z to embark on these conversations and explorations of meaning and purpose and, ‘Why am I here on this Earth?’” he continued. “So, the desire hasn’t gone away. The exploration hasn’t gone away.”
Dr. Packard is one of many who are encouraging young people to turn towards prayer. Movieguide® previously reported:
Actor and comedian Kel Mitchell, best known for KENAN AND KEL, is accustomed to making audiences laugh.
However, the GOOD BURGER actor recently opened up about his battle with depression and suicidal thoughts that plagued Mitchell behind the scenes.
Mitchell now talks freely about how faith in God offered healing and restoration, a message he gives from the pulpit as a pastor and in his latest book, “Blessed Mode,” which he released last December.
“I overcame a lot of that through the Lord. I grew up in the church and I always knew God, but there is a difference between knowing God and having a relationship with God,” Mitchell told CBN in a recent interview. “I went through a lot of different things, but what ultimately helped was having the love of God.
“I’m always talking about finding the gratitude in everything because there is a big difference between being happy and being joyful,” he added. “Having that happiness is like, ‘hey, it’s an emotion. It’s my birthday I can just be happy’, but if a circumstance comes up or a situation you have to deal with, it can bring you back into that depression. But joy is having that joy no matter what!”
Mitchell is the youth pastor at Spirit Food Christian Center in Winnetka, California. He said he wants to bring hope to a younger generation suffering greatly from anxiety and depression.
“They really need the love of Christ,” he said. “They really need that love in their life to help them. And I really feel like once the youth understand how God feels about them…[but] when they step into this Word and they hear about how much God loves them and that they are a part of a royal family and they invite him into their hearts, it can really change things.
“Take your anxiety, take your depression, take whatever it may be to the Lord first, so that way you prepare for your day,” he continued.
Mitchell said his devotional, “Blessed Mode,” also addresses practical ways to grow their relationship with Christ and daily prayer and Bible reading habits.
“It is really about letting you know that you are beautifully and wonderfully made by God and that no matter what happens for you to remember that,” Mitchell said. “He’s always with us and sticking to us like glue. He’s always there in the ups and the downs… I’m going into my day in blessed mode where I am looking through the eyes of Christ.”
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