Does prayer actually work?
In this episode of The Catholic Talk Show, Ryan Scheel and Ryan Dellacrosse join with Alex Jones from the popular prayer app Hallow to discuss the effects of prayer and what prayer does in our lives!
In today’s fast-paced world, Alex explains how “the secular perspective would say ‘does prayer work, does it reduce your stress levels?’” It turns out “there’s a bunch of studies” that consistently show prayer has positive effects on your mental well-being “even more so than secular meditation.” It can alleviate stress, enhance mental clarity, and contribute to a healthier, more joyful life!
Beyond the mental health benefits, the discipline of daily prayer impacts our spiritual well-being even more. Alex says that cultivating a deeper relationship with God through prayer and doing His will brings us an “enormous sense of peace and this enormous sense of purpose” that can be truly life-changing.
He explains this sense of peace and purpose comes through the realization that “prayer is less of what you get out of it, it’s more so what God does in your life through it.”
While society might see prayer as just an occasional plea for divine intervention, Alex says the real meaning of prayer is daily connection with God. “We’re just given this life to learn something and to practice something and that thing is how to surrender everything completely and totally to God.”
“Everything… whether it’s love, whether it’s service, whether it’s theology, whether it’s thought, all starts from this relationship with God. And that relationship with God is prayer,” he says.
The guys explain how embracing prayer in this way might just be the ultimate ‘life hack’ you’ve been looking for!
Watch below 👇
Lord, hear our prayers! 🙏
