The Science of Reflective Prayer

This is how Reflective Prayer changes lives—welcome to the science

Reflective Prayer is far more than another prayer guide, or devotional. It is was built from the bottom up to integrate vital scientific understanding of how our brains work, our bodies change, and we flourish to the glory of God!

Psalm 46:10 expresses God’s invitation for us to “Be still and know that I am God.” For thousands of years, those seeking God have attempted to sit in God’s presence and gaze upon the beauty of the LORD (Psalm 27:4). This is the foundation of Reflective Prayer—to sit in silent, quiet reflection on who God is and what God is doing in our lives. What our ancient friends did know yet understand is how healing and powerful this type of brain activity is. Through Reflective Prayer, you will experience the impact of using your brain and body in the way God designed it to flourish—and will decrease anxiety, increase awareness and regulate your nervous system! Ultimately you will move back towards God as you practice Reflective Prayer in a way that will allow you to move towards yourself and others.

Let’s walk through the 4 steps of Reflective Prayer and see how the science informs the practice!

Connect

As you slow your body and notice your sensations, thoughts and feelings, you are enacting self-directed neuroplasticity[i] and autonomic arousal control. You can think of it like this: You are helping your body learn to be calm, while harnessing your brains ability to adapt and deliberately improving your experience of life and God.

Schwartz describes self-directed neuroplasticity as, “Using the power of focused attention, along with the ability to apply commitment, hard work, and dedication, to direct your choices and actions, thereby rewiring your brain to work for you and with your true self.”[ii] You are training your brain to more readily understand you. This is the benefit of being guided to connect with your experience.

This process of learning to know ourselves is most effective when we are physically calm. Van der Kolk states it simply: “We can directly train our arousal system by the way we breathe, chant, and move.”[iii]  Our bodies—along with our brain—learn to have a new normal, a calmer, more reflective one.

Present

As you begin presenting yourself to God, you are maintaining the focused energy we mentioned above that changes your brain. Further, you are bringing your memories to light so that hippocampal rehearsal can occur—a process where you re-experience your memories and they begin to change.[iv]

Everything that is in the past—the moment before this one—is your memory. So when you present yourself to God, a large part of what you are presenting is memory, even if it feels like emotions and thoughts. He is the safest context, and provides a new experience of relationship.

Your self-neuroplasticity work continues as you practice accepting and allowing your experience. Denying what is actually true often causes emotional pain and relational frustration. When we present truth to God, our brain learns that it can accept what is true, and that we can stay present with it.

Focus

When you hear God’s truth you participate with Him by agreeing. This is the continuing work of hippocampal rehearsal as you are bathed in the bigger story of God’s design and goodness. Your memory is now shaped in the light of God’s unwavering approval and consistent advocacy.

Insecurity fades from our self-concept as the memories that fuel it are literally rewritten in the context of God’s truth. The memory doesn’t go; it just has new meaning and emotion connected with it.

It is also known that relationships are fundamental to our wellbeing. Research on attachment is prolific, and there are scores of studies that show the heart of counseling’s effectiveness is the relationship. RP integrates a powerful relationship with God where attunement and engagement deeply alter the brains experience of others.

Ask

God comes to meet your desire as He helps you believe His truth and imagine its impact on your lived experience. The emotional impact of Reflective Prayer’s visualization is very poignant, and therefore it is remembered—this is the process of emotional salience.[v] Focusing on building positive experiences is a kin to glorifying God and gave rise to the whole school of positive psychology, where it is known that mental health can be built by focusing on good—not just eliminating bad!

The faithfulness and presence of God is given to us, and as Van der Kolk reminds us: “[we need] confidence that others will know, affirm, and cherish us. Without that we can’t develop a sense of agency that will enable us to assert: This is what I believe in; this is what I stand for; this is what I will devote myself to.”[vi] As God’s impact in Reflective Prayer is felt it allows you to say these things and feel alive and healthy.

Prayer that Results in a Healthier Brain and Fuller Life

Reflective Prayer has been designed for your health and vitality, and for God’s glory. We have seen how neuroscience and our focused efforts can make change occur in the vital context of God’s truth. It is simple and yet deeply profound as our memories, self-stories, self-acceptance and our ability to relate are all improved.

We trust you will discover the impact of Reflective Prayer for yourself.