Studies have documented that families who habitually eat dinner together seem to raise children with better homework skills, higher grades, greater emotional control, and more confidence.ˡ And, get this, simply making your bed in the morning is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of wellbeing, and stronger skills at sticking to a budget.²

Small alterations create widespread changes, as Zechariah 4:10 advises: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (NLT).

The Prophet Daniel practiced one habit every single day, three times a day: the practice of prayer.

The problem comes when the practice of prayer is mechanical, like the habit of making your bed every morning. There’s nothing wrong with bedmaking being a mechanical routine but praying must never become mindlessly automated, for Jesus warned, “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7 NASB). The words you pray should be expressions from the heart, not impersonal chants.

Brain scans show that when people recite memorized prayers or repetitive mantras, the same brain regions are activated as when reciting nursery rhymes. These are simply regions of recall, rote learning, and repetition, but the prefrontal cortex is not engaged at all. The prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain responsible for higher level moral development, empathy, relational interaction, and self-reflection.

However, when the habit of prayer is relational, like the habit of families who connect meaningfully while eating dinner together, the prefrontal cortex is activated along with other regions of the brain that are also activated when you talk to a friend—regions associated with anticipation, the expression of individuality, and consideration of your friend’s responses, attitudes, and feelings.

The way you pray can also affect your psychological adjustment. In the aftermath of the 9/11, 2001 terrorist attacks, University of Michigan scientists evaluated the impact of prayer in coping with trauma and discovered that students who prayed in the after- math of the trauma had better psychological adjustment one year later than those who did not pray. But they also evaluated Muslim refugees of Kosovo and Bosnia and found that many of them also prayed to cope with the stress, but 60% of them had ongoing PTSD. Interestingly, they found that 77% of them had “negative” forms of prayer, such as praying that their enemies “would pay for what they have done.” In other words, prayers of vengeance. iii

They found that positive prayers and practices were related to high levels of optimism, hope, and healthy adjustment, but justice-seeking and anger-related religious practices that pursued vengeance were related to reduced levels of optimism, hope, and healthy adjustment. They concluded that it depends which God you pray to, how you pray, and for what you pray.³

Besides praying three times a day, the Prophet Daniel also prayed with his friends, and at It Is Written Canada we have a team of prayer warriors who intercede on behalf of others. If you would like to team up with us, please, email your name and number to: prayerwarriors@iiw.ca We will connect with you and add your name to our prayer warrior team.

Thank you for considering being a part of our team! And thank you for supporting the ministry of It Is Written Canada with your prayers and ongoing financial contributions. 

– Mike Lemon