Does praying benefit the brain? The question may seem surprising, as prayer is often seen as a selfless act. And yet, those who pray often hope for something in return, whether for themselves or others. Petitionary prayer, while not the entirety of prayer, is nonetheless legitimate and deeply biblical. Think of the Psalms, the Our Father… “Ask and you shall receive,” the Gospel says (John 16:24).
What are the side benefits of prayer?
The question here concerns the “side benefits” of prayer, which neuroscience—flourishing today—might now be able to measure, much as it has done successfully with meditation over the past three decades. “Meditation, Prayer, and Neuroscience” was precisely the theme of a symposium organized by the Association of Christian Scientists January 17 at the Bernanos Center in Paris.
The event’s conferences and panel discussions yielded no earth-shattering revelations—prayer is not a miracle cure!—but did provide some insights, particularly clarifying the relationship between prayer and meditation. The key takeaways can be summarized in three points. First, prayer does, or rather may, have benefits, but its nature is complex, and scientific studies on the topic are too scarce or inconclusive to make categorical claims. On the other hand, meditation has many physical and psychological benefits, which are widely validated by science. Finally, while prayer and meditation are distinct, they interact in a fruitful way. Indeed, experts unanimously agree that meditation is not only beneficial—“It’s a practice that changed my life!” enthuses the first speaker, psychotherapist Jeanne Siaud-Facchin—but also a valuable aid to prayer. “It doesn’t diminish my Christian life; on the contrary, it enriches it,” testified Pascal Ide, a priest and theologian who also participated in the symposium.
Focusing on “here and now”
What exactly do we mean by meditation? While the word has a long history in Christian spirituality (such as meditating on the Word of God), the term here refers to a completely secular practice: mindfulness meditation (MPC, for Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the United States and popularized in France in the early 2000s by renowned psychiatrist Christophe André, who helped separate it from its Buddhist roots. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the “here and now,” particularly through body posture and attention to breathing, welcoming sensations and thoughts without judgment. It is about becoming present to oneself and the world. Nothing more… and nothing less. In a society that encourages distraction, meditation helps “quiet the noise of thoughts and emotions—often negative—and tap into one’s inner resources,” explained Jeanne Siaud-Facchin. She compared it to stepping into a clearing after walking through a tangled forest: “There, you can breathe, see far ahead… and reconsider your life.”
What science says
What do neuroscience and psychology reveal about meditation—and prayer? Both are altered states of consciousness (similar to those experienced in dreams or certain pathological conditions) that affect brain function and, consequently, how individuals relate to the world, explained François Vialatte, a clinical psychologist with a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. Their distinguishing feature is that they are conscious and voluntary acts.
In meditation, the brain’s cognitive control network (which acts as a conductor, regulating attention and projection) and default mode network (linked to imagination, empathy, and social interactions but also to rumination and anxiety) learn to work together in a kind of “neural dance.” This explained meditation’s scientifically observed benefits—emotional stability, improved cognitive abilities, stress and pain management, and a strengthened immune system. “More than 2,500 studies have confirmed these effects,” noted François Vialatte, who participated in the symposium. In contrast, Christian prayer has been the subject of only about 300 scientific articles, “which should be taken with a degree of caution.”
What are the results? Prayer appears to help regulate pain and mental health, “except in psychologically vulnerable individuals,” the researcher explained. Two brain imaging studies, one involving Carmelite nuns, have also shown activation of the default mode network, particularly in areas related to social cognition—in other words, prayer shifts focus away from the self (breaking ingrained cognitive patterns) and connects individuals to others… and to God. However, belief is a key factor: “Studies comparing believers praying to God versus praying to Santa Claus showed completely different brain activity,” the neuroscientist noted humorously. It is difficult to generalize, as prayer takes many forms and involves different subjective experiences. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which engage memory and imagination, are not the same as Carmelite prayer, which is more silent and receptive.
Meditation: The best ally of prayer
“Be careful not to instrumentalize prayer—God cannot be manipulated,” cautioned Father Ide, who strongly supported meditation but insisted on distinguishing the two. The question of prayer’s benefits, aside from being difficult to measure, is therefore secondary. “There is a threefold distinction between meditation and prayer,” explained the theologian: By nature – meditation operates on a purely human level; By object – meditation focuses on oneself and the environment, while prayer focuses on God; By goal – prayer seeks an encounter with God.
In other words, no matter how well one meditates, one has not yet begun to pray. This clarification is valuable: since prayer and meditation belong to different realms, they are not in competition and can be practiced together. The focus shifts: rather than reducing prayer to the well-being it might bring, why not enrich prayer with meditation’s well-documented benefits? What does meditation bring to Christian prayer?
First, meditation fosters presence—to oneself and to others—preparing the way to welcome God’s presence. For Jeanne Siaud-Facchin, it “allows one to be fully available in body, mind, and heart.” Claire Damy, another speaker at the symposium, saw it as “a stepping stone to prayer.” About ten years ago, the psychiatrist was shocked to hear a Christian claim that meditation was satanic. “For me, it helped me stay in the here and now, making my prayer deeper.” Today, she shared her experience by leading Christian meditation retreats.
The key to true and full attention
Aware of some Catholics’ reservations—and their broader difficulty in integrating psychology—Father Ide wrote a well-researched book showing how meditation not only coexists with the Christian faith but actually nourishes and enriches it. While he acknowledged that the word “meditation” can be ambiguous, he sees it as a spiritually neutral yet psychologically beneficial tool, invaluable for Christian life. For him, meditation is the key to true and full attention—the kind that, “when directed toward God, is the very essence of prayer,” as the philosopher Simone Weil wrote. In the famous Parable of the Prodigal Son, the theologian noted that the turning point occurs when the son “comes to himself” before returning to his father. Similarly, meditation helps one withdraw from external distractions and reconnect with inner life, an essential step toward an authentic encounter with God.
Prayer as an ascent
Best known as an advocate for meditation, Christophe André, in an interview with La Croix, does not hide his Christian faith—though he described it as “somewhat intermittent.” He discovered prayer in the late 1980s at the Benedictine monastery of En-Calcat, near Toulouse, where he had sought refuge after the death of his best friend. “It was a shock!” he recalled. “What I loved most was the time after the services, when the monks remained in silent prayer. I would stay until the last one had left. I absorbed it like osmosis.” This was his first experience of prayer’s benefits, which later led him to research mindfulness meditation. Today, he meditates daily but also prays: “That’s for special occasions!” he said with a smile. He firmly distinguishes between the two, as he recently wrote in the preface of a priest’s book: “Meditation and prayer are different, but more complementary than opposed: the former is like grounding, the latter like ascent.”
Reproduced with permission by La Croix International.
