Life is Better for Those Who Pray
People who pray regularly are less anxious, more hopeful, and more resilient.
A study from the Mayo Clinic found that people who engage in regular spiritual practices—including prayer—have better stress management and lower levels of depression. According to Pew Research, highly religious people are more likely to describe themselves as “very happy” compared to less religious peers.
Prayer literally changes your brain. Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania, has used brain scans to show that prayer activates parts of the brain associated with empathy and compassion while reducing activity in the amygdala, the brain’s stress center.
John Ortberg put it this way: “Prayer isn’t about getting God to do what we want—it’s about aligning ourselves with what God wants and learning to trust Him.”
Life is Better for Those Who Read the Bible
Regular Bible reading is one of the strongest predictors of spiritual growth—and life satisfaction.
A groundbreaking study by the Center for Bible Engagement found that people who engage the Bible four times a week or more experience significantly lower levels of destructive behavior. They are:
- 62% less likely to drink to excess
- 59% less likely to view pornography
- 45% less likely to gamble
- 228% more likely to share their faith with others
- 407% more likely to memorize Scripture
- 231% more likely to disciple others
Those who read Scripture often report higher levels of hope, meaning, and purpose. This isn’t just correlation—it’s formation. When we steep our minds in God’s truth, it changes our patterns of thought and behavior.
Or as Willard wrote, “The most important thing in your mind is your mind, because what you fix your mind on determines the kind of person you become.”
Life is Better for Those Who Serve
Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26). It turns out, science agrees.
Serving others boosts happiness. A report in the journal BMC Public Health showed that people who regularly volunteer experience less depression, greater life satisfaction, and even live longer.
A Stanford study found that volunteering produces a “helper’s high”—a release of dopamine in the brain that reinforces joyful, generous behavior. And the effect compounds: the more you serve, the more joy you experience.
Comer writes, “When we follow Jesus in downward mobility—when we serve instead of strive, give instead of grasp—we find the strange, upside-down joy of the kingdom.”
Life is Better for Those Who Attend Church
Despite cultural assumptions that church is irrelevant or boring, consistent churchgoers live longer, happier, and more stable lives.
Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that those who attend services weekly are:
- 33% less likely to die during the period of study
- 29% less likely to become depressed
- 50% less likely to divorce
Far more likely to experience higher social support and greater meaning in life
These aren’t minor differences. The church, for all its flaws, is a fountain of flourishing. And it makes sense: discipleship isn’t just a personal journey—it’s a community project. You can’t follow Jesus in isolation.
As Ortberg said, “You can’t grow spiritually unless you’re connected relationally.”
Life is Better for Those Who Forgive
Jesus taught us to forgive—not because it’s easy, but because it’s freeing. Forgiveness isn’t letting someone off the hook. It’s setting ourselves free from the hook of bitterness.
Research from Johns Hopkins shows that people who forgive have lower blood pressure, reduced anxiety, improved heart health, and stronger relationships. Holding onto resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.
Disciples of Jesus are learners in the way of forgiveness. And that way leads to peace.
Life is Better for Those Who Give
It is more blessed to give than to receive—not just spiritually, but biologically.
Studies from the University of Notre Dame found that generous people are happier and healthier. MRI scans show that giving activates the brain’s reward system and releases serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin—all chemicals associated with joy and trust.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Giving recalibrates our hearts. It teaches us that life is not about accumulation but participation in God’s work in the world.
Life Is Better for Disciples
We’ve been sold a lie that following Jesus is a grim duty, a restrictive life, a list of “don’ts.” But the real cost is not discipleship—it’s non-discipleship.
Willard famously wrote:
“Non-discipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances… In short, it costs exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring.”
Discipleship is not a sacrifice of the good life. It’s the doorway into it.
To follow Jesus is to enter a new kind of existence—one where peace isn’t dependent on circumstances, where joy runs deeper than emotion, where purpose outlasts productivity, and where love rewires us from the inside out. Why don’t we do it? Well, it is work. It is hard. Putting on Jesus’s easy yoke is hard:
Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort. And it is well-directed, decisive, and sustained effort that is the key to the keys of the Kingdom and to the life of restful power in ministry and life that those keys open to us.[1]
It’s not always easy. But it’s always better.
[1] Dallas Willard, The Great Ommision
