Recovery involves more than physical rehabilitation. In this episode of the POTS Podcast, Dr. Joseph Schneider discusses the role of prayer, faith, and spiritual discipline in supporting brain health and emotional resilience. Drawing from his own experiences, he shares how daily prayer and scripture reading became foundational practices in his recovery journey and how these habits can help individuals navigate life’s challenges with greater hope and purpose.
Announcement: A major breakthrough in neurological care has arrived. In this episode of the POTS Podcast, Dr. Joseph Schneider introduces the Spryson NeuroAI system, a cutting-edge technology designed to transform how brain conditions are diagnosed and treated. After 18 months of development and integration, this advanced platform combines AI-driven diagnostics, multimodal therapies, and regenerative medicine to deliver highly personalized treatment plans for patients with complex neurological conditions.Spryson NeuroAI: The Next Evolution in Brain RecoverySaturday Morning Workout: Rebuilding Strength After Stroke
Can prayer actually change the brain?
According to Dr. Joseph Schneider, prayer is more than a spiritual activity—it is a daily practice that helps build resilience, improve emotional regulation, and support long-term healing.
This episode explores how faith-based habits can complement physical rehabilitation and help individuals overcome challenges that often remain long after medical treatment ends.
Prayer as a Daily Brain Exercise
One of the central messages of this episode is that prayer should be practiced consistently.
Prayer is described as:
- Intentional
- Daily
- Transformational
- Relationship-centered
Rather than being reserved for times of crisis, prayer becomes a habit that helps strengthen emotional and mental resilience over time.
Dr. Schneider emphasizes that consistent prayer can help individuals navigate stress, uncertainty, and life’s inevitable challenges.
The 90-Day Prayer Challenge
A key theme in this episode is the introduction of a 90-Day Prayer Challenge.
Participants are encouraged to:
- Read scripture daily
- Spend time in prayer every day
- Develop consistent spiritual routines
- Reflect on gratitude and forgiveness
The goal is to create lasting habits that support both spiritual growth and emotional well-being.
According to Dr. Schneider, these practices can help reduce feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, and emotional distress while fostering greater peace and purpose.
Building Resilience Through Faith
Recovery often involves more than healing physical symptoms.
Patients frequently face:
- Anxiety
- Fear about the future
- Relationship challenges
- Emotional stress
- Ongoing life difficulties
Prayer is presented as a tool that helps people move from hopelessness toward hope by developing a stronger foundation for handling adversity.
A Holistic Approach to Healing
At Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center, healing is viewed through a broader lens.
The philosophy recognizes the connection between:
- Mind
- Body
- Spirit
Physical rehabilitation may improve function, but emotional and spiritual health also play an important role in overall well-being.
This holistic model seeks to help patients regain not only physical abilities but also purpose, confidence, and meaningful engagement with life.
Integrating Prayer Into Daily Life
Prayer is not limited to a single format.
Examples discussed include:
- Personal prayer
- Scripture reading
- The Rosary
- The Divine Mercy Chaplet
- Spontaneous prayer throughout the day
The emphasis is on creating consistent habits that fit naturally into daily routines.
For many individuals, these practices become a source of comfort, focus, and encouragement during difficult times.
Addressing Life After Rehabilitation
One important insight from the episode is that many challenges remain after formal treatment ends.
Patients may return to:
- Stressful environments
- Family conflicts
- Work pressures
- Emotional struggles
Dr. Schneider notes that while therapy can improve physical function, individuals still need tools to navigate ongoing life challenges.
Prayer is presented as one of those tools.
The Role of Accountability
Another major theme is personal responsibility.
Recovery requires:
- Consistent effort
- Daily habits
- Commitment to growth
- Active participation
Prayer is viewed not as a passive activity but as an intentional practice that encourages accountability and personal transformation.
Leadership Through Personal Experience
Dr. Schneider shares how his own near-death experience and recovery journey strengthened his commitment to prayer and scripture reading.
These experiences shaped:
- His personal routines
- The philosophy of the center
- His approach to patient care
By sharing his own story, he encourages others to develop spiritual habits that can support healing and resilience.
A Vision of Hope
The overarching message of this episode is simple:
👉 Hope matters.
Through faith, prayer, and consistent spiritual practices, individuals can develop the resilience needed to face life’s challenges while pursuing healing and growth.
For many patients, recovery becomes more than symptom improvement—it becomes a journey toward a more meaningful and purposeful life.
Start Your Recovery Journey
If you’re struggling with:
- Brain injury recovery
- Chronic illness
- Anxiety or emotional stress
- Loss of hope after illness
The Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center offers a holistic approach that addresses physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
👉 Visit https://hopebraincenter.com/ to learn more and schedule a consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can prayer improve emotional resilience?
Many people find that consistent prayer helps them cope with stress, uncertainty, and emotional challenges by providing perspective, hope, and a sense of connection.
What is the 90-Day Prayer Challenge?
The challenge encourages participants to spend time each day reading scripture and praying in order to build consistent spiritual habits and strengthen emotional well-being.
Is prayer intended to replace medical treatment?
No. Prayer is presented as a complementary practice that supports emotional, mental, and spiritual health alongside appropriate medical care.
How does prayer fit into a holistic healing approach?
Prayer addresses the spiritual and emotional dimensions of health, complementing physical rehabilitation, nutrition, exercise, and other therapies.
Can prayer help reduce anxiety and stress?
Many individuals report that regular prayer helps them feel calmer, more hopeful, and better equipped to handle life’s challenges.
Do I need to follow a specific prayer tradition?
No. While Dr. Schneider discusses Christian prayer practices, the broader message focuses on developing a consistent habit of prayer and spiritual reflection.
Why is consistency important in prayer?
Like any habit, consistency helps reinforce positive behaviors, strengthen resilience, and create lasting changes over time.
How can I begin a daily prayer routine?
Start small by setting aside a few minutes each day for prayer, reflection, gratitude, or scripture reading, and gradually build the practice into your daily schedule.
How does faith support recovery?
Faith can provide hope, purpose, emotional strength, and community support during difficult recovery journeys.
Who can benefit from this approach?
Anyone seeking greater emotional resilience, spiritual growth, or a more holistic approach to healing may benefit from incorporating prayer into their daily life.
How do I schedule a consultation?
👉 Visit https://hopebraincenter.com/ to learn more or schedule a consultation. You can find out more information at Spryson.
Transcript
Dr. Joseph Schneider (00:00): Hey, I’m live. I’ve never gone live before. This is the first time I’ve gone live. I’ve gone live because I’m going to be really kind of expanding my faith based practice, right? My faith based practice is Hope Brain center in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. And a good part of being a faith based practice is knowing that you can change your brain through prayer. And so I would say that changing your brain through prayer is probably the most important aspect of getting your brain where you want your brain to be. We concentrate mostly in brain rehab on physical things that we can do or meditation that we can do or relaxation exercises that we can do. But the power of Jesus Christ to change your brain and your life is, is, there’s nothing more powerful than that.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (01:22): So the power of your brain to change through prayer. And I’m not talking about saying a prayer once in a while. All right, so I want to challenge everybody that’s on this live post to pray. Now you can say, I want to argue with it or I want to, I’m not comfortable with it or mean, I mean, I don’t have a great relationship with God. And I, I, I, I don’t. And there’s a million excuses for it, right? I’m too depressed, I have too much anxiety, you know, I mean, you know, I’ve asked God for things before and it just, it’s not presented to me right in front of me. I mean, I’ve asked God things before. And so life is not about not having hardships. I’ve tried it.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (02:19): I mean, like, I’ve tried it. You know, if I had more money, I wouldn’t have hardships. If I had a better support and family, I wouldn’t have hardships if I had a better this, a better that. And what we do is we come up with excuses. So excuses are always preceded by but or, and okay, so I can have excuses or I’m not doing it, but doing it. But so you qualify it, Qualify it. And I didn’t realize how powerful prayer was until I needed it more than I ever had needed it. And when you get to a point where you’re so low or life events seem to be beating you down every day and you’re like, this isn’t fair. It’s not fair that I had an auto accident. I prayed to be safe.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (03:31): It’s not fair that I had a stroke. It’s not fair that this or that or that. It’s not fair, it’s not fair. And I’ve always said, like, why does God Allow suffering. Well, why do we personally allow ourselves to suffer? Now I can’t answer all the questions for you, but I can answer this question for you that why do we allow our own suffering? Why do we self sabotage our lives? Why do we have this constant post traumatic stress disorder that is always saying, woe is me, and not developing the resiliency that comes with prayer. Prayer is about resiliency in following Jesus Christ, our Savior. Now he didn’t save us because he was God by just coming down and said, all right, you’re all saved. Okay, was that easy.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (04:47): Well, God could do that, right? But he takes away, when he does that, he takes away your own personal power of choice. Okay? Now when you get close to God, you surrender, you totally surrender and you surrender all your power to your Savior. Now he came to earth and the evil one wanted to kill him, wanted to get him. People of power were afraid of him, were afraid of the holy family, his mother, the blessed mother and his foster father, St. Joseph. Could you imagine what kind of human beings would accept a Savior who has not wanted? I mean, I can’t imagine that. I can’t imagine that Jesus Christ being right next to me, putting his arm around me and not accepting him. But I probably would. I probably would at that time.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (06:10): So the Father sent the Son and the Son came here for us only to do good. He did nothing wrong. He just did really phenomenal stuff. And to teach us about heaven and about the most important thing for us to want in our lives is to go, go to heaven. Now, you know, I always thought that, you know, if I went, went to church once a week and then I, you know, was a good person, I did good things that I get to heaven. But that’s not the way it happened for me, right? So when I had a near death experience and God was pure light and peace and love, and I came back and I realized that I don’t do enough. I don’t do enough, I don’t pray enough.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (07:09): I don’t keep my eyes on Jesus Christ. I don’t honor his father and mother, his heavenly Father and his earthly father. I don’t honor them. And the ten Commandments become more distinct for me about all the small ways and big ways that I sin or hurt others. And so the challenge is for everyone. We have injuries, we have challenges in our lives emotionally, mentally and physically. And they’re real. They’re all real for everyone. And so if we get to the word of God through the Bible and read it every day, so 90 days, I’m saying, change your brain, change your life. Be there 90 days, get to the Word every day.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (08:20): And so my wife and I get up in the morning, we read the Bible, we say prayers, and it’s become like a thing that we just have to do, because it does. When you are doing things that are as thoughtful as coming in contact with the Savior of your soul, then things happen in the brain that you couldn’t realize would. Would happen before because you’re so convinced that nothing’s going to happen. It’s just like if you get up every day and you exercise, you exercise your body, or you exercise and you have praise music to our Lord Jesus Christ, to our God playing in the background, you’re praying and exercising. It’s a dual task that is very powerful for the brain.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (09:26): But when you repetitively do things every day with a purpose and a love and a dedication, then you plasticize your brain, especially what’s called the prefrontal cortex on each side, right? And the prefrontal cortex is very responsive to prayer, and it’s very responsive to changing our behavior, why we do things. And so let’s start changing our prefrontal cortex at the same time. Get saved so that the primary focus of our lives is getting into heaven, being with our Savior. Now, there’s a lot of roadblocks on the way, but you know what? The roadblocks get smaller and smaller once you get into the habit of daily prayer. So the Bible’s the first source that we go. And we will know God better by reading the Bible. And not just once, just over and over and over again.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (10:41): You know what impressed me is my wife’s father. He’s in Korea, in Seoul, Korea. And he’s. He rewrote the Bible, start to finish, 12 times. And I’m like, wow, how connected is he to our Lord Jesus Christ, to God the Father? It’s a Holy Spirit event when you rewrite the Bible and we have a copy in our home. And I’m so appreciative of having a copy at home. So read the Bible the first thing every day. Don’t skip every day. It’s like, we eat now. We eat for fuel, right? So every day you eat, you eat for fuel. And. But your fuel can be garbage or it can be something that makes you healthier, right?
Dr. Joseph Schneider (11:51): Well, fuel for your brain is prayer and reading the Bible on a daily basis to the point where you want to read it again and again and again. And as you do that, you start making connections that you never made before. And you Start to love. Your love becomes more expansive. And then the final point about rereading the Bible is your love grows, your forgiveness grows. Now I defy anybody that goes 90 days reading the Bible every day to be depressed or have anxiety. It’s being saved. It’s allowing God, saying God come into my life full force.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (12:53): Holy Spirit, knock me over, knock me over, get me to a point in which I’m resilient to all the things in life caused by sin that I’m responsible for and everybody but everyone else is where we get, we really do get saved. We get saved in the end. And what that looks like, I don’t know. But I know that I saw it and I’m getting back there. I’m going to get back there. It’s the most important thing is to get back there now. Good works to won’t do that, but through the grace of the Holy Spirit. The more the Holy Spirit comes into your life, the more good works you’re going to do. Good interactions that you’re going to have with people.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (13:51): You’ll meet people that are on the same path that you are and you don’t have to argue about anything other than whether you like chicken or broccoli. I did a segment on chicken and broccoli. That’s why I’m laughing. Or you like chicken soup, or you, or you don’t like lamb. Whatever you do or don’t like, those things become insignificant. So reading the Bible is number one. Number two, I’m a Catholic man and my wife’s Catholic also. And you don’t have to be Catholic, you don’t have to do Catholic prayers only. But I find that there are the rosary. So we pray the rosary and then we pray our, the Mercy chaplet on a rosary and then we have the, the seven sorrows of our Mother Mary rosary.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (15:03): And they’re all, they’re all have different gifts to them but we do that. And then I end up sending the rosary several times a day. Mercy Chaplet seven several times a day. And I say litany St. Joseph and then I’m in the car and I’ll have prayers come over the car and the radio or I mean I go down and exercise and I’ll put the rosary on again. And it’s been so much a part of my life that recovering from brain injury now is the most important thing is prayer. And not just prayer for myself, but all the intercessions that I may have for my patients who are suffering with great challenges and need to have hope. So we call ourselves the Hope center because most people live our lives in quiet hopelessness. Quiet hopelessness.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (16:18): That’s like horrible, right? Quiet hopelessness. And we lash out in a lot of different ways that we. We may not lash out as much if we decide that we center our lives on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ Prayer. So make it a regular part of you. Pray for others, God bless others, pray for the food that you eat, pray with your staff members, pray with your family, pray with your friends. It shouldn’t be that rare. Before my life, it was rare. And then after my stroke, I was 59 at the time. It becomes the most important thing that you can have in your life, and your brain will thank you for it.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (17:15): And then your brain will thank your body and you’ll be blessed in your brain, your body, your thoughts and really kind of sometimes get overwhelmed. It’s by it that how close you get to your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So this is my first live podcast. Well, it’s not a podcast from my first live video on Facebook. I hope it’s been a benefit to you and. All right, so one more point. I want to make one more point. People are always looking for the magic bullet. So they’re coming to the office and they’re finding what’s my magic bullet? What’s the one thing that I need to either take? Right. What’s the one thing I need to do or take as far as exercise, meditation, or things like that.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (18:23): Okay, what’s the secret sauce? And then when they hit that rehabilitation that I only I can do in this office with the power of Jesus Christ, Right. Then they have to face the world again. And facing the world again brings up the same thing that got them there in the first place. And it becomes very frustrating to me because there’s nothing I can do for you. Pray. Pray that you can get beyond your life circumstances with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and obedience of God our Father. And then you’ll get complete healing. And what that looks like, I don’t know, because it’s different for Everybody. Okay, so, Dr. Joe Schneider from the Hope Brain and Body Recovery Center, I invite you to click onto my lives.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (19:34): They’ll be coming spontaneously, but over the next 90 days, we’re going to be concentrating on getting your prayer life together, having a new relationship with God. And if you have none whatsoever, all you have to do is sit down and say, God, I want a relationship with you. Jesus Christ, I want a relationship with you. Guide me. Bring me there. Send the power of the Holy Spirit and His grace, so that I can heal and through my healing, I can heal others. Amen. So I’d like to say in Our Father, Our Father’s just the most wonderful prayer given to us by Jesus Christ himself. So, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Dr. Joseph Schneider (20:40): Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Have a great day. God bless you all.
