Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

Chapter 11 builds on Chapter 10, offering prayer and praise as the standard practices by which we can maintain our focus on the presence of God. Beginning with prayer, Groeschel clears up some common misconceptions about the practice, then encourages his readers to simply be themselves in their conversations with God: “God doesn’t want you to do it ‘the right way’ […]. He wants you to be yourself, just like he made you. Let your needs be known in the way that feels right to you” (172). To add to his argument that we should be engaging in prayer, Groeschel draws on neuroscience, citing studies from Dr. Andrew Newberg and Dr. Caroline Leaf, whose findings underscore the fact that a daily regimen of prayer can cause measurable changes in the brain. Groeschel quotes Leaf’s conclusions, saying that a habit of prayer “increases activity in brain areas associated with social interaction, compassion, and sensitivity to others. It also increases frontal lobe activity as focus and intentionality increase” (175). Dr. Newberg’s studies found that prayer was even effective in regulating the instinct-level responses of the amygdala, a result that came as a surprise to much of the scientific community.

Groeschel advises how a relationship with God can help one find peace and joy, even in the midst of emotional crises. He calls this “the perspective of praise” (180), in which we focus on God’s character and goodness, even if our outward circumstances are difficult. By praising God, we train our minds not to focus on our current situation, but on lasting truths. Making praise one of our regular habits keeps God’s presence before our mind’s eye, which then transforms our perspective.

Groeschel begins with a personal anecdote about earlier difficulties seeing the image hidden in 3D pictures; these were only resolved when someone told him to look through the picture, not at it. When he did, he was able to see the hidden image jumping out of the picture. In the same way, we should look through the surface-level picture of our momentary circumstances, with all their potential for emotional turmoil, and look instead at the abiding truths that remain behind that changing picture. Groeschel writes, “I don’t know what problems you’re staring at right now. You might have a big one and a complicated one and an annoying one. I’m not minimizing your issues. I know they are real. But don’t forget to look through. […] Don’t just look at what’s wrong. Look at what’s right. […] Literally count your blessings and thank God for them” (191).

Groeschel calls this “the Rejoice Principle”: “Revive your soul, reclaim your life. I stay mindful of God’s presence; I praise him” (189). The chapter cites the pattern of the biblical psalms as an example. Many of the psalms begin with the psalmist recounting all the things that are wrong in his life, together with his emotions of fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and grief. Most such psalms, however, make a transition to a new perspective, in which the psalmist addresses his own soul and calls upon himself to praise God. Groeschel again references the work of Dr. Andrew Newberg, whose studies have shown that intentional habits of God-directed praise result in an increase in volume in the brain’s cingulate cortex, which corresponds to greater compassion. By harnessing the Rejoice Principle, we can actively reshape our brain’s capacity for responding to our circumstances and to the needs of those around us.

The end of the book contains a conclusion, an afterword, and an appendix. The conclusion summarizes some of Groeschel’s personal declarations, then walks the reader through the four overarching principles of chapters 1-12.

Amy Groeschel, the author’s wife, wrote the afterward. She attests not only to her husband’s character but to the fact that he has put the book’s principles to practice in his own life. The final section is an appendix of Bible verses.