Praying for My Basal Ganglia - Biola University Chapel - 2/4/25

·36 min·3 clips

Jeff Peabody describes the moment his brain broke with uncontrollable intrusive thoughts, leading to a frightening mental health crisis.

The episode features Jeff Peabody, a pastor and author, speaking at Biola University chapel. He opens by introducing himself, noting his 22 years at New Day Church and his books on anxiety and children's fantasy. Jeff shares a photo from his college days, illustrating how he often projected a cool image while feeling insecure inside. He describes hitting a mental and emotional wall during pastoral ministry, experiencing intrusive thoughts that led to a diagnosis of OCD. A conversation with a therapist friend, Bill, revealed Jeff's lack of self-awareness about his anxiety. Jeff recounts a night of spiritual struggle where he invoked the armor of God but found no immediate peace, leading to three realizations. First, he had a shallow understanding of the armor, treating it like magic rather than trusting in Christ. Second, he had a mixed-up idea of discipleship, thinking maturity meant needing grace less. Third, his prayer life was inadequate, focusing on eradication of anxiety rather than God's power in weakness. Jeff explains the physical aspect of OCD involving the basal ganglia and reframes prayer to bring it under Jesus' name. He emphasizes that God's love is unconditional, using a quote from his son Peabod. The talk ends with a prayer encouraging listeners to set down their self-protection and trust Christ as their armor.

As heard by us

A candid chapel talk about anxiety, spiritual language, and the patience of a love that remains.

Jeff Peabody's chapel talk begins with a modest welcome and a joke about being an unknown commodity, then settles into a candid reflection on anxiety, OCD, and the risk of easy spiritual answers.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You can press play for a chapel talk that starts with tepid applause and arrives at a steady prayer for anxious minds.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from New Day Church NE Tacoma