Why do some prayers seem to go unanswered? Will God’s will be done whether we pray or not? And if so, what’s the point of praying?  This episode we chat with Dr James Banks, a pastor, speaker, author, and writer for Our Daily Bread, about the idea of unanswered prayer. We also revisit Jemimah from Episode 10, whose prayers to be healed from her OCD went—seemingly—unanswered.

What do we do when the challenges of life hit? How can we have hope, when life around us may seem hopeless - even when we have faith? This episode, we look at what it means to have hope when life seems hopeless, featuring Katherine Catlett

We all know how good friends can be, but for more people than we expect, friendlessness and disconnection are significant issues in their lives. How do we go about fixing that? We're joined by Sheridan Voysey, from Friendship Lab, to look at how we can grow our friendships and connections.

We all recognise the importance of rest, but how often do we find ourselves indulging in mindless entertainment when only resting in God can truly satisfy? In the first episode of our new season, we'll delve into what it means to rest in God and how we can practically do that. 

We’ve heard lots about anxiety; both from those who experience it, and those who help treat it. But how should Christians deal with anxiety? And why is it such a struggle for so many of us? We’re joined this episode by Paul Grimmond, the Dean of Students at Moore Theological College and author of the book ‘When the Noise Won’t Stop: A Christian Guide to Dealing With Anxiety’.

Men are notoriously bad at understanding our emotions—let alone actually sharing about them with someone else—and it’s to our detriment. So how do we as men learn to open up and start talking about what we’re going through? And… Why should we? Does the Bible tell us to? What better way to open up this conversation than to sit down and chat with Akos Balogh, a fellow Aussie bloke helping us figure some of this out.

Contrary to what many of us have grown up believing, porn addiction is not a “guys’ issue”. It’s a human one. Join us as we chat to Amanda Anaestad, cofounder of The Victory Collective — a ministry centred around community and resources for women struggling with a porn addiction.

Justin Hughes, a licensed professional counsellor specialising in the treatment of OCD, talks about intrusive thoughts, faith, and OCD. He shares how Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) isn't just a great therapy for OCD, but is a tool we can all use to approach difficult things in our life, faith, or relationships — even if we don’t suffer from OCD ourselves. 

Self-awareness is something that we all need. But is there a point where leaning into self-awareness is actually just…selfish? Today we’re chatting with Steve Mitchell from the UK, who works as the Senior Vice President of the European branch of our organisation, Our Daily Bread Ministries. Seve is also an Executive Coach who has a passion for helping people have transformative conversations. We’ll hear what coaching is, how it works, and whether there’s a point when spending too much time thinking and talking about ourselves is actually selfish… and unhelpful.

Today we’re hearing the story of Keola, a young guy who fought against thoughts of suicide, and turned to unhelpful ways of coping — including trying self-harm, which became addictive. Though Keola’s mental health struggles aren’t all over now, his testimony is one of immense hope.

When we face suffering, it’s easy to wonder where God is. We can feel lonely, isolated … even abandoned by Him. Why is this happening to me?, we ask. How can a good God let me suffer? So what do we do, knowing we’ll face suffering? Today we’re chatting with Dr Katherine Thompson to find out.

Today we’re chatting with Jacob, a life-long gamer, who shares how gaming has affected his mental health — both negatively and for the better. We’ll hear Jacob’s journey and discuss the bigger picture of gaming, as well as what we might need to watch out for in this space as Christians.

Why is loneliness a growing issue? What are its impacts? And, more importantly, what can we as individuals to combat loneliness? Today we’re diving into it with Kimberly Smith, a pastor, speaker, and author of a book on singleness in the church who is passionate about this topic.

You think of a CEO and you probably picture someone who has it all together. But what’s happening behind the scenes? Is it possible that even CEOs can wrestle with mental illness? Dr Matt Lucas is the President and Global CEO of Our Daily Bread Ministries, whom Anxious Faith is a part of — yep, we’ve got the big boss on today.

For years, Josh’s addiction to porn grew and had a hold on his life, affecting his mental health, sense of worth, relationships with others, and faith. Despite trying his hardest to beat the addiction, it persisted — for more than 15 years. So how did Josh eventually find freedom from the grip of a porn addiction?

What leads someone to self-harm? Does it really feel ‘good’ at the time? And how does someone who’s been addicted to self-harm stop? Gabby Wilkinson from Dear God I’m Sad shares about her journey with depression, which led her to a self-harm addiction.

We’re chatting with Noni Potter, the Head of Undergraduate Counselling at Tabor, a Christian college in Australia. She’s passionate about combining her faith with evidence-based psychological methods which, she believes, echo God’s truths.

A common thread through many of the stories we share is our guests’ experiences of being told that their anxiety or other mental health struggles are a faith issue, not a mental one. With a growing awareness of the reality and prevalence of mental health struggles, are there really people who don’t believe that mental illnesses can be a sign of our fallen world, and are instead the result of wilful disobedience to God?

With today being the International Day of Autism Awareness, we’re broadening our scope to learn a little about how autism and other neurodivergent conditions can impact someone’s engagement with church. Our team member Maddy, who is autistic, leads this conversation with Dr Katy Unwin, a Lecturer in Psychology with a PhD in Autism.

Today we’re talking with Ben, an Aged-Care Chaplain here in Australia. Through our chat with Ben, we want to learn more of what mental ill-health looks like for the older members of our society, and what we—as individuals, and the broader church—can be doing to better love, care, and support them.

How do you deal with anxiety that returns, even after doing “all the right things”? Tiffany shares what it’s like to feel like you’ve ‘beaten’ anxiety, only to have it return again. She talks about how she learned to recognise the physical sensations her body was experiencing as “somatic anxiety” — a physical manifestation of anxiety without the typical “anxious thoughts”.

It wasn’t until his 30’s that Akos faced anxiety for the first time, in the form of a panic attack while seated on a small aircraft. That seemingly isolated incident led to a second panic attack, and a third, until his anxiety worsened.

At first, Amelie and her family chalked her anxiety up to the usual stresses of teenagehood and highschool exams, but when it only intensified after high school, she sought professional help. It was then that Amelie was diagnosed with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).

Join James, Maddy and Ethan in our final episode of the year to take a look back on where Anxious Faith began and where we’re heading.

This episode we’re chatting to Mary, a young woman in the UK who has religious OCD or “scrupulosity”, a type of OCD where the obsession and intrusive thoughts are all focused around religion and faith.

As a child, Mark suffered significant trauma and abuse, which he did his best to numb himself from. After his doctor noticed he was struggling with a substance addiction, Mark was referred to a rehab centre that could help. Mark calls that day the best and worst day of his life.

Have you ever wondered, ‘What exactly does a psychologist do?’ Or maybe you’ve heard about cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and ‘measurement-based practice’ and have no idea what those things involve. Well, Dr Sarah is here to answer all our questions!

‘Mindfulness’ is one of the big practices that are often recommended or suggested to people who are struggling with their mental health. But as Christians, is mindfulness something that we should throw ourselves into without question? Do we need to be careful in following these exercises?