Harper • May 12, 2026
Hardcover • 256 pages
ISBN: 978-0063420441
Proving a Miracle
Unlocking the Power of Prayer to Heal
What if the most extraordinary claims about miraculous healing could be subjected to the same rigorous scientific scrutiny we apply to any medical phenomenon? In Proving a Miracle, neuroscientist Dr. Joshua W. Brown does exactly that.
For over two decades, Dr. Brown has walked a remarkable path. By day, he directs one of the nation’s leading cognitive neuroscience laboratories at Indiana University, publishing cutting-edge research on how the brain controls behavior, makes decisions, and learns from experience. But a series of extraordinary personal experiences led him to co-found the Global Medical Research Institute (GMRI), dedicated to applying the highest standards of medical and scientific research to reported cases of miraculous healing through prayer.
Proving a Miracle weaves together three threads:
- The Science: How modern neuroscience and medical research can be applied to investigate claims that seem to defy conventional explanation, including documented cases of restored sight, healed genetic conditions, and recovered hearing in Mozambique and elsewhere.
- The Evidence: Peer-reviewed case studies, medical records, and before-and-after clinical data that challenge our assumptions about what is medically possible.
- The Journey: Dr. Brown’s own story—from skeptical scientist to firsthand witness—and the intellectual honesty it takes to follow evidence wherever it leads, even when it crosses the boundaries between science and faith.
This is not a book that asks readers to abandon critical thinking. Rather, it is an invitation to apply critical thinking more broadly—to examine evidence that mainstream science has largely ignored, and to consider what that evidence might mean for our understanding of reality.
Praise for Proving a Miracle
“Here’s a highly personal yet thoroughly scientific exploration of the miraculous. This investigation by a credentialed neuroscientist probes everything from how our beliefs affect our health to how prayer has led to astounding healings in well-documented cases. Clear and compelling, powerful and persuasive, this eye-opening journey of discovery sparks awe and brings hope. Undoubtedly, believers will be encouraged and skeptics will be challenged.”
New York Times bestselling author of Seeing the Supernatural
“Proving a Miracle is a compelling, well-researched challenge to the limits of modern medicine, showing us that true healing often begins where conventional thinking ends. Dr. Brown’s work gives scientific and spiritual credibility to what I’ve seen for decades—when you change your brain and align your life, miraculous things happen.”
CEO and founder of Amen Clinics, author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain
“Professor Joshua Brown has written a rare and remarkable book—one that combines the rigor of a neuroscientist with the drive and curiosity of a believer seeking truth and healing. Drawing on a wide range of mind-body research, from social support and religious coping to placebo effects and the neuroscience of spiritual practice, he offers a clear and compelling account of how faith can promote healing through our brains and nervous system. Yet what makes this book truly extraordinary is Brown’s willingness to follow the evidence wherever it leads, including into cases of recovery that resist scientific explanation. His story, and the global investigation that follows, provide a thoughtful and empirically grounded exploration of what we can call ‘miracles’ without compromising scientific integrity. This is an important and timely contribution to the growing dialogue between spirituality and medicine, and I recommend it highly.”
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center; Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine
“Proving a Miracle is a book I’m genuinely excited for people to read. I’ve known Dr. Joshua Brown for many years, and it’s been a joy to watch how his deep love for Jesus and his passion for scientific integrity have shaped his life’s work. Josh has never been afraid to ask big questions about healing prayer. What I appreciate most is that he writes not just as a neuroscientist, but as someone who has personally experienced God’s healing power and gone on to study it with honesty and courage. This book beautifully weaves together his story, the stories of others, and the growing scientific evidence that prayer really does affect our bodies, minds, and hearts. Josh has a rare gift for making complex ideas accessible, all while pointing people back to the hope we have in Christ. I’m grateful for our long friendship, and I believe many will find fresh faith and encouragement through the pages of Proving a Miracle.”
President, Global Awakening Theological Seminary
“Can science prove a miracle? That depends, of course, on what is accepted as ‘proof.’ In this thought-provoking and carefully-reasoned book, Dr. Brown shares his personal healing, which he attributes to prayer, and he invites readers to consider the empirical evidence miracles occur today. Without overstating the case, and being willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads, Proving A Miracle will both strengthen believers in the miraculous and challenge skeptics to consider updating their rejection of the supernatural.”
Professor of Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, author of The Fate of the Apostles, and popular YouTuber
“Reading Joshua Brown’s Proving a Miracle will transport you into a mystical world interwoven with facts and scientific investigation. I am thankful that Joshua Brown’s personal miracle occurred because it induced him to put into words and deeds an account of his journey to understand that experience. The result of that journey is this book which I think is the best introduction to how to merge the scientific and introspective challenges of interpreting a miracle. Joshua Brown is an internationally renowned creative and thoughtful cognitive neuroscientist who tried to understand his miraculous experience by using his scientific mind while indulging his emotional reaction. Reading about Dr. Brown’s momentous experience, his own research, and the scientific literature on beliefs will resonate with religious believers and disbelievers alike. The book is a great and lively read and you will come away from it with a reminder of the importance of human social beliefs, how the brain represents those beliefs, and how beliefs allow us to interpret our personal and social experiences while motivating our deeds.”
Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University, Director of Brain Injury Research at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, former section head in Cognitive Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health
About the Author
Joshua W. Brown, PhD is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, Bloomington. He earned his PhD in Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University and completed postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis. He has authored over 79 peer-reviewed scientific publications in computational neuroscience, cognitive control, fMRI brain imaging, and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Brown served as Director of the Program in Neuroscience at Indiana University (2020–2023) and co-founded the Global Medical Research Institute (GMRI). His research has been featured on the Discovery Channel, NPR, the New York Times, Fox News, and the docuseries Miracle. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.