Three prayers to lift your heart when everything feels heavy, lay your weariness before God and find strength to keep going with him.
Pick a categoryAre you tired, doubtful, ready to give up? You are not the first: many believers in the Bible went through dark days. God does not ask you to pretend. Tell him exactly what you feel, even if the words come out clumsy, then ask him for strength for the next step only. The prayers below can help you begin.
Lord, I am tired and my courage is at its lowest. I have no strength to pretend, so I come to you as I am. You know what weighs on me and the reasons for my discouragement. Simply give me strength for today. Help me not to grow weary of doing good, even when I see no fruit. Lift my eyes to you, and send me someone who will encourage me. Thank you for staying close to me when I feel alone. In Jesus' name, amen.
Galatians 6:9
Father, I lay all my worries before you, as your Word invites me to, because you care for me. I entrust to you my failures, my disappointed hopes, what I do not understand and what I cannot change. I refuse to carry this burden alone. Take away from my heart the shame and the thoughts that crush me. Do not let me believe that I am useless or forgotten. I do not ask you to fix everything my way, but to give me your peace, your wisdom and a path to follow. I place this situation in your hands, in Jesus' name. Amen.
1 Peter 5:7
Lord, even in the night I want to remember your faithfulness. Your compassions do not fail, they are new every morning. Thank you for the times you have already lifted me up, for the people who have supported me, for the life you have given me. I choose to hope in you, even if my feelings say the opposite. Strengthen my heart, renew my joy, and remind me that my worth does not depend on my results but on your love. I praise you, for you are good and faithful. Amen.
Lamentations 3:22-23
« And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. »
Galatians 6:9
I proclaim that I will not grow weary in doing good, for in due season I shall reap if I do not lose heart.
« Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. »
Psalm 42:5
I declare to my own soul: why are you cast down and disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him.
« We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. »
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
I proclaim that though I am pressed on every side, I am not crushed. Though perplexed, I am not in despair, for God does not forsake me.
« I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. »
Philippians 4:13
I declare that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My weariness does not have the final say.
« Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord! »
Psalm 27:14
I proclaim that I wait on the Lord and I take courage. He strengthens my heart in this season of discouragement.
The Bible does not hide discouragement. The psalms express sadness openly, and the psalmist speaks to his downcast soul and tells it to hope in God (Psalm 42). Elijah also wanted to give up everything, and God fed him, let him rest, then encouraged him (1 Kings 19). God welcomes your weariness without condemning you.
A prayer can be a single sentence: “Lord, help me.” The Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26), even when we do not know what to say. You can also read a psalm aloud, such as Psalm 23, and make it your prayer. God hears what is sincere, not what is well phrased.
No, discouragement is a human experience that servants of God such as Elijah and David went through. It becomes dangerous when it cuts us off from God and from others. Talk to God and to a brother or sister in your church, and if the sadness lasts or gets worse, do not hesitate to see a doctor or a professional.