When the heaviness will not lift

Prayers for Depression

Depression flattens everything, including the desire to pray. If all you can manage today is reading someone else’s words, these are here for that. Scripture holds plenty of company for you: psalmists in the pit, a prophet under a juniper tree wishing it were over, and a God who came near to all of them.

Prayer belongs alongside help, not instead of it. If depression has settled in, talking to a doctor or counselor is a wise and faithful step, and if you are thinking about harming yourself, please reach out to a crisis line or someone you trust today.

A prayer when I cannot feel anything

Father, I cannot feel You, and lately I cannot feel much of anything. I am not bringing You faith that moves mountains today; I am bringing You the little that is left. You do not break a bruised reed. Stay with me in this greyness, and do for me what I cannot do for myself: keep my head above the water until feeling returns. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A prayer for getting through today

Lord, today looks like a mountain, and getting out of bed is the first cliff. I am not asking You for a transformed life this morning; I am asking for the next hour. Feed me the way Your angel fed Elijah, one meal and one rest at a time, because the journey is too great for me. Walk me to tonight, and we will talk about tomorrow then. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A prayer from the pit

Father, the psalmist called it an horrible pit and miry clay, and that is exactly where I am. I have cried and waited and cried again. So I will wait the way he did: for You to incline unto me, hear my cry, bring me up, and set my feet upon a rock. Put a new song in my mouth eventually. For now, hear this one, which is mostly a groan. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A prayer for someone fighting depression

Lord, someone I love is somewhere I cannot reach, behind a heaviness I cannot lift for them. Be near to them the way You promise to be near the brokenhearted. Give them rest, one manageable day, and the strength to accept help. Show me how to stay present without pushing, and never let them believe the lie that they are alone or a burden. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

From Scripture

Verses for this prayer

“The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Psalm 34:17-18

God is described as nearest exactly where depression insists you are most alone: the broken heart.

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”

Psalm 40:1-2

David’s description of the pit is honest, and so is the timeline: there was waiting. But the lifting came.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus’ invitation is addressed specifically to the exhausted. The offer is rest, and the tone is gentleness.

“Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.”

Psalm 143:7-8

A prayer for the mornings. It asks God to get to your heart with lovingkindness before the day’s heaviness does.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain.

Common questions

Questions about this prayer

Is depression a sin or a failure of faith? +

No. Elijah, Job, and several psalmists describe what we would recognize as deep depression, and Scripture never scolds them for it. Depression is an affliction, not a verdict on your faith. Some of the most faithful people in church history walked through long darkness.

Should I take medication or see a therapist if I am praying about it? +

Yes, if you need them. Prayer and treatment are not opponents. God works through counselors, doctors, and medicine just as He works through rest and friendship. Taking depression seriously enough to get help honors the body and mind God gave you.

What if I am too depressed to pray at all? +

Then let one sentence be enough, or borrow someone else’s. Praying a psalm, or even sitting silently with the words “Lord, help,” counts fully. Romans says the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; when you have no words, you are not praying alone.

Keep praying