Dear Heavenly Father,
Right now, despair envelops me. Hopelessness makes me think I’ll never smile or be happy again. It’s as if there’s a high humidity in my heart that leaves me gasping for breath, sapping my energy, draining me of motivation for things I normally enjoy. I’m stumbling in the dark, afraid I’ll fall, without anything to light my path. I’d have to stand on tiptoe and reach way up just to touch bottom.
So far, the special graces of prayer and Your Word haven’t removed this bout of depression, nor have the common graces of medicine or counseling eradicated it.
Yet I still believe in You, Father, or else I wouldn’t voice these feelings to You.
Show Your incalculable worth by doing in me and for me what only You can do.
Penetrate my darkness with Your light. Eclipse my weakness with Your strength. Replace my pessimism with joy and with a deeper trust in You that generates hope for the future. You know my focus turns inward when I’m despondent, so keep reminding me of who You are, what You have done for me in the past and what Your Word promises me for the future.
And somehow, please redeem this pain. May my experience of it sensitize me to others who hurt, so my sensitivity is channeled outward rather than inward. Use it to wean me of self-sufficiency so I serve You in a way that can only be explained by these words: “God did it!” Let others see Your power working in, for and through me so You, rather than I, get the credit for anything I might accomplish.
How grateful I am, Jesus, that You don’t chide me when I’m melancholy. Rather, You welcome me with open arms and say, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Thank You, Holy Spirit, for Your comforting presence and for reminding me of and sustaining me through Bible verses You inspired. Today, Psalm 34:18 is a case in point: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Father, today I have nowhere to look but up, but show me why that is a great vantage point. In the name of Your Son, who also experienced deep emotional pain and cried to You with loud crying and tears (Hebrews 5:7), amen.
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What parts of this prayer resonates most with you? Why?
What words would you use to describe this prayer?
When you’re despondent or troubled, how do you pray?
Why is it okay to disclose your honest attitudes and feelings to the Lord?
Beautiful! So good.
Thank you Terry!
Always a HALLELUJAH for you!
Terry – this was my husband a week ago. When you’re in the darkness it feels like you’ll never feel happy again.