Prayers for depression and loneliness

A Prayer for Loneliness

Heavenly, Most Loving, Gracious Father, we come before you to humbly ask that you comfort us in our moments of loneliness, that you be our shelter in the midst of the storm, that you walk beside us every step of the way.

Lord, at times we feel so alone, crying out for attention, in desperation, looking for some sort of acknowledgement from a single soul. Remind us that you are always there, right at our side, whenever we call.

No matter the time, the hour, the situation, Oh Lord, you have promised to never leave us nor forsake us.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Psalm 23:4  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Forsaken by loved ones

Lord, there are times we think we can turn to loved ones and friends in our time of need, but they forsake us.

Oh Lord, you alone know what we are going through. Sometimes we vocalize our thoughts but no one understands.

There are many times we cry out to people to listen, when we need a friend, but they hardly ever take the time to show compassion.

Strength to carry on

Give us strength, dear God, to carry on when we are down and out and have no one to turn to. Let us always remember that You are our friend and our companion in our time of need.

God, let us feel the Holy Spirit as He comforts us. Help us to realize that You are the only one we need, especially in times of trials.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

What a friend we have!

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.

Touch the hearts of the people who feel lonely today, Oh Father. The ones who are broken-hearted. Those who are bullied. The ones who have everything and everyone around them but they still feel alone.

People who have lost loved ones, and have no families, the single parent. Dear God, reach out to all of them.

Father, guide us as we pray for strength to fight against the feeling of loneliness and depression, help them all to experience peace, love and joy in these difficult times, in the mighty name of Jesus we pray… AMEN!

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely

The enemy wants us to feel rejected, left out, lonely. He speaks lies into our lives, such that we lose our purpose, he cripples our courage. and dismantles our dreams. In Uninvited, Lysa shares her own deeply personal experiences with rejection—from the incredibly painful childhood abandonment by her father to the perceived judgment of the perfectly toned woman one elliptical over. With biblical depth, gut-honest vulnerability, and refreshing wit, Lysa helps readers: Release the desire to fall apart or control the actions of others by embracing God-honoring ways to process their hurt. Know exactly what to pray for the next ten days to steady their soul and restore their confidence. GET YOUR COPY NOW

I’m a young Christian, from South Trinidad, seeking the wisdom of the Word and God’s blessings on my life. A journey, that’s just begun, but living to the Glory of God.

christianstt.com

Oh Saint Jude, Holy worker of miracles and dear friend to Jesus Christ, please hear my prayer. I am a wretch and a lowly sinner.

I am undeserving of favors or blessings from heaven. However, the pain and suffering of my heart compels me to reach out for guidance and comfort from above. I am afflicted with depression and loneliness.

I know that the Lord’s grace should be sufficient to sustain me, and it has been through some of my darkest hours, but good gracious merciful Saint, my suffering thought it does ebb and sometimes flee in the face of our wonderful Lord. It comes back to torture me. Please help me to be released from my negative thinking.

My soul is in need of healing and the strength that only comes from our Father’s love. I feel that I am doomed to live the rest of my life alone without a human partner. And maybe that is a just punishment for my past sins. But, I suffer so and crave an end to such suffering.

Please being me peace, and companionship. I will glorify you, our Lord and Savior Jesus, and our heavenly Father all the days of my life. Please bring my loneliness to a swift and sweet end. Thank you. May the Lords will be done. Amen

Return to Roman Catholic Prayers

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Part 1 Correcting Dysfunctional Thinking

1. Recognize common types of dysfunctional thinking.

   Dysfunctional thinking is a way of framing the world so that you feel you’re always fighting an uphill battle. Some common examples include:

   • Polarized thinking: Not allowing for any gray areas in life, or thinking in “black and white.”
   • Filtering or discounting the positives: Focusing on the negative of a situation and ignoring any positives.
   • Fortune-telling: Thinking that you know what will happen in the future.
   • Mind-reading: Thinking you know that others are thinking badly of you or that you are responsible for their negative feelings.
   • Overgeneralization: Thinking that one bad experience guarantees more bad experiences.
   • Blaming: Blaming yourself for things you are not responsible.
   • Emotional reasoning: Thinking with emotions or letting emotions affect how you perceive an event.
   • ”Should statements”: Using terms such as “should”, “must”, and “ought” to in your thinking; this is a form of judging yourself.
   • Magnification and minimization: Thinking that make issues seem larger than they are or trying to ignore issues.
   • Labeling: Using terms that diminish your whole self-concept by being known as a certain trait or mistake.
2. Find a journal to write in.

   Journaling can be a useful tool in order to analyze your own thoughts without outside help. Journaling can help you identify and change the way you think and behave. This practice has also been shown to help decrease stress,

   which can be a byproduct of depression and loneliness.

   • Find whatever works best for you. This can be a notebook, loose-leaf notebook paper, or your computer.
3. Monitor your emotions in your journal.

   Our thoughts greatly influence how we feel and how we interpret and perceive our environments, our futures, and ourselves. People who suffer with depression often have thoughts that they are worthless, unlovable, or undeserving, and they often have thoughts that their environments are overwhelming, have insurmountable obstacles, and that their futures are hopeless.

   • Many who suffer from depression feel powerless to change how they feel and the course of their lives. Our thoughts greatly influences our feelings and behaviors, which is the basis for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT has been shown to be successful for treating depression. Relapse depression symptoms were much lower for those who had undergone CBT than for those who were being treated with medications alone.
   • A great way to start this process is to monitor your emotions and automatic thoughts by recording them in a journal or daily record. Start first by noticing mood changes, then begin to analyze what your thoughts had been just prior to feeling differently.
   • For example:
     • Event: I received poor feedback on my presentation at work.
     • Feelings: I felt embarrassed.
   • Here is another example:
     • Event: I forgot to sign the birthday card for my boss.
     • Feeling: I felt regretful and embarrassed.
4. Write down your automatic thoughts.

   Automatic thoughts are the things that pop into your head spontaneously. They tend to pertain to three types of ideas: ideas about yourself, about the world, and about the future. After you’ve identified your emotions about an event where your mood changed, you can start to analyze the automatic thoughts that correspond to the event. Then you can evaluate these thoughts to determine how they are dysfunctional, challenge them by looking for evidence for and against the thought.

   • In your journal, create a chart in which you can record certain situations, their corresponding emotions, and the thoughts you had just prior to your emotions.
   • For example:
     • Event: I received poor feedback on my presentation at work.
     • Feelings: I felt embarrassed.
     • Automatic thought: I am so stupid.
     • Identify the dysfunctional thought: You are labeling yourself.
   • Here is another example:
     • Event: I forgot to sign the birthday card for my boss.
     • Feeling: I felt regretful and embarrassed
     • Automatic thoughts: I know my boss hates me now.
     • Identify the dysfunctional thought: You are trying to mind-read.
5. Write down rational thoughts to reframe the automatic thoughts.

   Counteract your automatic labeling with thoughts that are more rational.

   Some ways to generate more rational thoughts include looking for evidence for or against the automatic thought, looking to your past for a similar situation in which the automatic thought did not hold true, and analyze the situation for blame and logically redistribute responsibility for feelings and events to others that may have been involved.

   • For example:
     • Event: I received poor feedback on my presentation at work.
     • Feelings: I felt embarrassed.
     • Thoughts: I am so stupid.
     • Rational thought: I am not my thoughts or behaviors. I am not a label. I am not stupid. I made a mistake and will do better in the future.
   • Here is another example:
     • Event: I forgot to sign the birthday card for my boss.
     • Feeling: I felt regretful and embarrassed
     • Automatic thoughts: I know my boss hates me now.
     • Rational thought: I cannot know what my boss is thinking about me. It was an honest mistake. I can always verbally tell my boss happy birthday.

Part 2 Structuring Your Day

1. Plan out each hour of your day.

   Help combat depression and loneliness by keeping structure in your day with a daily schedule. The use of a schedule helps depression by counteracting the loss of motivation, hopelessness, and decreasing time for rumination, which are all associated with depression.

   • Rumination is the activity of replaying a scenario or problem in your head over and over, like a broken record. While some people consider rumination as a form of problem-solving (“I’m thinking through this problem from every angle until I come up with a solution”), if the problem is upsetting, you will end up continuing to be upset until you stop thinking about it.
   • Find a day planner that has space for hourly scheduling. Make sure you plan each hour of your day. Incorporate time for journaling, rest, exercise, relaxation, and self-care. To combat loneliness, schedule time to connect with a social group or a pet.
2. 

   Consult your schedule frequently. Carry your schedule with you so that you’re following it closely. It’s important to follow through with each activity, so prepare yourself by knowing what comes next throughout the day.

3. Track how you felt during the activity.

   After you have completed your scheduled activities, write down the level of competency you felt about completing the activity, as well as the level of pleasure experienced if any. This record of competency and pleasure can serve you in the future if you are having thoughts about not being able to get things down or being able to enjoy anything.

   • Refrain from evaluating your activities on an all-or-nothing scale. Instead, try to evaluate on a scale of one to ten, with one being low competency or low pleasure, and ten being maximum competency and maximum pleasure.
4. Retrain yourself to be self-reliant.

   Self-reliance training is sometimes needed for persons with depression when they have become reliant on friends or family members to take care of daily needs. The process of self-reliance starts with taking back responsibility for self-care.

   • It is important to begin in one area, scheduling this daily. For instance, you can start with being responsible for showering. You can also record your level of mastery in being responsible for showering. For instance, starting out, you may indicate that you were only able to get out of bed for the day and not shower. This may seem like no mastery at all, but it is more mastery that you previously had. Use your planner and feelings of competence to build yourself back up in self-care. Once you have taken on showering, you can tackle making the bed, then cleaning, etc.
5. Plan a set of “go-to” distractions for overwhelming times.

   It is important to know how and when to use distraction as a helpful method to combat rumination and intense emotions. Have a set of ‘go-to’ distractions that you can use if you are ruminating, feeling overwhelmed, or feeling lonely.

   • Some examples include: exercise, having coffee with a friend, painting, reading, meditation, prayer, or playing with a pet. Write down these distraction methods in your journal or planner. Consult them frequently so that you have a reminder about your distraction plan.

Part 3 Overcoming Loneliness

1. Think about the similarities between you and others.

   Oftentimes, loneliness stems from the thought that your own experience is drastically different from that of others. But we all experience the same emotions, from joy and love to disappointment and anger. Consider how the human experience is universal.

2. Make small-talk with people you interact with.

   If you’re feeling lonely, it can help to have a brief conversation with the grocery store clerk or the bank teller. This will help you feel a connection with someone, even if you don’t have a lengthy conversation with this person.

   • Even a simple act like saying hello to your neighbor can help you feel more connected. This might even be the impetus you need to start a conversation that will result in a lifelong friendship.
3. Put yourself out there.

   You might feel lonely because you’re shy or because you’re new to a school. One of the ways to overcome loneliness is to be brave and take a risk. Put yourself out there by starting a conversation with someone who seems interesting.

   Or, ask an acquaintance if they’d like to go on a hike with you. You never know. This person might feel just as lonely as you and might appreciate your invitation.

4. Connect with people with similar interests.

   You may feel lonely because you have specialized interests. Perhaps you’re really into mountain biking, but you don’t know anyone else who does this too. Search online for a club in your community that does this activity. If you can’t find someone in your local area, chances are you will be able to locate a group that gathers virtually.

5. Volunteer in your community.

   When you feel lonely, you tend to focus on your own feelings and how your needs are not being met. If you turn your attention to the needs of others, you can redirect your emotions.

   Find a nonprofit organization in your community. You can volunteer at an animal shelter, for example.

Part 4 Improving Your Health

1. Regulate your sleep schedule.

   Recent studies have shown that when you sleep, your brain gets a deep cleaning. Your body uses this time to flush out toxins and other dangerous material. When you don’t sleep enough, this puts you at risk of mental stress, because that buildup makes it hard for your brain to work properly.

   • Make sure that you get enough restful, continuous sleep to ensure that your brain has its best chance.
   • Most adults will need around 8 hours of sleep, but plenty of people need more while some people may need less. Experiment to find what works for you.
2. Get plenty of daylight exposure.

   Sunlight exposure can play a role in controlling depression.

   For some people, it’s possible to suffer from a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is when the lack of sun during the winter season throws you into a deep depression. For others, staying inside too much may be the root of the problem. Whatever the case, try to make sure that you get some sunlight each day.

   • You can take your lunch outside, even when it’s cold.
   • Try walking to work or school, at least part of the way as another way to fit more daylight into your day.
   • You can also invest in a sunlamp or get one covered by your insurance with the help of a doctor.
3. Incorporate exercise into your life.

   When you exercise, your brain releases chemicals called endorphins and serotonin. These chemicals help you to not feel the pain of the strain on your muscles. They also do something else: they make you feel happy. An inability to regulate these chemicals has been implicated in studies of depression, and many depression medications work by controlling them. This means that exercising really can help you manage your depression.

   • One good way for you to exercise while also managing the feelings of depression is to go for a jog or a swim. Both of these exercises are known for helping you clear your mind, as you focus on your environment and the physical sensation of what you are doing.
   • Work up to exercising about 35 minutes every day or one hour three days a week. These have been found to be the most effective exercise schedules for combating depression.
4. Eat healthy, nutritious foods.

   What you eat can affect your brain in a lot of ways. Studies show that certain ingredients in our modern diet, like gluten and sugar, can lead to depression.

   Try to eat plenty of nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and proteins to adequately nourish your brain.

   Reduce your consumption of refined sugars, processed foods, and fried foods.

5. Increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

   These play a role in brain health. There is some evidence that a diet rich in this nutrient can help improve your mood.

   Good sources of omega-3s include fish and eggs. You can also take fish oil supplements.

Part 5 Deciding to Seek Outside Help

1. Recognize what “outside help” means to you.

   It is important to understand for yourself what “outside help” means to you, as well as knowing when you need to access it. These are all personal choices, similar to the choice we have in any of our healthcare. However, it is important to realize that not wanting outside help, even from friends and family, can be symptoms of depression in which a person isolates themselves because they feel like a burden or feel weak for having depression.

   Some different definitions of “outside help” might be:

   • Some people might consider “outside help” to include the use of psychotropic medication to help depression
   • Others might still seek therapy but otherwise will go the “all-natural” route.
   • Others may not want to see a therapist because they feel stigmatized, crazy, or burdensome.
   • Some people may not even want “outside help” from friends and family.
2. Try not to avoid social support.

   It’s important to realize that depression is not who you are. It is an illness like any other. Do not let the dysfunctional, automatic thoughts about being a burden or being weak deter you from engaging socially with friends and family and seeking their support when you need it. Social support is a critical, protective factor against depression and loneliness.

   • In fact, research shows that having social support decreases stress and can help find solutions to problems, especially for those who are struggling with depression.
   • Furthermore, social support is the number one way to combat loneliness because it can help you feel connected to others and connected to life.
3. Make a safety plan.

   Possibly you want to feel like you have the power to combat depression and conquer it alone. While this is admirable, remember that your mental health is your first priority over your mastery of fighting depression.

   • Pinpoint who you will call and have a plan about which kind of outside help you will seek if you do reach a point in needing acute care for depression. This type of plan is a safety plan and will include names of friends, family, doctors, and emergency numbers to call if you need help.
   • For example, you can type up a list that includes several important phone numbers: phone numbers for your mother, your best friend, your doctor, and an emergency nurse or hospital.
   • Also include the National Suicide Hotline number (1-800-273-8255), and the phone numbers for local police and 911.
4. 

   Tell your contact people about your plan. Tell them how they can help if you do call in the future. Give them specific tasks that may be helpful to you, if you are not in immediate danger. For example, they could just keep you company until you feel you are not a threat to yourself. In other cases, you may need them to contact your doctor or take you to the emergency department for an evaluation.

5. 

   Get immediate help if you are suicidal. If you have thoughts of suicide, or you can no longer function in daily life, resolve to seek outside help. Call the National Suicide Hotline number (1-800-273-8255), or call 911.

Community Q&A

Add New Question

• Question

  Will the National Suicide Hotline number accept a call from me? I am only 12 years old.

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  The National Suicide Hotline will accept a call from anyone who struggles with suicidal thoughts, depression, or is otherwise in need of support. Please call the hotline if you are a danger to yourself.

• Question

  Is it possible to recover from depression without therapy or medicine?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  Yes, but this is not possible for everyone. It depends on the severity and root cause of your depression. For example, situational depression is much easier for someone to treat on their own than chronic depression. I would recommend seeking out a therapist if it’s possible for you.

• Question

  Loneliness is terrible and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemies. How do I get rid of it?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  This article is a good place to start. It’s important to learn to love yourself and to get used to the role of solitude as opposed to feeling alone — solitude is a time of choosing to be alone and reflect on your life and some people need more of this time than others. Feeling alone is when you don’t feel supported by others and feel isolated or even unloved. Learning to love yourself and accept the role of solitude can help you to feel stronger, which in turn attracts people to you as you then offer a source of strength and love. In this way, “getting rid” of loneliness isn’t a single, simple step but a combination of efforts and reaching out.

• Question

  How can my significant other help with my depression?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  By being patient, understanding and keeping an eye on you. He can also help you see things you might not see yourself.

• Question

  How do you get out when you’re feeling isolated?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  Get out of the house and take a walk; exercise and the outdoors frequently help. Join a new class or activity to help you meet new people and get out of your house. Keep trying new things until you find something you like.

• Question

  What if my parents are the cause of my depression?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  Your parents might have triggered some of it, but blaming them won’t solve it. If they occupy too much space in your life, learn to keep proper boundaries. Friends will help. Love yourself.

• Question

  What should I do if I already try to correct my dysfunctional and irrational thoughts on my own, but it has never helped me?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  You have to take a holistic approach to fighting depression, not only do one thing. It’s important to work at fixing your thought patterns, but it’s also important to give yourself the physical foundation for mental health by

  eating healthy

  , getting enough sleep, and generally taking good care of yourself, as well as do things that you enjoy and generally work at improving your life. If you do need help, though, there’s nothing wrong with getting it from a therapist.

• Question

  A person at my school lied about having depression, and they lost some of their friends. How can I tell my friends and have them believe me?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  Understand that real friends would believe you, and that if they don’t, it’s their own fault. Go up to them and talk about your feelings, and maybe even why you’re concerned. If they stop being your friend, that means that they are fake friends. They don’t want to help, they only want to drown you in suffering. Leave these friends behind and understand that it’s their own loss.

• Question

  How do I fight depression after losing love?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  Try to be strong emotionally. If you have friends, meet with them, to talk about how you feel. In time, reach out to other people and activities that help you to be active and happy. See further:

  How to Cope After Loss of a Love

  .

• Question

  I have no friends and my mom and dad are separated and work all day; my only choice is to fight this alone, but I am just not strong enough. What can I do?

  wikiHow Contributor

  Community Answer

  Try getting out of your house and meeting new people. Interact with them, make new friends, and exchange thoughts. You can also find a hobby or get a pet. And when your mom and dad return home after work, tell them that you feel lonely without them. They might understand and start spending more time with you.

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Unanswered Questions

• How can I get help with depression if I’m scared of seeing a doctor?

• What will the suicide hotline do to help me?

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Warnings

• Get immediate help if you are having thoughts of suicide. Call 911 or call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Article SummaryX

If you’re feeling depressed and lonely and want to feel better immediately, try smiling, even if it’s forced, since even a fake smile can help you feel a little better. Getting some sunlight can also help lift your spirits, even if it’s cold out! Long term, fight depression and loneliness by planning and scheduling your day, which will help you feel more motivated and in control. Getting enough sleep also improves your daily mood, so aim for 8 hours per night if you can. For information about journaling and staying active to overcome your depression, continue reading below!

Did this summary help you? Article Info

This article was co-authored by Trudi Griffin, LPC. Trudi Griffin is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Wisconsin. She received her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Marquette University in 2011.

Categories: Depression

In other languages:

Italiano: Combattere la Depressione e la Solitudine da Soli, Português: Lutar Contra a Depressão e Solidão Sem a Ajuda de Ninguém, Español: combatir la depresión y la soledad por ti mismo, Русский: справиться с депрессией без посторонней помощи, Deutsch: Depression und Einsamkeit ohne Hilfe bekämpfen, Français: combattre la dépression et la solitude sans aide extérieure, Bahasa Indonesia: Mengatasi Depresi dan Kesepian Tanpa Bantuan Pihak Lain, Nederlands: Depressie en eenzaamheid bestrijden zonder hulp van buitenaf, Čeština: Jak bojovat s depresí a osamělostí bez pomoci ostatních, العربية: محاربة الاكتئاب والشعور بالوحدة بدون مساعدة خارجية, 한국어: 외부의 도움 없이 외로움과 우울증 이겨내는 법, Tiếng Việt: Chống lại trầm cảm và cô đơn, ไทย: ต่อสู้กับภาวะซึมเศร้าและความโดดเดี่ยวโดยที่ไม่ต้องพึ่งความช่วยเหลือจากภายนอก

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If you’re feeling depressed, remember that you’re not alone. God is with you always. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people in your family, your church, or your friend circles. Ask them to pray with and for you, and continue to pray each day, asking God to draw you closer to Himself. If you’re feeling down today or if you’ve felt down for quite some time, pray this prayer today:

A Prayer for Battling Depression

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you that you never change, even when everything around me is changing and unpredictable. (Hebrews 13:8) Thank you that you are stable, even when I feel so very unstable. (Isaiah 33:6) It feels like Satan has been whipping me around! Please sustain me, protect me, and enable me to stand. (1 John 4:4; Psalm 28:7)

I know that because sin entered the world, all of creation is under a curse–all creation groans. (Romans 8:22) Because of this, I struggle physically, emotionally and spiritually. Thank you for how my body is made, and that it sends me warning signals to tell me that I need help. Right now my brain and emotions are telling me that something isn’t right.

Help me to see if there is something physical that is causing my depression. Help me to sift through my circumstances to see if there is a need for change in some way. If I am experiencing depression as a result of a spiritual battle, please bring that to light and show me the best way to fight that battle.

Please lead me to the right source for help. Thank you for understanding what I am going through (Hebrews 4:15), and thank you that Your Word tells me that even Your Son went through hard times emotionally. There were times that He was distressed, grieved, faced loneliness, experienced deep sorrow, and after the death of John He went into isolation (Matthew 14:13). He cried in prayer (Hebrews 5:7-9), and at times he was overwhelmingly sad (Isaiah 53:3). There was even a time that he was afraid his body would not survive the anguish he felt. (Matthew 26:38)

I pray that You would send someone to  help bear my burden. (Galatians 6:2) Thank you for again reminding me of how weak I am, and for the body of Christ that you have provided to help bear burdens when we grow too weary to bear them alone. I need someone to come along side me, take my arms, wrap them around their neck, and help me walk until I am strong enough to walk on my own. (Ecclesiastes 4:9)

Thank you for the grace that you have provided. (Hebrews 4:16)  I pray You will use this difficult time to cause me to go deeper in my relationship with You, and that You would get the glory for anything that is produced in me. (James 1)

Thank you for how you are going to use this time in my life and for all you are doing through this depression. Thank you that You have allowed my weakness to manifest itself in the form of depression, so that You can work more of Your image into my life. (Galatians 2:20; Galatians 4:19)

Thank you that I am not defined by this weakness.  Since I am Your child, I am defined by what You accomplished on the cross. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, I can wake up every morning and live life knowing that no matter what I do, think, say, or feel–the cross covers it. Because You offered up Your own beloved Son, I can have peace with You and can face each day with fresh hope and grace.  Help me to focus on what is true, and not focus on how I feel. As I sit before the cross, help me to gain a new appreciation for what it actually means for me on a daily basis.

Help me to embrace my weakness as a gift. Remind me that my weakness allows You to work through me even when I am so very weak and feel as though I can do nothing. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Through this time, I pray that you would enlarged my heart that I might love and obey You, and love others more deeply. (Psalm 119:32; Galatians 6:2; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Amen

A Prayer Against Depression

“Heavenly Father, please strengthen our hearts, and remind us to encourage one another when the troubles of life start to overwhelm us. Please guard our hearts from depression. Give us the strength up to rise up each day and fight against the struggles which seek to weigh us down. Amen.” ~ John Barnett

A Prayer For Escaping the Pit of Depression

“Lord, it seems as if my world has collapsed, hurling me into a deep, dark pit. I come to you in complete surrender. I am desperate for you, helpless and afraid. Please lift me out of this pit and show me the way, Lord.   In Jesus’ name, Amen” ~ Mary Southerland

Discover what the Bible says about depression and how to fight it. Find Scripture that will encourage us to find peace and joy in the midst of depressing circumstances and feelings.  – Bible Verses for Fighting Depression

This article originally appeared on GinalSmith.com. Used with permission.

Gina Smith is the author of Grace Gifts: Celebrating Your Children Every Day, and writes at her personal blog GinalSmith.com   She has also been featured on HSLDA’S Homeschool Heartbeat Radio. She has been married to her husband Brian for 29 years and they have 2 adult children. You can follow her on Instagramand Facebook.

This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can’t find the words to pray.

Prayer for Healing

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