Prayers for depression

Four short prayers for the days when everything feels heavy. Prayer is not instead of help, and the people on the lines below answer at any hour.

If you are thinking about ending your life or hurting yourself, talk to a person now.

United States and Canada: Call or text 988, any hour.
United Kingdom and Ireland: Call Samaritans on 116 123, any hour.
Australia: Call Lifeline on 13 11 14, any hour.
Anywhere else: Find a free line in your country at findahelpline.com.

If you are in danger right now, call your local emergency number. Lumin is an AI. It cannot sit with you, and these people can.

When I have no words

When praying feels impossible.

God, I am here. That is all I have. Amen.

Draws on Romans 8:26

In the dark

When the heaviness will not lift.

Lord, why is my soul so downcast? I don’t know. Everything is grey. You are near the brokenhearted, so be near me. I will put my hope in you, even when I can’t feel it. Help me get through today, and help me ask for help. Amen.

Draws on Psalm 42:11 and Psalm 34:18

Getting up

In the morning, before you get out of bed.

Father, your mercies are new every morning, even this one. Give me enough for the next small thing: sit up, stand, drink water, open the curtain. I don’t have to fix my life today. Amen.

Draws on Lamentations 3:22-23

For someone depressed

For someone you love. Say their name.

Lord, [name] is in a dark place. Hold them when they can’t hold on. Bring them good doctors and friends who stay. Show me how to love them without trying to fix them. Keep them safe. Amen.

Draws on Galatians 6:2 and Psalm 147:3

Write a prayer in your own words

The verses behind them

Bible verses for depression

Read one aloud, or pray it back to God in your own words. Every verse is from theLumin Translation.

Why are you bowed down, my soul, and why do you groan within me? Wait in hope for God, for I will praise him again, the one who saves me, my God.
Psalm 42:11Why are you downcast, my soul? Hope in God.
Yahweh is close to those whose hearts are broken, and he saves those whose spirits are crushed.
Psalm 34:18The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
Yahweh’s steadfast love is why we have not perished; his compassions have not run dry. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23His mercies are new every morning.
In the same manner, the Spirit also comes to the aid of our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for in the way we need to, but the Spirit himself pleads for us with groans that cannot be put into words.
Romans 8:26When we do not know how to pray, the Spirit intercedes.
He himself went a day’s walk into the wilderness, where he came to a broom tree and sat down under it. He asked for death: “Enough! Now, Yahweh, take my life, since I am no better than my ancestors.” He lay down and slept under the broom tree, and there was an angel, touching him and saying to him, “Get up and eat.”
1 Kings 19:4-5Elijah wanted to die. God gave him sleep and food first.

What the Bible says about depression, with more verses and one next step

Prayers for other needs

All 12 prayer pages · Pray now

Ask Lumin

Need a prayer for your own situation?

Lumin is a Bible AI. Tell it what is going on. It writes a short prayer and names the passages it rests on.

Questions

Is depression a lack of faith?

No. Elijah, David and Jeremiah all wrote or spoke out of deep despair, and Scripture does not call it unbelief. Depression is a real illness, and treatment from a doctor or counselor is a good gift, not a failure to trust God.

Can I change the words of these prayers for depression?

Yes. They are a place to start, not a formula. Use your own words, add names, or pray just one line. God hears the prayer, not the wording.

Who wrote these prayers?

Lumin wrote them from the passages named under each prayer. They are not Scripture. Every reference is checked against the Bible text each time the site is built. The verses are quoted from the Lumin Translation, so you can open each one and read it in context.