Powerful Prayers for Mental Health to Find Hope When You're Anxious and Depressed

When we wrestle with anxiety, depression, or other maladies of the mind, we can be tempted to falsely believe God rejects us or turns away from us. It can also be a struggle to form words to compose a prayer that makes sense. That’s when praying Scripture verses can help. 

There are many Scriptures we can pray:

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Or

“Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Psalm 43:3-5 ESV

Besides providing words, it’s a comfort to know that biblical figures of great faith such as Paul or David struggled at times. Praying their words and knowing God heard them reminds us that He also hears us in our hour of need.

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During times of mental health crisis such as panic attacks, trauma recovery, intense anxiety, or terrors brought on by depression, praying one sentence breath prayers may be a comfort and a tool for restoring calm. 

Breath praying is the practice of praying one line over and over, inhaling on the first half, exhaling on the second.

You can use lines of worship songs or hymns, favorite Scriptures or familiar prayers, or use your own words. Here are several examples:

Inhale—"It is well”— Exhale— “with my soul.” (Hymn, It is Well with My Soul, by Horatio Spafford, 1873, public domain.)

Inhale— “The Lord is my shepherd”— Exhale— “I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

Inhale— “Be still and know”— Exhale— “that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Inhale— “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God—Exhale— have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Traditional Jesus prayer)

There are many short Bible verses to pray in moments of mental anguish. Expressing how we feel can be helpful but it may also help to praise or thank God even if we’re not feeling that but expressing it in faith.

Here are several:

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4a).

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When Jesus’s disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, He taught them what many refer to as “The Lord’s Prayer.” He intended this as a pattern of prayer, assuring His followers that God doesn’t need a lot of words for the sake of words. He already knows what we need. 

The Lord’s Prayer can be healing to pray as written or as a pattern for your current mental health needs:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:9-13).

OR 

“Our Father in heaven, your name is great and worthy of praise. May your kingdom and light come into my mind, as it does in heaven. Give me this day peace of mind, clarity of thought, and calmness of soul to function in my home, work, and community. Forgive me as I forgive those who have sinned against me. Keep me from all temptations, especially the temptation to despair, to give up on myself or life, or to abandon faith in Christ. Deliver me from all evil and from every disease of the mind that threatens to keep me in darkness. My faith is in You and in Your Son, Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit living within me, Amen.”

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Anxiety: “Lord, You are the God of all peace and order. I turn from anxiety and set my heart and mind on You. Please bring calming thoughts to my mind, order my emotions, and restore me to peace to I can function today. Amen.”

Depression: “Lord, You are the light that has come into the world and the darkness cannot overcome You. Bring that light into the darkness that has invaded my mind and soul today. I surrender to You alone. I am tired but You are not. Battle for me and push back the forces of darkness with the light of Jesus Christ in whose name I pray, Amen.”

Attention-Deficit Disorder: Father, You love me as I am. Help me find ways to work that work with my kind of wiring and thinking. You love me, in Christ, and I belong to You. Amen.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Father, You are loving-kindness, steadfast and unchanging. Help me not to be defined or controlled by the trauma I incurred in the past. Heal my thinking, file memories in their proper location, and free me to move forward. Help me sleep deeply. Help calm me. Help me lose all fear. I want to be controlled by Your Holy Spirit alone and not by the wounds of my past. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Father, I need You. I know that all things hold together in Jesus. Lead me to an effective treatment that brings healing and restoration in Jesus’s name. Amen.

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When loved ones wrestle with severe mental health struggles that involve symptoms such as hallucinations, hearing voices, severe mood swings, fits of rage, or even violent tendencies, we can feel helpless to know how to support and yet also remain safe. We can feel very alone, so it’s important to pray and remember that God is with us and with our loved ones.

“Father God, You are the Father of all compassion, wisdom, and healing. You created each of us. You were there when my loved one was formed. You know the reasons her mind doesn’t function like other people’s minds. You love her in Christ. 

I don’t understand what my loved one is facing. I don’t hear the voices she hears. I don’t perceive the way she does. My emotions don’t experience the same heights and depths she experiences. I don’t worry that people are out to harm me and I don’t know what it’s like to not trust my own perceptions. But I love her and want to be the best support I can.

Lord, give me wisdom and discernment with this loved one. Help me know when to set boundaries, when to intervene, and when to back away. Help me always see my loved one and never confuse her with the illness that sometimes overwhelms her. Guide us to the best plan of treatment for her and restore her to full mental health. My hope is in You. Help me always see her with Your eyes. Amen.”

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When people we love face mental health struggles, we’re often lost as to how to help. We either don’t have advice or our loved one isn’t open to receiving any counsel. Some of what we say causes hurt or appears to make things worse. We don’t want that. Even when our loved one has a relationship with Jesus, talking about praying or reading the Bible at the height of a mental health crisis may come across as preachy, judgmental, or dismissive.

Asking our loved ones what has helped in the past can be a starting place. We can ask what support they would like. Rather than ask if they’ve been reading their Bible or praying, ask if they mind if we read a portion of Scripture aloud such as Psalm 23, Psalm 91, or John 1:1-18.

If we feel led to pray, we can ask if they’re comfortable with us praying aloud or if they’d prefer we prayed in silence. Of course, we’re always free to intercede privately when we have our own personal times of prayer.

“Father, You are the God of all wisdom, compassion, and truth. You created us body, mind, and soul so You know exactly how we work. My loved one is struggling with overwhelming mental health problems right now and I feel helpless to support them or bring about effective change. You love them and know exactly what they need. Please lead them to a path for complete healing and restoration in Jesus’s name, Amen.”

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Many people face overwhelming situations such as loss, trauma, violence, intense mental health anguish, disappointment, disease, disabling injuries, debilitating depression, financial distress, or other agonies that lead to either the desire to die or thoughts of suicide. 

Elijah became so overwhelmed in 1 Kings 19 that he asked the Lord to take his life. Jeremiah wished he’d never been born (Jeremiah 15:10). Paul wrote of the apostles being under intense strain that led to thoughts they may die. “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself” 2 Corinthians 1:8

When we pray for ourselves if we despair of life: “Father God, I no longer want to face this. I want to die rather than go on. Send help. Give me strength to tell someone how I feel. Deliver me from this despair. Amen.”

Elizabeth Delaney writes about four steps we can take to support people who have suicidal thoughts. We can also offer to pray with them or pray for them. “Father, [name] is in a crisis of life and is battling thoughts of suicide. Please deliver him/her from this darkness. Send the right help and keep them safe in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741.

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