Psalms that will Help When You Need to Pray
If you watch the news … the world is a mess and it’s only getting worse.
Maybe you are doing okay personally or maybe you’re not. But even when you and I are fed, housed, and healthy … we always seem to have concerns to lay before the Lord in prayer. Some big, some small, and some that feel overwhelming.
I remember a morning when Rev had already gone to work when I called him upset saying, “I need you to come and pray with me! I need to pray and I just can’t find the words.”
Have you ever found yourself in a similar place?
When your need has overwhelmed your emotions and the only prayer you can raise is … “Lord, please help!”?
I think that’s why I love praying Scripture. It soothes my heart and settles my mind to know God’s children have gone there before me. My emotions aren’t new or unusual … people have been experiencing feelings just like mine forever.
So, when my emotions have cluttered my mind and I need help finding the words to pray, I now turn to Scripture. My favorite prayers are in the Book of Psalms because David and the other Psalmists were open and honest in expressing their feelings and frustrations.
I made a list of verses and prayers from the Book of Psalms to help me pray when my emotions overwhelm me.
Psalms that will Help When You Need to Pray
When You Feel Afraid
Psalm 27
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
Psalm 27:1, 8
so why should I be afraid?
My heart has heard You say,
“Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Father, thank you for inviting me to come to You whenever I feel afraid. You tell me to honestly share my feelings with You trusting Your unfailing love to calm my heart and give me peace.
Psalm 23
He renews my strength.
Psalm 23:3–4
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to His name.
Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for You are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
Lord, whatever path You allow me to walk, I pray that You will give me everything I need to obey You and give You glory. I will not be afraid because I trust You to protect and comfort my heart, mind, and soul.
Psalm 56
When I am afraid,
Psalm 56:3–4
I will put my trust in you.
I praise God for what He has promised.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
Father God, You have always been faithful to keep Your promises. I trust You to give me everything I need today, tomorrow, and always.
When You are Confused and Overwhelmed
Psalm 73
I belong to You;
Psalm 73:23–26
You hold my right hand.
You guide me with Your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
I desire You more than anything on earth.
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever.
What an amazing promise … I belong to You, Father. You hold me, guide me, and protect my soul. I love You with all my heart. Even when I don’t understand what You are doing … You are with me holding me close, giving me strength and guiding my steps.
Psalm 34
The Lord hears His people
Psalm 34:17–18
when they call to Him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
Father, thank you for hearing the cries of my heart. Thank you for helping me, holding me, forgiving me, and saving me. Your grace is sufficient for every circumstance. By Your grace, please help me focus my heart and mind on You … the One who is greater than my problems and my pain.
Psalm 143
Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning,
Psalm 143:8
for I am trusting You.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to You.
Lord, Your Word tells me again and again of Your unfailing love. In a world where love so often seems self-absorbed and self-serving, Your perfect love never disappoints me. I surrender every day of my life to You. I love You. Please help me live for the glory of Your name.
When You Feel Small and Unimportant
Psalm 139
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
Psalm 139:17–18
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
You are still with me!
Father, You know me and love me. You tell me I am precious to You. You know my thoughts and care about my struggles. Wherever I am and whatever I do … You are with me. I love You and worship You now and forever.
Psalm 42
Each day the Lord pours
Psalm 42:8
His unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing His songs,
praying to God who gives me life.
Father, Your unfailing love surrounds me. In the middle of the night when I feel small and my worries feel huge help me focus on Your sovereign power, wisdom, mercy, and grace.
When You Feel Exhausted and Worn Out
Psalm 77
I cry out to God;
Psalm 77:1–2
I call to God, and He will hear me.
I look for the Lord on the day of trouble.
All night long I reach out my hands,
but I cannot be comforted.
Father, It’s been a long hard day. I feel like a toddler who is so close to pitching an exhausted tantrum. I need You to hold me. Please give me the strength I need today, the peace I need to rest, and the courage to do it all again tomorrow.
Psalm 62
I find rest in God;
Psalm 62:1–2 (NCV)
only He can save me.
He is my rock and my salvation.
He is my defender;
I will not be defeated.
I will not be defeated today, Father. You are my Rock. You give me the courage and strength I need. With Your help … I can do this!
Know the Lord Hears Your Prayers
Psalm 6
The Lord has heard my plea;
Psalm 6:9
the Lord will answer my prayer.
I cling to Your promises, Lord. You hear and answer those who cry out to You for help. Thank you! Your love is greater than life!
Psalm 143
Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea.
Psalm 143:1
Answer me because
You are faithful and righteous.
Father, You hear my prayer … not because of who I am or what I’ve done but because of who You are. You are:
- loving.
- compassionate.
- holy.
- infinite.
- unchanging.
- all-knowing.
- all-powerful.
- wise.
- just.
- merciful.
- gracious.
- and altogether perfect in every way.
Thanks and praise!
Psalm 28
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 28:6–7
For He has heard my cry for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust Him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
Oh, Father, I thank you!
Thank you for Your Word that tells us of real people with real emotions … people we can relate to as we see our own flaws and weaknesses, struggles and needs. Thank you for encouraging us to come to You honestly with feelings that are already known to You. And thank you most of all for giving us everything we need through Jesus and the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus precious name, we pray. Amen.
Friend, I want you to know something important.
I have loved God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – for as long as I can remember. But 15 years ago, I fell in love with His Word as the Lord used it to fill me with hope and peace.
The Spirit showed me that even when life is confusing and I don’t understand God’s plan, I can always trust His love.
As I read the accounts of people, places, and events, I can relate. I can see myself…
- taking a bite of the apple in the Garden.
- depressed like Sarah.
- grumbling like the wilderness wanderers.
- broken like Job.
- running like Jonah.
- hiding and afraid like the disciples.
I’d love to see myself in the heroes of faith … but I identify more with the broken and needy. Because in their accounts, I see God’s constant and unwavering love.
And because He loved them, I trust His love for me.
When I read the Bible, I don’t see a bunch of stories or a list of rules; I see the greatest love letter that has ever been written.
I’m reading through my favorite books, John and Romans, during the season of Lent and I’d love for you to join me. It’s not too late! We just started a few days ago. You can download the schedule here.
I’m asking God to bless you today as you go to His Word and turn to Him in prayer with honest feelings in faith … trusting His perfect unfailing love.
Thank you for these beautiful scriptures and prayers to help those of us who find comfort in praying God’s word.
Thank you, Faith! I so appreciate your kind encouragement. God bless you!
I thanked God for you I like the way you posted the Lord prayer and I shared them with my friends may the Lord continue to bless you and your family in Jesus’s name amen ????
Thank you so much, Geno. I am blessed by your kindness. Thanks too, for sharing this with friends. You blessed my day!
Amazing, thank you for sharing word of God with each prayer
It helps me to grow in prayer life
Thank you 🙏
God bless you.
God bless you, Premila!
Prayed with you today, Deb, and how powerful it was! I will resolve to turn to Scripture when words of prayer fail me in the future, and know that I am loved by an omnipotent and loving Father.
Blessings!
Thank you, Martha! Your encouragement is always a blessing. Have a wonderful day in the Lord!
I love the help offered by the Psalms when it comes to prayer, Deb! I’ve been convicted of a lack of focus in my prayer life lately, and your words are pointing me to the focus I need! Thank you so much!
You are at such a busy stage of life, Stacey. It’s hard to focus when little ones are demanding our attention. I’m so glad this blessed you today and helped you pause and pray this morning. God bless you!
Thank you Deb, this was beautiful!
Thank you, Kris!
Such a good message and I so needed it today. I have not been sleeping very well due to choices my adult child has made, I know I am not suppose to worry and I’m thankful for these scriptures to help me pray. I do know God is always in control and his timing is perfect and I have hope in that. Thank you for redirecting my thoughts with this message and scripture! I’m so grateful for all here who are prayer warriors.
Thank you so much, Brenda! I’m glad it blessed you! I sometimes think praying for our children becomes an even greater need as they become adults. I am so thankful for God’s faithful reminder that He loves my children even more than I do and I can entrust them to His care. It’s a reminder I need often. Blessings!
To God Be the Glory, Amen. Thank you for the scriptures for these trying times here on earth. I pray that Jesus will Continue to keep you and the Saints near the cross for refuge.
I pray for our beacon lights will shine brighter every second if the hour, so that the someone who doesn’t know Jesus would come to Salvation.
For all the Saints of Jesus I pray that we continue to stay in Jesus Grace and Mercy, even though we know that times here in earth will get worse.
May Jesus be the light of the Saints’ footsteps, by guiding us by the Holy Spirit.
P/S: Thank you for your blog, and congratulations on your Christian’s latest achievements.
Love Kathleen
Amen, Kathleen! I’m joining you in prayer! Thank you so much for your kind encouragement … you blessed my day! May the Lord be with you!
Hello, this is so wonderful but I still fail. My prayers always lack weight, and they are always dull and dry. Even if I turn to the scripture I still fail to fathom and understand.
I do too, Beatrice. And I must tell you that I have never met anyone, even those I considered to be great prayer warriors, who were satisfied with their prayer life. The enemy is constantly trying to distract us, confuse us, and keep us from our time with the Lord. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve grown to love Scripture so much and to pray what is on my heart and mind after reading the Word. I study the Life Application Bible – New Living Translations (NLT) and I love it. The notes are so helpful. I’m asking God to be your encourager and fill you with His hope and love. God bless you!
Thank you for these beautiful verses. I often want to pray the Scriptures, but I’m never sure where to begin. I feel so inspired now, and I know that I will be praying these in the future!
I’m so glad it blessed you, Lyndsie. Thank you so much for visiting and for your kind encouragement! God bless you!
I love the Psalms and this is so encouraging!
Thank you, Ava! I’m so glad you visited!
Dear sister,
Actually, things are not getting worse, they are getting better. We are about to enter a “short” time of peace and prosperity like this world has never seen. This is our spiritual harvest of abundance, like Joseph’s harvest. It’s a short window and it can be found in Scriptures in Haggai and Zechariah. GOD always repeats Himself. The OT is a foreshadow of things to come, if it happened in the natural there, it happens in the spiritual, now. The Bible scholars missed it. Just like the Pharisees and disciples did not recognize Jesus until after the fact. Some never did. We learn prophecy AFTER the fact, not in the newspapers.
Thank you Deb you’re a blessing, our encourager, we need more people like you. I’m a born again Christian, 15 years ago I give my life to the Lord and He has change my life for the better. I give all the glory to God, I consider myself truly blessed.
In Christ,
Letty
Thank you, Letty, for your kindness. I feel very blessed that God allows me to do this each day. Praying and asking God to continue to bless and encourage you.
When I pray the Word, I find such comfort. Even when I don’t find all the answers right away. The journey is hard, but the Word is sustaining me. Strengthening me. Equipping me. The daily battles are then seen in a different light. And knowing God fights my battles strengthens my faith even me. This particular article was timely, as my Faithful Father always is!! I’m grateful you are using the gifts the Lord has given you to reach the hearts of others. I look forward to walking with you on this journey in the Kingdom of God. I’ll definitely be subscribing. I love you’re “crazy… in love with Jesus”!
Me too, Lisa! I love that we have God’s promises to hold close and lift up to Him … especially when our daily battles distract and unsettle us. Thanks so much for visiting and for taking the time to join the conversation. He has been so gracious in delivering me, I can’t help but be “crazy in love” with Him. Thanks and God bless!
Thank you for taking time and getting the scriptures I am loving it
I’m so glad it blessed you, Rita! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! God bless you!
I’ve been praying to God to bless me with twin girls for the past five years and sometimes the words doesn’t come whenever am praying and I feel so tired and worried and it’s seems God is not hearing my cry????????… God has already blessed me and my husband with three strong boys and I really want to have twin girls since I don’t have a sister and the only friend and a sister I had has passed away (that’s my Mom).
Thanks so much for these powerful verses,God bless you ????????
I’m praying for you, Grace. Asking God to hold you close and grant your heart’s desire. God bless you!
Psalm 73 is such a great reminder.
God is leading me to step into deeper waters and iam feeling a little fearful and anxious. Thanks for the many encouraging scriptures. I’m sure God led me to your site.
I’m so very glad this encouraged you, Barb. Thank you for visiting and stopping to say “hello.” God be with you and bless you!
Thank you very much for the encouraging and edifying verses.
You’re quite welcome, Beatrice. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. God bless you!
Im inspired love it really .Daily Soulfood 🙏🙏
I’m glad you were blessed and encourage, Liena. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. God be with you.
Thank you for these psalms, it reminds me how awesome and faithful our Lord is! I am no longer lost.
I’m so glad you were blessed and encouraged, Ellen. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. God bless you!