Helpful Psalms that will Calm Your Anxious Heart

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I woke up this morning with an anxious heart and a long list of calls, emails, and appointments to accomplish.

I prayed and asked the Lord to fill me with His peace, but my insides continued to feel like a cage full of mice running to find the exit.

I considered Paul’s words…

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV)

But as I continued through my morning study time, it felt like my prayers weren’t yielding the desired, beyond-understanding peace I desired.

What do you do when you pray for peace, but your nervous system is telling you that it remains beyond your reach?

Praise God! He gave us David’s emotionally honest Psalms…

From the ends of the earth,
    I cry to You for help
    when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the towering rock of safety,

Psalm 61:2

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 42:5 (ESV)

When the cares of my heart are many,
    Your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 94:19 (ESV)

It blesses me to know that David, someone God called “a man after my own heart,” (Acts 13:22) struggled with all the same emotions you and I do.

I did some digging to find out what made that possible and saw that David also wrote…

For Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
    You rule throughout all generations.
The Lord always keeps His promises;
    He is gracious in all He does.
The Lord helps the fallen
    and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

Psalm 145:13–14

David trusted God, and He never gave up.

So, that’s what I decided to do today. I continued to pray as I got busy doing the things on my list. I’m not done, but I’m doing, and I’m trusting.

I’m surrendering and giving up today’s procrastination. I’m trusting God to give me the strength I need to accomplish the things I need to do, just like David.

I settled on Psalm 25…

In You, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.
Show me Your ways, Lord,
    teach me Your paths.
Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
    for You are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in You all day long.
Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in You.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord, is in You.

Psalm 25:1, 4–5, 20–21 (NIV)

When life makes us anxious, may we trust in God and never give up. May the Lord be our source of hope forever and always. May we trust His love and power to calm our anxious hearts and give us His hard-to-understand peace.

Let’s pray…

A Prayer Asking God to Calm Your Anxious Heart

Father God, Your Word tells us not to be anxious and to surrender all worries to You. It’s what I want. When I’m agitated, and I feel like my inside is full of amped up mice, I can quickly say the words that give my cares and concerns to You, asking You to fill my anxious heart with Your peace.

But the truth is, it’s a faith issue. I can hear my Savior’s loving voice saying, “Oh, you of little faith.”

I know He’s right. I know that rather than trusting You to give me what I need to live out and accomplish what lies before me … I procrastinate, ruminate, and agitate. And those things never work.

Your way is best. When my heart is overwhelmed, please give me everything I need to give You my anxious heart, and trust You to give me the strength to deal with the day ahead.

When I tell myself, “I can’t.” Help me remember Your promise that “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” You promise to give me everything I need to endure whatever You allow.

So, once again this day, I pray, “Lord, I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”

Help me faithfully trust Your TRUTH and obey Your will, as I pray with David…

“Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.”

I pray this all in the precious name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Amen.

I found this quote from Oswald Chambers…

I recently learned that we have Chambers words because his beautiful wife, Biddy, who had been trained as a court stenographer, recorded his messages using shorthand. Chambers died at the age of 43, following emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix.

Got Questions, then shares this…

The first Christmas after her husband’s death, Biddy printed one of his sermons and sent it to some soldiers. The response was overwhelming. Soon after, she began doing this on a monthly basis until the demand was so large that the YMCA took over the task, mailing out 10,000 copies of a sermon each month. Biddy then began compiling and publishing books based on the shorthand transcriptions of Oswald’s message

Oswald and Biddy had a four-year-old daughter at the time of his death. I can’t imagine the grief and anxiety Biddy dealt with. But God gave her the strength and peace to minister to all of us through her husband’s words. Their love for the Lord has blessed countless lives for more than 100 years.

So, I’m printing off his quote and remembering that “when His hand is laid upon me, it gives inexpressible peace and comfort, and the sense that underneath me are the everlasting arms, (Deuteronomy 33:27) full of support, provision, comfort, and strength.” Click here if you’d like a copy of his quote as well.

He will give us the peace we need to calm our anxious hearts. May the Lord be with you and bless you now and always.

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