Prayers for Hard Emotions: A 5-Day Devotional by Asheritah CiuciuSample

DEPRESSED

“Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.”

PSALM 102:1–2

RECITE GOD’S GOODNESS

O Love Beyond Compare, You are compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth. Were it not for Your lovingkindness, surely, I’d be gone by now. But because Your mercies are new every morning, I have lived to see this day. You are the true light in my darkness.

EXPRESS YOUR NEEDINESS

Lord, I feel alone and hopeless—even my heart and body have failed me. Some days I cannot find a reason to get out of bed. In this darkness, turn to me and answer me. Give me a sign of Your goodness in this land of the living. I desperately need You.

SEEK HIS STILLNESS

Take a few deep breaths, and become aware of God’s loving presence surrounding you this very moment. Though you may not feel Him, He is near you. Do you believe it?

TRUST HIS FAITHFULNESS

Lord, let my prayers reach Your ears even though they seem to bounce off the ceiling. Even when I feel my life is empty, I believe that You are working within me for Your good purposes; my hope is alive in You. You promise that when I call to You in my day of trouble, You will rescue me. You’ve never failed me yet, and You won’t start now, so I trust You.

For Further Prayer and Study

Exodus 34:5–7 • Psalms 27:13–14; 50:15; 102:1–11 • John 14:1–3