A Prayer for When Life Seems Too Hard
By Lynette Kittle
Bible Reading:
“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” - Psalm 43:5
Are there days, weeks, months, maybe even years, when life just seems too hard and, you’d rather stay tucked in bed than face another day?
If so, you’re not alone. Many of us go through times in life when it just seems like it’s just too hard to pull ourselves up. Whether it’s about family relationships, finances, illness, work issues, or more, life can feel overwhelming.
But God didn’t create us to be able to carry the heaviness of the world on our shoulders. He didn’t design us to face each day with dread or just make it through. He has more for us.
God’s plan from the very beginning, even before the fall of mankind, is for us to be dependent upon Him. Whereas the world chides and taunts us that we have to take care of ourselves, God calls us to let Him take care of us.
Proverbs 3:5 calls us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
Sadly, the self-made person philosophy has invaded the church to where many believers are more reliant on themselves than God. Even though life in a fallen world is impossibly hard, even in a perfect world, God’s plan is for us to lean on Him.
What to Do When You Feel Like Giving Up
Still, what if we just feel like giving up, not feeling like we have the strength to even face another day? The following are four steps we can take when life seems too hard.
1. Remember God’s goodness in our lives. Have we ever done something nice for someone, but it’s soon forgotten? We often do that to God, forgetting all He’s done for us, when we’re feeling down. But remembering His goodness will actually help us to feel better and gain hope in our situations.
Psalm 77:11 urges, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.”
Sometimes it helps to write what we remember down, so we can look at it often and maybe even carry it with us to help encourage us as we go throughout the day.
2. Keep praying. Sometimes, when life seems too hard, we stop praying, feeling like it’s not helping, but it’s just what the enemy of our souls wants us to do.
Even when it seems like the answers aren’t coming, we need to keep praying, believing God is hearing, listening, and will answer us.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 encourages us to “Pray continually.”
If we really feel discouraged about praying, we can ask trusted friends and family members to please pray for us and with us.
3. Read God’s word. God’s word brings life to us, so when we read it, we will be refreshed and renewed. If we’re feeling too worn out to read it, we can listen to it online or on a phone app.
1 John 5:20 explains that, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
4. Reach out to someone else. The devil wants us to think that, because we’re struggling, we have nothing to offer anyone else. But it’s a lie, and it keeps us from reaching out and receiving the blessings that come when we look outside ourselves to help someone else.
It may be something as simple as sending an encouraging note or text, letting them know we’re praying for them, or dropping off a small gift to add some joy to their day.
As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Acts 20:35, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Let’s pray:
Dear Father,
Thank you for being my Savior and my God.
Although my body, mind, and heart are feeling worn out and weary, I will lean on You and look to You for my hope.
Help me to remember all of Your goodness in my life and to recall Your great works throughout the history of the world.
Strengthen me today, Lord, to keep praying and to turn to Your word to nourish my weary soul.
Lead me to reach out and offer Your hope to someone else, even if I am struggling to hold onto it myself.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/fizkes
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
Related Resource: Establishing a Routine of Rest
For a long time, rest felt less like a gift and more like a guilty indulgence — something to be earned, something to feel vaguely ashamed of, something that productive, faithful people did not really need. In a world that measures worth by output, the idea of stopping feels dangerously close to falling behind.
But what if rest is not optional? What if it was never meant to be? Tonight, lay down the hustle. Receive the gift. This is exactly what you were made for. Your Nightly Prayer is a daily Christian prayer podcast from the LifeAudio Podcast Network and Crosswalk.com. Each night, the team behind Crosswalk.com brings you a devotional and prayer to help you end your day in conversation with God. May these nightly prayers help you find the words to pray and focus your heart and mind on the love of God as you end your day. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!