girl laying in grass field, anxious heart, prayers, prayers for the anxious heart

6 Soothing Prayers For The Anxious Heart

Despite our best intentions, despite our biggest smiles or attempts to stay strong, despite our every desire to be positive and keep faith when we’re faced with pain, sometimes we let our worries win. Instead of trusting our Father, we fall victim to our vices. Instead of resting in truth, we believe lies. Instead of breathing and releasing what we cannot control, we let our anxiety eat away at our spirit.

We tell ourselves that we’re destined to fight alone. But that’s absolutely not the truth.

So whether you’re in a season of doubt or fear, whether you’re nervous for your next step or waking up in paranoia, whether you’re surrounded by people but still feeling empty, or feel as if you’ve been totally abandoned, here are six prayers to calm your anxious heart and remind you of the powerful God you serve.

God I pray for wisdom.

God I pray for wisdom of what I do not understand, of what I do not see, of what I cannot make sense of. I pray that you will give me answers—perhaps the ones I’m searching for, or perhaps ones I didn’t even know I needed—but answers that show me your way and your truth. Show me you’ve never left, and remind me that all will fall according to your plan.

God, please take my unknowns and show me the world through your eyes. Fill my unsettled spirit with the knowledge of what’s to come, and remind me that I do not need to fear. For I am yours.

Amen.

God I pray for peace.

Lord I pray that you will take my spinning mind and calm it. That you will take each unnecessary thought and cast them away. That you will pull out negativity and replace it with confidence and love. That you will erase the doubt and anxiety, and instead show me the power of your holy name.

I pray that you take my pounding heart, my clammy hands, my brain that’s continually over-thinking and give me peace. Peace to understand that there are things I cannot change. Peace to accept your promise rather than the impermanence of this world. Peace to let go of my pain and replace it with faith. Peace to stand firm in you.

Amen.

God I pray for strength.

Father I pray that you replace my worry with perseverance, my doubt with boldness, my uncertainty with absolute confidence. Instead of questioning, help me to trust that you are with me. Instead of waking up with yesterday’s pain, remind me that the past is the past and I am forever renewed with your love. Instead of a fluttering heartbeat, please help mine to beat steadily as I walk in your ways.

I pray for strength instead of weakness; I pray for more of your presence within me.

Amen.

God I pray for healing.

God please take my bruised ego, my shattered heart, my dizzy mind, my empty soul and replace all of me with your love. I don’t want to spend my days feeling lonely, feeling exhausted, feeling like I’m forever looking back instead of in the direction I’m headed.

I ask that you will heal me, that you will love me, that you will shine your light into all my darkest places. God, I ask that you please take my emptiness and fill it, take my remains and piece them back together. Please show me that what lies ahead is far better. And remind me that I can, and will overcome all my brokenness with you.

Amen.

God I pray for security.

Father I pray that I will feel your arms around me, your warmth within me, your promises flowing through my every cell and vein. No longer do I want to live without your presence in my life. No longer do I want to feel as if something’s missing. No longer do I want to think that I’m facing the world alone.

Please bring security and safety to my being, to my world.
Please show me that I am never alone.

Amen.

God I pray for joy.

Lord I want to feel joy. I want to feel hope. I don’t want to live my days without you, stumbling around all purposeless and broken. I don’t want to focus on all that I don’t have, rather than what I do. I don’t want to put all my passion into people and things that are temporary when you are standing right in front of me, promising me a beautiful life after this one.

I’m so tired of being tired, so sick of wandering around trying to make meaning out of things that I know won’t last. Help me to see that true joy is with you—I don’t have to search anymore.

Amen. Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Marisa is a writer, poet, & editor. She is the author of Somewhere On A Highway, a poetry collection on self-discovery, growth, love, loss and the challenges of becoming.

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