Most adults have experienced anxiety at some point in their lives. In fact, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concern in the United States, with about 19 percent of adults and 7 percent of children experiencing symptoms. In other words, anxiety is nothing to be ashamed of, and it’s something that can be treated through a variety of methods (therapy, medication, etc.). Sometimes anxiety can feel so normal that people accept the symptoms as part of their everyday experience, but life doesn’t have to be that way. Seeking relief from anxiety is something that should be not only encouraged, but celebrated as prioritizing one’s holistic health — not just physical, but mental, too.
If you are spiritual or religious, finding solace in daily prayer can be something that helps ease your anxiety, too. Finding prayers for peace can be a great way to calm an anxious mind or take a moment to be still after experiencing a hectic day or racing mind. When it comes to anxiety, in particular, sometimes lifting up your worries to God instead of carrying them on your own can be exactly what you need to finally take a deep breath and feel safe. Here are 18 examples of positive, uplifting prayers for anxiety that may just help you in your moment of need.
Prayers to overcome anger
And if you happen to need some additional support, know that there are free resources available, including a Crisis Text Line and a number of emergency helplines for panic and anxiety you can access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A PRAYER FOR SOOTHING PANIC ATTACKS
GETTY IMAGES
Dear God,
I come before You to lay my panic and anxiety at Your feet. When I’m crushed by my fears and worries, remind me of Your power and Your grace. Fill me with Your peace as I trust in You and You alone. I know I can’t beat this on my own, but I also know that I have You, Lord, and You have already paid the ultimate price to carry my burdens.
For this I thank you, Amen.
— Unknown
PRAYER FOR STRENGTH
GETTY IMAGES
Dear Jesus,
You are the strength of my life;
You are my rock, my fortress and my protector; therefore, whom shall I be afraid?
You are my shield, my strong-tower and my stronghold.
I will call to You because You are worthy to be praised.
So, Father, I thank you for being my strength and My God in whom I trust, Amen.
ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW
A PRAYER FOR CONFRONTING FEAR
GETTY IMAGES
Heavenly Father,
When I feel crushed by my own worries,
Lift my mind and help me to see the truth.
When fear grips me tight and I feel I cannot move,
Free my heart and help me to take things one step at a time.
When I can’t express the turmoil inside,
Calm me with Your quiet words of love.
I choose to trust in You, each day, each hour, each moment of my life.
I know deep down that I in Your grace, forgiven, restored by Your sacrifice, You have set me free.
Amen.
— Unknown
A Prayer to Overcome Anxiety
Heavenly Father, thank You for being an overcoming God! I know I can take heart because You have overcome the world. Empower me to rise above my circumstances. Help me cast my anxiety on You because You care for me. Give me Your power to overcome. Thank You for giving me the victory! In Jesus’ Name, Amen. (Esther Fleece Allen)
A Prayer to Calm Your Anxiety
Lord, you know me. You made me. You love me. Meet me where I am in this moment. You knew I’d be here. Do what You want with my churning insides and my spinning mind and my blown-up fear. Don’t waste a minute of my anxiety. Heal it. Use it. Change it. Instead of begging for something specific, I give myself to You. What do you want from me and for me? Thank you for understanding me when no one else does and loving me anyway. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. (Lori Freeland)
To Feel God’s Love and Care
Dear God, help me know You love me. Help me feel Your caring arms around me today, even in the dark. Help me hear Your voice singing over me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen (Emily T. Wierenga)
Finding Calm to Quiet Your Soul
Dear Lord, thank You for the calm and quiet you promise is accessible to me even in the middle of the chaos. God, it often feels impossible to find when life is spinning out of control. Help me to remember that when I feel overwhelmed by what I can’t predict or plan, that You already know what will play out and are with me through the process. Help me, Lord, to trust You as I steady my mind and heart on Your promises. Help me to care for my body in the way it needs so that my mind can embrace Your Truth more easily.
Steps To Take In Overcoming Obstacles. We must give our life to Christ. The bible says without Him we can do nothing Matthew 19:26. If we must come to God we must surrender our totality to God and have faith that He is the only one that can give us eternal and a fulfilling life. Confess every known and unknown sins to Him, He is the God that forgives. Hebrew 11:1 says Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We must have strong faith in God that He is the only one that can destroy every obstacle. Enter His court with praise. Psalm 100:4 We must stay joyful at all times to win every obstacle, God has already promised us that even in the storm He is right there with us that is why we must rejoice in the God our strength knowing fully well that He will surely deliver us.
A Prayer for Battling Depression
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that you never change, even when everything around me is changing and unpredictable. (Hebrews 13:8) Thank you that you are stable, even when I feel so very unstable. (Isaiah 33:6) It feels like Satan has been whipping me around! Please sustain me, protect me, and enable me to stand. (1 John 4:4; Psalm 28:7)
I know that because sin entered the world, all of creation is under a curse–all creation groans. (Romans 8:22) Because of this, I struggle physically, emotionally and spiritually. Thank you for how my body is made, and that it sends me warning signals to tell me that I need help. Right now my brain and emotions are telling me that something isn’t right.
Help me to see if there is something physical that is causing my depression. Help me to sift through my circumstances to see if there is a need for change in some way. If I am experiencing depression as a result of a spiritual battle, please bring that to light and show me the best way to fight that battle.
Please lead me to the right source for help. Thank you for understanding what I am going through (Hebrews 4:15), and thank you that Your Word tells me that even Your Son went through hard times emotionally. There were times that He was distressed, grieved, faced loneliness, experienced deep sorrow, and after the death of John He went into isolation (Matthew 14:13). He cried in prayer (Hebrews 5:7-9), and at times he was overwhelmingly sad (Isaiah 53:3). There was even a time that he was afraid his body would not survive the anguish he felt. (Matthew 26:38)
I pray that You would send someone to help bear my burden. (Galatians 6:2) Thank you for again reminding me of how weak I am, and for the body of Christ that you have provided to help bear burdens when we grow too weary to bear them alone. I need someone to come along side me, take my arms, wrap them around their neck, and help me walk until I am strong enough to walk on my own. (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
Thank you for the grace that you have provided. (Hebrews 4:16) I pray You will use this difficult time to cause me to go deeper in my relationship with You, and that You would get the glory for anything that is produced in me. (James 1) Thank you for how you are going to use this time in my life and for all you are doing through this depression. Thank you that You have allowed my weakness to manifest itself in the form of depression, so that You can work more of Your image into my life. (Galatians 2:20; Galatians 4:19)
Thank you that I am not defined by this weakness. Since I am Your child, I am defined by what You accomplished on the cross. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, I can wake up every morning and live life knowing that no matter what I do, think, say, or feel–the cross covers it. Because You offered up Your own beloved Son, I can have peace with You and can face each day with fresh hope and grace. Help me to focus on what is true, and not focus on how I feel. As I sit before the cross, help me to gain a new appreciation for what it actually means for me on a daily basis.
Help me to embrace my weakness as a gift. Remind me that my weakness allows You to work through me even when I am so very weak and feel as though I can do nothing. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Through this time, I pray that you would enlarged my heart that I might love and obey You, and love others more deeply. (Psalm 119:32; Galatians 6:2; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4) Amen. – Gina Smith
A Prayer Against Depression
“Heavenly Father, please strengthen our hearts, and remind us to encourage one another when the troubles of life start to overwhelm us. Please guard our hearts from depression. Give us the strength up to rise up each day and fight against the struggles which seek to weigh us down. Amen.” – John Barnett
A Prayer When You’re in Darkness
The darkness has taken hold me and I can’t find my way back to the light. In this moment, ending it all seems like the best option, the only option, the only way to escape. Yet, there is something in me that wants your light to snuff out the darkness. So I ask, Lord, that you would do just that. You are the only light that can shine in the darkness. I know when I’m consumed with thoughts of death I’m believing lies from the enemy. I ask Lord that you would remind me of these truths: when I feel alone, you are with me; when I feel invisible, you see me; when I feel worthless, my value is knowing you and being known by you. Amen. – Beth Ann Baus.