Prayers for when you do not feel like praying

For the morning you show up with nothing

For the day you sit down out of habit and there is nothing behind it.

God, I am here and that is about all I brought. I am not going to pretend today. The apostles asked you to increase their faith, which suggests they knew theirs was short, and that asking was allowed. So I am asking. Not for a feeling, not for proof this morning. Just for enough to sit down again tomorrow. Amen.

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Luke 17:5, BSB

When you are not sure anyone is listening

For the stretch where prayer feels like speaking into an empty room.

God, I have been saying things into the quiet for a long time now, and I do not know if they arrive. The psalm has someone calling by day and getting no answer, and calling by night and not being quiet — and that is in the book, so I am going to say the same thing without apologising for it. If you are there, this is me, still talking. If I am wrong about you, then let me be wrong honestly rather than pretending my way through. Amen.

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning? I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.

Salmo 22:1-2, BSB

The one-line prayer, for the days with nothing in them

A father in Mark says he believes and asks for help with his unbelief, in the same breath. Jesus does not correct the sentence. Say it as many times as you need.

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Amen.

Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24, BSB

When you are thinking about walking away

For the week you seriously consider stopping, and are tired of being told not to.

God, I have thought about stopping. Some of it is exhaustion, some of it is what I have seen done in your name, and some of it is that I no longer know what I believe. I am not going to make that decision this morning at six in the kitchen. The psalm says there is nowhere a person can go where you are not already, including the worst places someone could name. If that is true, then it is true of wherever I am going too, and I do not have to get this settled before I move. Do not let me lie about it, in either direction. Amen.

Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.

Salmo 139:7-8, BSB

When you have no words at all

Short on purpose. Say the first line and stop if that is all there is.

God, I have got nothing. It is written that your Spirit takes over when we do not know how to pray. Take over. I am here. Amen.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

Romans 8:26, BSB

Please read this part too

This page is a devotional resource. It is not medical, psychological or pastoral advice, and prayer is not a treatment. Losing the feeling of faith is not a symptom you should try to pray away in private.

If nothing means anything at the moment — not only God — if you cannot sleep or are sleeping constantly, if you have lost interest in everything, or if this has run for months, talk to a doctor or a therapist. Spiritual dryness and depression look very similar from the inside, and no article can tell them apart for you.

If you are in a real crisis of faith, find one person who will not panic and say it out loud to them this week — a friend, a chaplain, a pastor, someone who has been through it. Doubt does its worst work when it is kept private. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, contact your local emergency number or crisis line today.