20 Bible Verses for when you feel like you can’t pray

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There have been times in my life when the words would not form in order to pray to the Lord.

One night during my daughter, Taylor’s, last year of life, I sat on the floor of her room after finally getting her settled.

I’d given the medications and repositioned her frail little body. When I finally leaned back against the wall, I tried to pray. That’s what I always did before bed. That was the rhythm for all my kiddos.

But I couldn’t form a sentence.

I tried. I opened my mouth and nothing came. I tried to think the words and my brain wouldn’t hold them. So I just cried. And then I whispered one word.

Jesus.

A one word prayer.

For a long time afterward, I felt like the biggest imposter. I was a writer who taught other women how to pray. I had a shelf of prayer journals. I had a Bible marked up with years of notes. But none of that mattered in that particular moment, all I could manage was the name of Jesus. He heard me. A one word prayer was enough because He is enough.

Have you ever been there? In the dark, with nothing but a whisper?

I want to share with you what I wish I could have remembered in those moments.

I believe there are two Biblical truths for when we find ourselves unable to pray. One is to know that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us; He is our Comforter.

The other is that if when we can get to the point of pushing out the words to speak to our Father, no matter how jumbled or confused we are, He hears our prayer. Enjoy these 20 Bible Verses for when you feel like you can’t pray.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, Eph. 6:18

But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:16-17

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; Isaiah 55:6

But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. Psalm 88:13

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Phil. 4:6

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:18

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jeremiah 33:3

O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Psalm 141:1&2

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16b

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” Psalm 116:1-4

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:6&7

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation. Psalm 42:5

When You Can’t Find the Words

So what do you do with a list of verses when you can’t even open your mouth?
You don’t have to read all twenty. You don’t have to memorize anything. You don’t have to have it together before you come to God.
Pick one. Just one. Whisper it back to Him. That’s praying.
If “Jesus” is all you can manage today, He hears that too. Romans 8:26 says the Spirit himself is praying for you, in groans that don’t even have words yet. You aren’t behind. You aren’t failing. You’re just tired, and God knows it.
Sometimes the most honest prayer we have is a name and some tears. He still calls that prayer.

Rachel

For More

If this is where you are right now — too tired to pray, but still showing up — I wrote my next book for you. Praying Through Life’s Battles releases August 25th. It’s 90 days of honest, Scripture-anchored prayers for the fight you’re actually in. You can preorder it now, and grab the free prayer guide here →