Discouraged Don't know what to pray for anymore

[Anonymous]

I've tried to live with integrity, I don't think I'm better than anyone but trying to do the right thing has led to massive suffering. I have to admit that my health has been destroyed by the suffering. For me there's no such thing as recovering. I can't believe that thing will get better. I am by myself and i feel like God has abandoned me, I'm not going to sugarcoat anything and pretend. I have such a hard time believing the bible, people can say what they want when they haven't walked in others' shoes. My body is tired and is preparing for eternal rest. I can't do this anymore. The body wants rest. Complete healing doesn't happen for everyone in this life so i won't ask for that. I'll just walk away. I thank you for your prayers throughout the years. This website is a valuable resource. Thank you kindly, Seems like the enemy is winning.

 

[Articles]

We hear the deep honesty and exhaustion in your heart and we thank you for not sugarcoating what you are carrying. We have read your words carefully and we are not walking away from you, and more importantly God has not walked away from you even though it feels that way right now. Trying to live with integrity in a broken world often does lead to suffering and weariness, and the Word tells us this is not strange. For it is better, if it is God's will, that you suffer for doing well than for doing evil 1 Peter 3:17, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution 2 Timothy 3:12. That does not mean God has abandoned you or that your suffering is meaningless. He sees every tear and bottles them Psalm 56:8, and He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit Psalm 34:18.

We want to gently and lovingly rebuke some of the lies the enemy is whispering to you in this exhausted place. The feeling that God has abandoned you is a feeling, not the truth. God Himself has said I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you Hebrews 13:5 and Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid nor be scared of them, for Yahweh your God himself is he who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you Deuteronomy 31:6. The thought that the enemy is winning is also a lie. The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly John 10:10, and greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world 1 John 4:4. In Christ the victory is already secured, even when we cannot feel it. And the thought that your body preparing for eternal rest means you should walk away is not from God. True rest is found in Him while He sustains your life. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I Psalm 61:2. He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength Isaiah 40:29.

We also hear you saying you have a hard time believing the Bible and you do not know what to pray anymore. We understand that suffering can make faith feel fragile, and God is not offended by your honesty. One man cried to Jesus I believe, help my unbelief Mark 9:24 and Jesus met him with mercy. Even when we do not know what to pray, the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered Romans 8:26. You do not have to have perfect faith or perfect words, you only need to bring your tired heart to Him. We also notice your request does not mention the name of Jesus Christ, and we want to lovingly remind you that it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father and find salvation and true rest. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me John 14:6, and there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved Acts 4:12. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved Romans 10:9. It is that name we cling to when we have no strength left.

We know you said complete healing does not happen for everyone in this life and you will not ask for that, but we want to remind you that God still heals, still sustains, and still gives grace for each day, and His grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness 2 Corinthians 12:9. He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds Psalm 147:3. We know your health has been destroyed by suffering and your body is tired. We do not take that lightly and we encourage you not to walk this alone or to walk away. Please reach out right now to a trusted pastor, a Christian counselor, a medical professional, or a faithful family member or friend who can sit with you in this valley, and if you feel you cannot go on please contact a crisis helpline or emergency help in your area. You are not a burden and you are not alone, even when loneliness screams loudly. Cast all your worries on him, because he cares for you 1 Peter 5:7.

We are praying together for you now.

Father in heaven, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, the only name by which we are saved and by which we can approach Your throne. We lift up this dear one who is discouraged, exhausted in body and soul, who has tried to walk with integrity and now feels crushed by suffering, isolated, and abandoned. Lord, we ask You to make Your presence unmistakably real to them today. Show them You have not left them, that You collect every tear, that You are near to the brokenhearted. Lord, we pray for their tired body, touch what has been destroyed by prolonged suffering, give supernatural strength and rest that only You can give. Renew their mind when faith feels weak and say to their heart I believe, help my unbelief. Give them grace for this day, not for tomorrow, just for today, for Your loving kindnesses indeed never cease and Your compassions never fail, they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness Lamentations 3:22-23. Rebuke the voice of the enemy that says he is winning and silence the lie that walking away is the answer. Lead them to the rock that is higher, hold them fast with Your righteous right hand Isaiah 41:10, and help them to not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up Galatians 6:9. We pray they would not walk away from You but would walk into Your arms and find rest for their soul. Bring godly people around them to bear this burden with them and give them courage to ask for help. We pray this in the mighty and merciful name of Jesus Christ, our hope and our life, amen.

We thank you for allowing us to pray for you throughout the years and we do not take that trust lightly. Please do not walk away. Stay and let us continue to contend for you in prayer. We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose Romans 8:28, even when we cannot see how. You are seen, you are heard, and you are loved more than you know. We are continuing to pray that God will give you a small glimmer of hope today, a reason to take the next breath and the next step, and that He will restore your strength day by day.

 

[hostadmin]

We want to pause right at the start because you mentioned your body wanting rest and walking away. If you are in immediate danger, please contact your local emergency services right now. For free, confidential support, you can find a helpline in your country at findahelpline.com. You are not alone and trained people are ready to help right now.

Thank you for telling us so honestly how tired and alone you feel. We hear how hard you have tried to live with integrity and how heavy the suffering has been, and how it has worn down your health and your hope. It makes sense that you would feel abandoned and that it is hard to believe anything could get better when you are this exhausted. Thank you for still reaching out to us.

We are not going to pretend we have easy answers, but we do not want you to sit with these thoughts by yourself. When you feel this worn down, isolation makes it heavier. Would you let someone stay with you in this right now, whether a trusted friend, family member, pastor, or counselor, and also let a medical professional know how your body and health have been affected? You do not have to sort everything out tonight, just taking one next step to reach out for personal support alongside prayer can matter.

Father, we bring our friend before You tonight. You see the exhaustion, the loneliness, and the pain that feels too much to carry. Please draw near and make Your presence known, guard their safety, and bring caring people around them quickly. Give wisdom for next steps and strength for each day. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[lifeforce]

Praying in Jesus Name.

 

[Caden202]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your honest and unvarnished cry has been heard, and it is not despised. There is no need to sugarcoat anything before God, for He desires truth in the inward parts. Outward religiousness unattended by heart piety does a man serious injury, but honest dealing with God, even when it comes as a broken cry of I am tired, I feel abandoned, I can hardly believe, is welcome to Him. To feel that you have no fitness in yourself and to say, Oh what a wretch I am, is not a place where God turns away, but the very place where His grace meets the soul.

You speak of massive suffering and a body worn down, of being by yourself and feeling as if God has abandoned you. Hear this, that feeling, though painfully real, is not the truth of your standing before Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ was made a perfect Savior through suffering. He was not made more perfect in character, for He was always perfect, but He was made perfect as the Captain of our salvation by the very path of suffering. He suffered, and there was nothing to take away from the completeness of that suffering. The whole of His nature ran out into that act of obedience. And having suffered being tempted, He knows how to succor them that are tempted. He has learned by His sufferings a tender temper toward His suffering people. The temptation even implies no doubt of your being a child of God, for the Son of God Himself, the prime model of sonship, was tempted. Then why not you. He has not forgotten you in your weakness. He proves His sympathy by continual condescension toward those who suffer.

You say it seems like the enemy is winning. It must greatly anger Satan to think that his craft is not met by craft, nor his devices by the wisdom of the world, but that God uses the foolishness of preaching and the mouths of the weak to overthrow him. It is often by man's weak side, his suffering and his dying side, that God shows the enemy that men can love their God even in great trial, and that through God's grace they can endure temptation. Your very weakness, your honest confession that you have no strength left, is the place where the power of God can rest upon you. Ordinarily a man lives by the strength of his constitution, but the spiritual life lives by the strength of God within the soul. If God is your strength, then you may find sustenance even when the body is tired.

You write that you cannot believe things will get better and that complete healing does not happen for everyone in this life. That is true, and we will not offer false promises about this life. But do not hear that as a reason to walk away, either from God or from life itself. The salvation taught in this Book brings all to you and asks nothing from you. It is not by feeling that all is right within you, for by nature all is wrong, but by knowing Christ that men are justified. To be made just is to be accepted by God as if you were always just, not because you have done the things you ought to have done, but because Christ has done them and suffered for you. Incline your ear and come unto Him. Listen, and your soul shall live, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. He has removed all hindrance to your reconciliation by His bloody sweat, His crown of thorns, His shame and suffering, His five dear wounds.

So we plead with you, do not walk away. The first overtures for peace are not made by man the offender, but by our aggrieved and offended God, who beseeches you through Christ to be reconciled to Him. You do not need to know what to pray. A sigh, a groan, a single word, Lord, help me, is prayer when the Spirit brings the words of Christ to remembrance. Remain under the sound of that Word which first won the victory by human tongues, and let others help you carry this burden for a time.

We urge you in love, because your body is tired and your heart is heavy, do not remain by yourself. Reach out today to a trusted pastor, a faithful believer, a counselor or medical help, and to someone near you who can sit with you and pray with you. If you feel you cannot go on, please tell someone close to you right now or contact a crisis help line in your area, and allow the people of God to watch with you. You are not a burden for seeking such help.

We are praying for you now, that the God who talked with Abraham when he fell on his face will draw near to you, that you will have a habitual sense of His presence even in this dark valley, and that you will prove His fidelity as you cast yourself upon Him at all costs. May the Lord show you that you are not abandoned, that Christ's sufferings have sanctified even this outside the camp place where you now sit, and that He who spared not His own Son will not withhold the grace you need for this hour. May He lift you by His strength, keep you by His mercy, and bring you to know more deeply that you are a son or daughter of God through Jesus Christ, and that nothing can separate you from His love.

We thank you for trusting us with this honest prayer through the years. We do not take it lightly. Please let us continue to pray for you and to walk with you. You are not alone, and the last word does not belong to the enemy, but to Christ who has suffered, who reigns, and who will keep all who trust in Him.