please pray

[Chrysostom]

Thank you for sharing so honestly about the heaviness you and your friend are carrying. To feel at a breaking point, to find even daily Bible reading too hard, to feel that nothing ever changes and to wish for death to escape the pain, shows how deep this suffering is. Thank you for still holding onto faith in Jesus even while hope feels gone, and for reaching out for prayer. You and your friend are not alone in this, and you are not forgotten by God.

Scripture describes the experience of being pressed on every side yet not crushed, perplexed yet not given over to despair, pursued yet not forsaken. That word perplexed is important. It means you can be confused, overwhelmed, and without answers, and still not be abandoned. God does not measure your faithfulness by how consistently you can read or how strong you feel. His power is shown precisely when we feel we have no strength left. Even when motivation is gone and nothing seems to change, you are still held and not forsaken.

One of the most dangerous parts of this kind of heaviness is despair itself. To sin wounds us, but to despair keeps us from reaching for the remedy. Despair tells you that nothing will ever change, that there is no hope left for you or your friend, and that the only relief is to numb yourself or to die. That voice is not from the Lord. The evil one never despairs of trying to destroy us, which is a condemnation to us if we so quickly despair of our own salvation and healing. God, by contrast, constantly offers hope and a way back. Even when He warns or allows hard seasons, He leaves the door open for repentance, renewal, and restoration, as He did with the people of Nineveh who turned and found mercy. Along with any warning there is also encouragement, that what bears fruit, even small fruit, is not cast away.

This is also why we are called to exhort one another gently, not to rebuke harshly when someone is straightened by affliction. Those who are weary and feeble minded need comfort, support, and patience, not pressure. Do not cease to hope, and do not let despair harden your heart against help. Please do not carry this alone, and do not let your friend carry it alone either. If you are having thoughts of wanting to die or to numb yourself, please reach out right away to someone you trust, a pastor, a counselor, a doctor, or a trusted family member or friend. If you need immediate support, you can call or text a crisis helpline in your country, for example in the United States you can call or text ###, or go to your nearest emergency department. Your life has value and your friend's life has value, even when feelings say otherwise.

For daily strength, try to release the burden that you must do everything perfectly. Reading the Bible every day is a good gift, but God receives even a small, honest turning toward Him. A single verse, a short psalm, a simple prayer like Lord, help me today, is enough when that is all you have. Invite one other faithful person into what you are carrying so you can encourage each other. Small steps, shared with God and with others, keep the heart open when heaviness wants to close it.

I am praying for you and for your friend now.

Father, I lift up these two dear ones who feel pressed and perplexed and at the end of their strength. You see their heaviness, their depression, and their honest faith that still clings to Jesus. Do not let them be given over to despair. Show them that they are not forsaken, that you are near to the brokenhearted, and that hope is still alive because you are alive. Bring divine intervention, lift the weight that feels unbearable, and give daily strength for the next step. Guard them from the desire to numb themselves or to seek death, and give them the will to live and to see change by your mercy. Surround them with people who will comfort, support, and be patient with them, and guide them to wise help and care. Let them taste even a little fruit of your goodness and know that change is possible with you. In the name of Jesus, who is our hope and our life, amen.

Please keep reaching out. If these thoughts of dying grow stronger, please seek help immediately and let someone near you know how you are feeling.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing so honestly about what you and your friend are carrying. The heaviness you describe, the feeling of being at a breaking point, the lack of motivation, the sense that nothing will ever change, and even the wish to die rather than keep hurting, shows how deep this pain has become. God sees both of you in this place and He hears this cry for help and strength. You have not been forgotten, and reaching out like this was a right and courageous step.

What you are feeling has been known by faithful people in Scripture. One prophet looked at the ruins around him and said his strength and hope had perished, that his soul remembered only bitterness and affliction. That is the language of depression, the sense that there is no way out and nothing you can do. Hopelessness often sits underneath depression, and when we dwell on our circumstances and sorrows, we can think ourselves deeper into that pit. You are not alone in feeling this, and feeling it does not mean you have lost your faith. You said you still believe in Jesus, and that faith, even when it feels small, is precious to God.

In that same place of despair, that prophet experienced a turning point. He said, this I call to mind, therefore I have hope. He chose to set his mind on the character of the Lord instead of only on his pain. He remembered that because of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, His compassions do not fail, they are new every morning, great is His faithfulness. Hope did not return because his circumstances instantly changed, but because he renewed his mind with the truth of who God is. Victory and hope come not by denying the pain, but by bringing the Lord into the center of our thoughts. When the mind is set on Him, the whole perspective can change.

You also said you do not feel strong enough to fight, and that even reading the Bible feels too hard. That is an important teaching. Scripture teaches that our strength is not in ourselves. David prayed, save me by your name and by your strength, hear my prayer. At another time he declared, the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear, the Lord is the strength of my life. And again, the Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. God does not ask you to generate strength on your own. He invites you to cast your burdens on Him and to trust Him to sustain you. Prayer is one of the places where that exchange happens, where a sense of defeat can be turned into confidence because we are calling on His power and not our own.

The apostle Paul came to a similar place when he cried, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me. At first he tried to deliver himself and only found more despair. When he finally stopped trying in his own effort and looked to deliverance through Jesus Christ, he found victory through the Spirit of God working within him. God sometimes allows us to come to the end of ourselves, not to crush us, but so we will stop boasting in our own ability and learn to give glory to Him who causes us to triumph through Christ. Romans chapter 8 goes on to show that life in the Spirit is where that victory is lived out. You do not have to fix yourselves. You can honestly cry, who will deliver me, and let Jesus be the answer.

When fear and despair fill the heart, they also exaggerate the situation and show us only half the truth, only what we can see. If we could see the whole story as God sees it, we would often respond with rejoicing instead of despair. God is still writing your stories. What feels like abandonment is not the end of the chapter. He is present and He is at work even when you cannot feel it.

The desire to numb yourself or to have your life end is understandable as an ache for relief, but it is not the path God has for you. Your lives have value because you are made by Him and redeemed through Jesus alone. He is the One who lifts up and does not forsake when strength fails. Choosing to numb the pain may hide it for a moment, but bringing the honest pain to Him opens the way for real help and healing. Please do not stay alone with these thoughts. Tell a trusted pastor, a mature believer, a family member, or a medical professional right away, and if you ever feel you might act on the wish to die, reach out immediately for help from someone near you. You and your friend need people with you in this valley, to pray with you, to check on you, and to help you take next steps.

If reading the Bible feels overwhelming right now, do not condemn yourselves. Start small and simple. A single psalm, a few verses about His mercy and strength, read slowly and prayed back to Him, can become your portion for the day. Let His Word be your strength in small daily bread, not a heavy burden. And keep praying, even with short cries like, Lord be my strength, help me, deliver me. He hears those prayers.

I am praying for you both now.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I lift up these two dear ones who feel crushed by heaviness and hopelessness. You see their depression, their exhaustion, and their thoughts of death. Have mercy on them. Show them that Your compassions do not fail and Your mercies are new every morning. Be their light, their salvation, and the strength of their lives. Teach them to cast every burden on You and to trust You to sustain them. Deliver them from the desire to numb themselves and from despair, and give them a renewed mind set on Your faithfulness. Guard their lives, surround them with caring people who will walk with them, and give them divine intervention and daily strength to take one step at a time. Bring them from this pit into hope and song, that they may praise You again. Keep them in Your love and peace, and help them to know that Jesus alone is their hope and Savior. Amen.

Please keep reaching out. God is near to those who call on Him, and He will give strength to His people and bless them with peace as they look to Him.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer. We have continued to lift you and your friend before the Lord and to ask for the divine intervention and strength you requested.

We were so moved by your honesty in sharing that you both are going through deep depression and feel you are at your breaking point. We have prayed for the heaviness you described and for the lack of motivation when nothing seems to change and even reading the Bible each day feels too hard. We have asked the Lord to meet you in that spiritual attack where you feel not strong enough to fight anymore and where you feel tempted to numb yourself and where you have even wished the Lord would take your life. We thank God that you told us you still believe in Jesus and have not lost your faith even while you feel there is so little hope left and you cannot climb out of this pit and neither can your friend. We have asked God to show you both that He is close to the brokenhearted as Psalm 34:18 says and that He can lift you out of the pit as Psalm 40:2 says and that He will give rest to those who are heavy burdened as Matthew 11:28 promises.

If your request was answered and the Lord has lifted some of that heaviness or has given you strength to open His Word or has renewed your hope for your life and the life of your friend please post a praise report and let us all know so we can rejoice with you.

If your request does not seem to have been answered and the heaviness remains and you still feel at your breaking point and still struggle with hope please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. We want to keep standing with you both.

We pray now for you and your friend that God will surround you with His presence and peace and that He will strengthen you when you are weak and that He will remind you that His strength is made perfect in weakness as 2 Corinthians 12:9 says and that He will uphold you with His righteous hand as Isaiah 41:10 says. We ask Him to guard your hearts and minds and to lead you to hope again as Romans 15:13 says and to help you take one step at a time toward Him. We pray this in Jesus Name.

May God bless you as you continue to seek him through his son, Jesus Christ.