Pray for my faith.

[Lood]

I wish I had the faith of my childhood, but with every heartache I feel more and more distant from God. I grew up thinking that God was a loving father who listens to his children, who protects those who have faith and respect His laws. But at my age now, I understand that I am not one of His favorites and that there are no exceptional plans for the future for me. Nothing is going to get better. These last few years have been very difficult, filled with deep sorrow, pain, and loss. There have been happy moments too, but in my mind, they are all overshadowed by profound sadness: for example, I graduated and earned a degree... but it took me ### years longer than usual, a long break where I didn't study, and now I have to watch people my own age living in a completely different stage of life while I am just barely starting out. Everything is always a struggle, always so hard, drowning from a lack of money, increasingly alone, more and more tired. I can understand that a father might have children he feels prouder of than others, I can understand that he might favor them more... but to HATE those who struggle the most or those who are the most imperfect? Sometimes I feel and believe that I am just an extra in life, that God prepared beautiful plans for others while all that is left for me is to watch them be happy as I settle for what I've been given. I never had an understanding or loving mother; she is a very hard-working woman, but she has always bullied me about my physical appearance. I didn't have a dad—he committed suicide when I was little, just like my uncle and a cousin. I have a brother who suffers from his daily addictions. A week ago, my birthday present was him showing up alive after being spiked with scopolamine, robbed, and missing for ### hours. Having to settle for that... having to celebrate his life, only to spend what little we had to pay off credit card debts and his medical care. I guess I am tired of being an extra that God doesn't even have mercy on; it would be easier if He just ignored me or brushed me aside rather than hating me...

 

[Articles]

We hear the depth of your pain, and our hearts ache with you. The weight of sorrow, loss, and unmet longing you carry is not invisible to God, nor is it to us. You are not an "extra" in His story; you are His beloved creation, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). The lies you’ve believed, that God favors others over you, that your struggles are punishment, or that you are unseen, are not from Him. The enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), and he has whispered these distortions to isolate you. But Scripture declares that God is near to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). Your pain is not evidence of His absence; it is the very place where His presence longs to meet you.

Your childhood faith was not wrong. God is a loving Father who listens, protects, and delights in His children (Zephaniah 3:17). The hardships you’ve endured, abandonment, betrayal, financial strain, family brokenness, are not reflections of His heart toward you. Jesus Himself entered into suffering, taking on our griefs and sorrows (Isaiah 53:4), so that we would never face them alone. He wept at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:35), raged against injustice (Matthew 23:37), and promised, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Your struggles do not mean He has abandoned you; they mean you are in the very place where His power can be perfected in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

You asked for prayer for your faith, and we stand with you in this. Faith is not the absence of doubt or pain; it is the choice to trust God despite them. The father in Mark 9:24 cried out, "I do believe! Help my unbelief!", and Jesus responded with compassion, not condemnation. Your weariness does not disqualify you; it qualifies you for His grace. He is not a Father who compares His children or withholds love from the "least favored." In fact, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who become like little children (Matthew 19:14), humble, dependent, and aware of their need for Him. That is where your childhood faith and your adult pain can meet: in the raw, honest cry for Him to be who He says He is.

We must rebuke the lie that God hates you. Scripture is clear: "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). His love is not earned by perfection or performance; it is freely given to the broken, the weary, and the overlooked. The cross is proof that He does not brush aside the hurting, He became the hurting to redeem them. Your family’s history of suicide, addiction, and pain is not a curse; it is a battleground where Christ’s resurrection power longs to break chains. You are not doomed to repeat their stories. "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor... to set the oppressed free" (Luke 4:18).

We also rebuke the spirit of comparison that has stolen your joy. The enemy wants you to measure your life against others’ highlight reels, but God’s timeline for you is unique. Your delayed degree, financial struggles, and loneliness are not signs of failure; they are the soil where perseverance grows (James 1:2-4). The apostle Paul, who endured shipwrecks, beatings, and imprisonment, wrote: "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation" (Philippians 4:12). Contentment is not the absence of hardship; it is the presence of Christ in the hardship. You are not "starting out" too late; you are exactly where God can use your story to display His faithfulness.

And to the pain of feeling like an "extra": Jesus’ ministry was filled with people society overlooked, the leper, the blind beggar, the woman caught in adultery, the tax collector. He did not see them as extras; He saw them as essential to His kingdom. You are not an afterthought to God. He knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), and He has plans for you, plans for welfare, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Those plans may look different than you imagined, but they are no less purposeful.

Let us pray for you now:

Father God, we come before You on behalf of our dear brother/sister, lifting up the shattered pieces of their heart. Lord, You see the tears they’ve cried in secret, the nights they’ve wrestled with doubt, and the weight of feeling forgotten. We ask You to break the chains of lies that have bound them, the lies that You favor others over them, that their pain is punishment, or that they are unseen. Replace those lies with Your truth: that You are close to the brokenhearted, that You collect every tear in a bottle (Psalm 56:8), and that You are working all things together for their good (Romans 8:28).

Jesus, we thank You that You did not come for the healthy, but for the sick (Mark 2:17). You did not come for the strong, but for the weary and heavy-laden (Matthew 11:28). Our brother/sister is weary, Lord, weary of fighting, weary of waiting, weary of feeling like an outsider in their own life. Meet them in that weariness. Let them feel the weight of Your arms around them, the warmth of Your breath on their neck as You whisper, "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Restore the joy of their salvation (Psalm 51:12) and renew a steadfast spirit within them.

Holy Spirit, we ask You to stir up the gifts within them (2 Timothy 1:6). Where they see delay, reveal Your divine timing. Where they see lack, provide for their needs according to Your riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). Where they feel alone, surround them with Your people, with believers who will speak life, pray boldly, and walk alongside them. Break the generational curses of addiction, suicide, and brokenness in their family line. Let this generation be the one where chains are shattered and hope is restored.

We rebuke the spirit of despair and declare that this is not the end of their story. We speak life over their finances, their relationships, their career, and their faith. We declare that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in them (Romans 8:11), and that power is greater than any struggle they face. Father, give them a fresh revelation of Your love, a love that is patient, kind, and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Let them know, deep in their spirit, that they are Your beloved child, chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12).

We pray for their family, for their brother, that You would break the chains of addiction and restore him to wholeness; for their mother, that You would soften her heart and heal the wounds between them. Lord, redeem what has been lost. Turn their mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11) and their ashes into beauty (Isaiah 61:3).

Above all, we pray that they would encounter You afresh. Not as a distant God, but as their Abba Father, the One who runs to meet them when they return (Luke 15:20), who sings over them with joy (Zephaniah 3:17), and who will never leave nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5). Strengthen their faith, Lord. Help them to trust You with their future, their family, and their heart. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Friend, you are not an extra. You are a son/daughter of the King, and your story is far from over. The same God who parted the Red Sea, raised Lazarus from the dead, and turned Saul the persecutor into Paul the apostle is at work in your life. He is not done with you. The pain you’ve endured does not define you; the cross defines you. Jesus’ resurrection power is alive in you, and that power is stronger than your past, your pain, or your present circumstances.

We encourage you to cling to His promises, even when they feel distant. Write down verses that speak to your heart and meditate on them daily. Surround yourself with believers who can pray with you and remind you of God’s faithfulness. And when the lies creep in, "God hates you," "You’re not enough," "Nothing will change", fight back with the truth of Scripture. You are not fighting for victory; you are fighting from victory, because Jesus has already won.

If you have not already, we urge you to surrender your life fully to Christ. Salvation is not found in religion, good works, or positive thinking, it is found in Jesus alone. "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). If you have never made that declaration or if you’ve wandered from it, we invite you to pray this simple prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner in need of Your grace. I believe You died for my sins and rose again. I turn from my old life and invite You to be my Savior and Lord. Forgive me, cleanse me, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I give You my life, my past, my pain, and my future. Thank You for loving me and calling me Your own. In Your name I pray, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer for the first time, we rejoice with you! The angels in heaven are celebrating (Luke 15:10), and we encourage you to share this decision with a trusted believer who can help you grow in your faith.

You are not alone. We are here for you, and more importantly, God is here for you. Keep pressing in. Keep seeking Him. Your breakthrough is coming.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for sharing so honestly with us. We hear how exhausting these years have been and how distant God feels right now. Graduating after such a long struggle, carrying financial pressure, feeling behind others your age, and holding so much family pain with your dad, your mother, and your brother's recent crisis would leave anyone weary and lonely.

It makes sense that when everything has felt like a hard fight, you would start to wonder if God has good plans for others but not for you, or even that He is against you. Feeling that way is so painful, but that feeling is not the truth of how He sees you. You are not an extra to Him.

You have carried a lot of loss for a long time, and grief does not move on a neat timeline. Please don't carry this alone. One steady next step could be to let one safe person hear more of what you shared here - a pastor, a trusted counselor, or your doctor - someone who can walk with you week by week while we continue to pray with you. If sadness, exhaustion, or thoughts of not wanting to go on get heavier, please reach out right away to someone nearby you trust.

We are praying for you:

Jesus, we lift our friend to You. You see every heartache, every loss, and how tired they are. Show them Your nearness and Your mercy in real ways, bring people around them who will listen and care well, give wisdom for daily needs and for next steps, and gently restore hope and faith day by day. We ask this in Your name, amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your sorrow has been poured out with great honesty, and it has not gone unheard before the throne of grace. To feel distant from God after many heartaches, to fear that He hates you or has cast you aside as an extra, is a heavy burden indeed, and it is one that many of the Lord's people have felt in seasons of deep affliction.

Hear the truth of Scripture concerning this fear. It is very comforting to believe in a personal God who condescends to think lovingly of us, who considers our needs and supplies them. The psalmist cries, How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God, how great is the sum of them. His thoughts toward you are not thoughts of hate. In the fullness of time those eternal thoughts of love took practical effect in the gift of God's only begotten and well beloved Son to die for His people, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. While we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, and God commends His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. If He loved you when you were without strength, He does not hate you now in your weariness.

Do not measure His love by the ease or speed of your earthly course. You speak of a degree that came late, of watching others move to another stage of life, of drowning from lack of money and growing tired and alone. The world teaches us to trust in such outward gain, but there is little profit in it, and it is counterbalanced by anxiety. God has not promised that all His children shall run the same race at the same pace. He has promised that He is the eternal God, your refuge, and that if you found Him to be your refuge years ago when you were in great distress, He has not changed nor died to fail you in this fresh trouble. He tells you that He loves you and He wants you to believe it, and to know that all your trials and troubles are sent in love and that in the end you shall see that all these things have worked together for your good, seeing that you love God and are the called according to His purpose.

You are not an extra, nor one of the unfavored. The love of God is the source and center, fountain and foundation of all our salvation, and of all else that we receive from Him. The only way to love God again, when love feels cold and faith feels small, is to let God's love to you dwell in your soul till it transforms your soul. The Lord must direct your heart into the love of God, and let that love flow into your heart and abide there till it bears the cream of love to Him in return. Faith itself is His gift. It is God's plan to add more to the first little deposit of faith, even as a master builder adds stone to stone till the structure is complete. He gives more by a process of growth, and all growth in grace is still the gift of God.

The sorrows you name are very real. To have endured a mother's harsh words about your appearance, to have lost a father and other kin in such a grievous way, to have a brother bound in addiction and to have just now seen him delivered from robbery and a drugging that could have taken his life, and then to bear the weight of debt and medical care, would weary any soul. These afflictions are not evidence that God hates you. Would it be any evidence of God's love to men if He allowed them to live without chastening and yet still have all the comforts of this life. Rather, the Lord in His infinite love and mercy seeks out many inventions for the good of His people, and even the sharp arrows that make you cry, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord, are permitted for a purpose, that you might recall to mind and therefore have hope that His compassions fail not.

You are not hated, you are not ignored. You are sheltered by God both by day and by night. If you have strayed a little time in the heat of the sun, you have only to come flying back and there that emblem of the present God becomes your shelter. We stay not in Egypt, we rest not upon Assyria. God alone is our comfort and our confidence and we dwell in safety.

Let us pray for you now. O Lord, direct this weary heart into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. Let Thy love flow into this soul and abide there till faith is kindled anew. Break the arrow that says Thou hatest those who struggle, and let the thought of Thine everlasting mercy and boundless power to forgive snap it in two. Grant repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one Mediator between God and men, through whom alone is salvation. Give growth in grace, little by little, till what seems small becomes strong. Help this child of sorrow to see that Thou art the eternal God, his refuge underneath, and that underneath are the everlasting arms. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Violetblue]

Praying for you in the name of Jesus. Please know that you are not alone in feeling the way you do - Your words echo the way I have always felt; always struggling as I stand by watching everyone else’s lives prosper with happiness and contentment. My sadness and despair never end. Praying that God will bless you with peace and happiness.

 

[usha rani]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

Your words have been heard, and the heaviness you carry has not been hidden from God. You speak of a faith that once felt close like a child with a father, and now feels distant after so many heartaches, losses, and long struggles. You wonder if God has favorites, if He has beautiful plans for others and only leftovers for you, if He even hates those who are most imperfect and most tired. That thought itself is the heaviest burden you carry, and it is not true.

God does not hate you. He does not measure His love the way people measure favor among children. We are not saved because we were worthy or because we earned a place among favorites, but by His will and His loving kindness. No one is justified by works, as if we could boast before Him. We have wrought no good thing to deserve His grace, yet by grace He has called us and sanctifies us. The way to find grace with Him is not by proving we are strong or successful, but by lowliness of mind, by coming as we are, as dust and ashes, and trusting His mercy.

What you are feeling is not a sign that God has brushed you aside, but that you have walked through a long valley of trials. The scriptures show that this is the portion of the very noblest men, to make the journey of life through trials, and that God has thus dealt with great and admirable men. It does not mean you are forsaken or disregarded as worthy of no account. Trials do befall us, in respect of our foes, in respect of our household, in respect of necessities, yet the consequences of the trials need not overcome us, for this is through the power and grace of God.

The most dangerous voice in such a valley is not the sorrow itself but despair. The evil one brings in little discouragements and then uses them to bring great despair, and despair destroys more than sin itself. For the one who has sinned, if he is vigilant, can speedily be amended by repentance. But the one who learns to despair fails to apply the remedies that repentance brings. And remember this, that wicked spirit never despairs of our destruction, he never gives up hope of pulling us down. How much more should we not despair of our own salvation, when God never gives up on us.

You look at your degree that took years longer, at money that is always lacking, at friends your age who seem further along, and you feel like an extra watching others live. You look at a mother who wounded you with words about your appearance, at a father and uncle and cousin lost to suicide, at a brother bound by addiction and the terror of seeing him robbed and missing, and you feel you must settle for mere survival and even pay the cost of it. God sees all of this. He wept as Christ wept at the tomb of His friend, proving His humanity and His compassion, and He deferred no love from those who mourn. He is not distant from your grief. He is near to it.

Do not measure the power of God by human reasonings. Faith does not mean figuring out why every sorrow happened or why the path has been so hard. Faith means committing all to Him, believing that He is able to raise up even from the dead, able to make stand the one who is wavering and requires so much attention. When we are quite in despair about ourselves, God is still able to make us stand. He is your Master, and whether you stand or fall is His concern, and His loss and His riches are bound up with you. He has not let you go.

So do not try to establish your own righteousness by comparing your life to others or by thinking you must earn His favor through success or perfection. That way only leads away from faith. Instead, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. Faith does not make you idle after grace, but it lifts the whole burden from your shoulders onto Him who is able.

We pray for you now.

Heavenly Father, loving Father who listens to His children, look upon this weary heart. You know every loss, every wound from family, every night of loneliness and exhaustion and lack. Forgive the thoughts of despair and lift this soul from the lie that You hate the imperfect. Show that You love us while we are still sinners, that You save by grace and not by works. Restore faith, not only as it was in childhood, but as a deeper trust that can say with the psalmist, I believed, therefore I spoke, even when in great danger where there was no other hope but Your aid. Give patience to endure, strength to stand, and the quiet assurance that You have not forgotten or forsaken, but that You hold the future and are able to bring good even from sorrow. Keep this brother from harm, bring healing to this family, provide for daily needs, and let this dear one know that he is not an extra but Your child, called to be holy and beloved. In the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone is salvation, we ask this. Amen.

Keep turning to Him in prayer, even with small and tired words. Keep meeting with faithful believers who can bear your burdens with you. If the weight of sadness and thoughts of being hated or unwanted grow darker, please reach out quickly to a trusted pastor or counselor and to someone near you for help. You are not ignored. You are not hated. You are held, and God desires that you live in hope.