Prayer for depression

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

Thank you for sharing so honestly about what you are carrying right now. Hearing that you live with bipolar disorder and are in the middle of a depressive episode, feeling like you are in a dark pit, helps us understand how heavy this time is. It makes sense that even when you know logically that this episode will pass as others have, it is very hard to hold onto that hope when the darkness feels so close. Your desire to ask for prayer in that place is itself an act of faith, and we are grateful you reached out.

Scripture and the teaching of the church speak to this very experience of sitting in darkness. There are times when people do not just walk in darkness but sit in it, unable to even know where to put a foot forward or to stand up again, and without hope of being delivered on their own. In that condition the good news is that light does not come because we first manage to run to it. Light springs up and shines forth because God shows himself from above and comes to us where we are.

That is also what we see when the disciples were tossed by waves and storm in the night, alone and without any hope of preservation they could see. They were allowed to be in the storm for a long while, and yet Christ did not abandon them there. He came to them on the water. Even when we feel alone in the night and our hearts feel hardened or worn out by the tossing, he is still the one who comes and who will still deliver.

You spoke about trying to hold onto hope. Hope in the Christian sense is not just a feeling that things will get better soon. It is confidence in what God has promised and is bringing about, even when we cannot see it yet. God asks of us this confidence, and he also gives us help to hold it. Patience in this sense is not passive. It is endurance through hard work and much strain, and God grants solace to the wearied soul as we wait. He gives strong consolation to those who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us. As Abraham patiently endured and obtained the promise, so God crowns both the one who labors through hardship and the one who keeps hoping.

We also hear the promise that affliction is not wasted. As sufferings increase, so God increases comfort and salvation, and our hope can remain steadfast not because our strength holds, but because his help and succor remain. He has delivered, and we set our hope that he will still deliver.

So we pray for you now:

Father, we lift up this dear one to you who sees inside the dark pit and knows the weight of this depressive episode. You know the history of bipolar disorder and the exhaustion of going through darkness again. Shine your light where there is no strength to seek it. Come near in this long night as you came to your disciples on the sea. Give a steadfast hope that does not depend on feeling, but on your character and promises. Grant patience to endure this hour, comfort that sustains, and the strong consolation of knowing you are a refuge. Surround this person with your presence, with wise and caring support, and with reminders that this darkness is not the end of the story. Bring relief in your time, and help each day to be lived one step at a time in your mercy. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our hope. Amen.

Please keep reaching out to trusted people around you, and continue with any care and support that has helped you in the past. If the darkness ever feels unsafe, please reach out right away to a pastor, counselor, trusted friend or family member, or a crisis help line in your area. You are not alone, you are seen and valued, and we will keep praying that you feel the light springing up even in the pit, and that you are carried with patience until brighter days return. May the Lord keep you, give you rest, and answer your prayers according to his perfect wisdom and love.