There are times when we feel hopeless and in need of help from God. We long to pour out our hearts to Him, to tell of everything we are struggling with and how the situation seems impossible. The prayer should come easily since we feel like a dam about to break, yet the words fail to come.
Or we desire to commune with God — to talk to Him as we would a friend. Try as we might, though, we struggle to form our thoughts or concentrate.
We don’t know what to pray.
At times like these, prewritten prayers can motivate us to pray and put words to our feelings, putting flesh on bones. Although liturgies and the writings of other Christians can prove instructive and helpful during these times, nothing can compete with the biblical prayer book: the Psalms.
In these beautifully composed songs, we find exaltations of praise alongside pleas for rescue and expressions of emotions, including sorrow and anger. Whatever the situation or emotion, we can find a prayer that applies to our lives. This includes times when we are desperate for prayer.
Christians should read Scripture on their own. When doing so, they will likely find a psalm that speaks to their situation and that the Holy Spirit can use to help them pray.
However, the following list of Psalms can be used as a starting point to use when praying. Whether we are facing a time of need or an intense longing for communion with God, there is a prayer in the Bible that can help us convey our words to the Lord.
1. Psalm 10 – A Prayer for Justice
Sometimes we desperately fumble for words to pray to no avail because we are overcome with a sense of injustice. We hear of a wrong done to someone or a great evil committed against a people and do not know how to express ourselves before the Lord. Yet our hearts burn, calling for justice to be done.
Psalm 10 provides us with words to read and pray when we see oppression and wrongdoing. We feel as if God is standing far off and is not aware of the injustice (Psalm 10:1). The wicked seem to be prospering and getting away with the wrongs they afflict on the helpless (Psalm 10:2-10). They think God will not see and will not hold them accountable for their sins (Psalm 10:11).
As we study this psalm and make its words our own, we discover a biblical example of how to tell God about what we feel and implore Him to act. We ask Him to lift His hand and bring justice (Psalm 10:12). To hold the wicked accountable for the evil they have done, bringing judgment on them (Psalm 10:13-15).
We are also directed to proclaim the Lord’s sovereignty and care. As the psalmist wrote, “You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror” (Psalm 10:17-18, NIV). In our prayer, we express our longing for the end of wrongdoing in the world while also acknowledging that God will bring justice. Evil will not prevail forever.
2. Psalm 13 – A Prayer When You Feel Like God is Not Listening
Our prayers can also be affected if we think that God is far away or is not listening. We might feel as if God is not present and turns a deaf ear to our words. When this happens, we can read Psalm 13 and offer these words to the Lord.
David felt as if God had forgotten him and turned away from him (Psalm 13:1-2). He pleaded with the Lord to answer him (Psalm 13:3). If God did not give him guidance and help, he knew his enemies would triumph and gloat over him (Psalm 13:2-4). David’s anguish is apparent through his questioning of the Lord about how long he would have to wrestle with his thoughts and have sorrow in his heart (Psalm 13:2).
Even amid feelings that he had been forgotten, David turns the prayer back to praise. He expresses his joy in salvation and that he will praise the Lord for being good to him (Psalm 13:5-6). When we pray this psalm, desperate for words to pray, we are reminded of the enduring truth that God is good and loving. We might feel as if the Lord is not listening, but we can rest in the truth that He is lovingly attentive. He will hear our prayer.
3. Psalm 57 – A Prayer for Rescue
We can become desperate for prayer if troubles surround and threaten us. The situations and people involved can be too overwhelming, making us feel as if we are drowning in a flood. At these times, we can relate to David’s prayer in Psalm 57 and practice making his words our own.
David was no stranger to trouble and danger. In the context of this prayer, he had fled from the murderous King Saul and hid in a cave. While there, he poured out his complaint to the Lord. He asked God to be his refuge and to rescue him from enemies (Psalm 57:1-4).
Like in many other psalms, David ends on a high note by turning his focus to God. He offers praise in the cave, exalting the Lord. As he wrote, “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies” (Psalm 57:9-10, NIV).
When trials and problems swirl around us, we can pray this psalm, finding expression for our desire for rescue and mercy from the Lord while also offering words of praise to our Savior.
4. Psalm 63 – A Prayer of Longing for God
Encountering an authentic thirst and hunger for God can spur us on to a more devoted prayer life. Many psalms express this longing for God, including Psalm 63. While reading this psalm, we are left with an increased desire to grow in our relationship with the Lord and to be able to say honestly to Him that “your love is better than life” (Psalm 63:3, NIV).&
David had seen the power and glory of God (Psalm 63:2). As a result, only the Lord could satisfy him, for no one and nothing else can compare (see Psalm 63:5). He could find comfort amid trouble, trusting that his great Lord would bring justice against his enemies (Psalm 63:9-10). All of this stemmed from a close relationship with the Lord.
As we study this psalm, we are wise to let the words sink in deeply through meditation. Read over the verses carefully and pause to ponder the wonder of knowing the living Lord. Prayers will certainly come.
5. Psalm 88 – A Prayer When You Feel Like God Has Left You
Difficult emotions like despair can be challenging to pray. Many of us are uncomfortable with these feelings and avoid sharing them with others and, sometimes, even with God. Thankfully, the Psalms can teach us how to express ourselves before the Lord in a way that is honest and pleasing to Him.
In Psalm 88, Heman the Ezrahite expresses intense sorrow as he recounts his suffering. He felt as if he were close to death, troubles overwhelmed him, and his friends had left him (Psalm 88:3-8). In his despair, Heman felt abandoned by the Lord (Psalm 88:14).
Not only that, but he believed that God was the one who placed him in this situation. As he wrote, “You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths” (Psalm 88:6, NIV). Despite Heman’s daily prayers, his situation did not seem to change (Psalm 88:9). He thought God had left him.
Psalms like these change our perspective of what is “acceptable” to pray. We do not have to keep our feelings to ourselves. Heman’s prayer shows that we can and should express emotions to God, even hard ones like sorrow and despair. The Lord is not surprised or scared by such prayers – He chose to preserve Heman’s psalm within Scripture.
During the times when we feel overwhelmed by sadness, anger, or fear, we can read Psalm 88 and practice giving our feelings to the Lord.
6. Psalm 116 – A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Remembering what God has done for us can also inspire prayer. He has been kind and faithful to us, and we cannot help but praise Him. Countless prayers could be offered praising the Lord for our salvation.
In Psalm 116, we find this at work since the psalmist was remembering a time when God saved him from death and lengthened his life. He offered a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord, promising that he would pray for the rest of his life (Psalm 116:2). How else could he respond to the Lord he loves?
This psalm gives us a lot to think about. We are reminded of the Lord’s graciousness and compassion (Psalm 116:5). He rescued the psalmist from death at that time, and He does the same for us in a greater way today. In Christ, we receive the promise of eternal life, that when we die, we will live forever with the Lord (John 11:25). We can take hold of these words in the psalm and praise our Savior for the promise that He will deliver us from spiritual and eternal death, setting us free from the chains of sin (Psalm 116:8-9).
If such remembrance motivated the psalmist to offer prayers for the rest of his life, how much more should meditation on our salvation urge us to pray? May his words become ours, “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:1-2, v. 17).
So, the next time we find ourselves desperate for prayer, but struggling to know what to say to the Lord, let us pick up our Bibles or pull up our Bible apps and read from the Psalms. In them, we will find honest and heartfelt prayers that will inspire and motivate us to pray.
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