In the last five to ten years anxiety has become a growing concern not just among adults but children as well. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that 3.1 percent of the American population is affected by some anxiety disorder. While this may seem like a small percentage, it equates to approximately 6.8 million people in the United States. While physicians or medical professionals are often necessary advocates when you deal with anxiety, as someone who believes that the God of the Bible is the Great Physician, we can also turn to his Word.
The Bible is full of men and women who struggled not just physically but emotionally as well. When anxiety becomes a burden in my own life, I am often reminded of David and the Psalms. David shows us that our emotions and anxieties are real and welcome cries to God’s ears. What also amazes me is his ability to be anxious and in great despair at the beginning of a Psalm and to praise God’s glory by the end. That is the goal for these Psalm-inspired prayers, that they can turn our worries into peace in God instead of the circumstances and thoughts in our minds
Here are 7 Psalm-inspired prayers to pray against anxiety; to help you remember who God is, and what he has done, and to know he sees and cares for your heart and mind.
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Lord, I cry out to you.
My anxiety is ruling my heart and mind.
My emotions are causing me to forget your goodness.
My mind and thoughts tire of running in frantic circles. I am weary.
You are the God of my heart, have mercy on me.
Guard my heart and my mind. Remind me of your ways. Your compassion and grace.
Bring peace to my mind and body.
Lord, you are good.
Lord, you are with me.
You see me as I cry out in my anxiety.
Help my mind focus on your truth and faithfulness. Stop my mind from playing with “what if’s.”
Help me to praise you in this moment with all my heart and mind, so anxious thoughts will flee.
Great is your love for me and you will calm the storm or my thoughts and emotions.
I cling to you, Oh Lord.
Based on Psalm 86
Psalm 86 is an individual lament Psalm of David. Much of what is said in this Psalm is quotations from other Psalms or scriptures almost verbatim. Dr. Thomas L. Constable states that “His [David] confidence during his trial was strong because he knew how great and gracious God is. Rather than exhibiting panic in the face of danger, David demonstrated peace, confidence, and even joy.”
“I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your life toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave” (Psalm 86:12-13).
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God, you are good, but I don’t feel good. I am anxious, lost, confused, and worried.
I am anxious like Jacob’s son, Joseph, being led to Egypt.
But you are with me as you were with him.
Help me to see your hand.
To Rest in your love.
I am lost like the Israelites in the wilderness. You provided for them in their affliction.
Help me trust in your plan and provision.
I am confused like Gideon, Hannah, and David; when will the anxiousness end? Why is this part of your plan?
Help me to feel your presence and give thanks for your unfailing love.
I am worried these feelings will control me always.
Remove these chains and weights about my heart. Save me from my distress.
Help me to choose praise.
Help me to choose thankfulness.
Help me to choose You, Lord, over my anxiety.
Based on Psalm 107
The author of Psalm 107 is unknown, but some scholars, such as C. Hassel Bullock, state that this Psalm “may have been the exilic or postexilic period, perhaps as late as the time of Nehemiah.” Just like the author of this Psalm, when we are in seasons of exile, separation, and anxiety, we need to call on the history of God’s goodness in our own lives. Even if you are seeking what it means to follow the God of the Bible, and you struggle to see his goodness, your desire to learn about and lean on God is proof of his goodness toward you.
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Lord, I cry out when I am anxious.
I cry out in my fear and doubt.
Lord, you are with me in my anxiety.
You are my helper and safe place.
I will remember your goodness and love when my anxiety and fears swarm around me.
I will cry out that your love endures forever.
You, Oh Lord, are my safe place.
You, Oh Lord, are my strength when I can’t stand up against the weight of my fears.
You, Oh Lord, are my helper when there is no one around to help me. May I seek the help that will restore my mind and soul to glorify you, Oh Lord, in this season of anxiety.
You, Oh Lord, are my defense against the intrusive thoughts and worries that are bounding around in my head.
I proclaim freedom.
I proclaim peace in your Holy name.
I give thanks that you are with me.
Help me recognize your presence and observe your enduring love.
Based on Psalm 118
This psalm is a declarative psalm that would have been recited during a festival procession to the Temple in Jerusalem. Some believe it was written during Nehemiah’s time and sung on the return of the exiles from captivity. Others suggest that it was written when the second temple, after exile, was complete. Jesus and his disciples might have even sung this psalm when they went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, and it is noted by HC Leupold, as Martin Luther’s favorite Psalm.
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Lord, my mind races and my heart is heavy, but my hope is in your holy scriptures. Your words. Your truth is life and peace. Help me to meditate on the goodness of your words.
Let your words and love be my comfort, my anchor in this anxious sea. Secure my mind to your truth, so that I can remember you are working in all things. You are present and active.
You know the source of my anxiety.
You know my thoughts and my fears.
You are not anxious in this situation.
You know every detail. You are present and active. You are working and sovereign over all situations that are weighing me down.
May your truth be ever present on my mind. Your Words be what I cling to.
Brush away the lies that have stirred up my anxiousness.
May your love and compassion bring my mind and heart to rest.
May my mind focus on the comfort of your unfailing love.
Based on Psalm 119:76-77
Psalm 119 is the longest of all the psalms written by an unknown author who found strength in God’s word while seeking safety from those persecuting him. Almost every verse in Psalm 119 makes reference to God’s word, its power, and its provision during rough seasons. May God’s word continue to be a comfort and anchor to you in this season of anxiety.
“May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me that I may live” (Psalm 119:76-77).
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Lord, I cry out in my anxiety and hopelessness.
Lord, how many are my thoughts, fears, and doubts with which anxiety surrounds me.
Why must my mind fight against your truths and unfailing love?
Lord, I cry out in my weakness.
I am empty and hopeless.
But you, oh Lord, are my defense and my shield.
You are my hope when all feels hopeless.
Refresh my soul with your truth. Fill my heart with your Holy Spirit.
So that I will lie down and sleep as a sheep in your arms because you are the one who will care for the details and provisions that have caused my doubt.
Remind me that your thoughts outnumber all my fears. You see the moments and know the true outcomes.
Help me to see your provision.
Help me to cling to your truth.
Deliver me from the worries that weigh my heart down.
Fill my mind with your truth.
Blessed be your name, Oh Lord.
Based on Psalm 3
Psalm 3 is one of David’s psalms in which he is crying out over a situation with his enemies. Later in David’s reign as king, he started to believe that God had turned away due to the popularity of his son Absalom (2 Sam. 15). In my own anxiety, I can feel like the world is against me and even feel far from the Lord. But when I turn my heart to the truths of his scriptures and remember how he has been a part of all my ups and downs, that is when I can praise him fully.
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When my thoughts fight against your truth, be the shield and light in my darkness.
When my thoughts stumble against the worries and ‘what ifs’, light a fire of confidence in my heart.
Help me to seek your truth, your peace as my dwelling place. For you are my sanctuary, my safe place when my mind is troubled.
For whom shall I fear? No one, Lord.
What should I be anxious about? Nothing.
Remind me of the power of Romans 8:37-39, that we can be sure that “neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
You hear my voice; you do not and will not reject or leave me.
Help me to be confident in your goodness and take joy that you are working in the waiting.
I lift my hands in dependence on you, Lord. You, Oh Lord, are the strength and solution to this season of anxiety.
Based on Psalm 27
I gain so much hope from this particular Psalm. It is a psalm of David and is thought to have been written when David fled before Absalom, who overthrew David’s reign for a time. The comfort comes from recognizing that this is later in David’s life and he still has to remind himself of God’s truth and provision. At every season of anxiety, I seem to forget all God has done for me and through me. The same is true of David, the one who is called a man after God’s own heart. If David struggled with faith and anxiety, I can see that my anxiety and doubt are not from a place of weakness or lack of faith. But if David could bring his emotions and anxiety to God and still turn around and praise him, I know God can do the same thing with me.
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Hear my prayers, Oh Lord. Listen to the words of my mouth.
My thoughts and fears have mounted against me.
But you are the God who helps, you are the one who fills my heart and mind with peace.
My heart fears and my mind trembles.
Lord, I call on you to free me from this cage of anxiety.
Help me to release my anxieties to you.
Help me to be filled with your truth and righteousness.
I want to trust in you.
Help me to trust in you.
Lord, I call on you to shelter me against my mind.
I cast my worries and fears on you. Help me to not pick them up again, but trust in your love and care for me.
All day long I call out to you.
You are sitting on your mighty throne. I call out to you, and you hear my cries.
Your love and truth will be my freedom.
Based on Psalm 55
This psalm is a lament psalm written by David after an unknown friend betrays him. People play a large part in our lives and often in the cause of our anxieties as well. This psalm is a great reminder of what our response should be when people are the cause of anxious situations. We can call out to God for deliverance and justice. We can trust in his awareness and care for our hearts and minds. As it says in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxieties on Him, because he cares for you."
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