Praying the Psalms – Psalm 13: The darkness that overwhelms

The Psalms is a book of prayers. It covers a wide range of human emotions and can be a catalyst for when you don’t know what to say to God! Join me as I pray through the Psalms. I would love for you to add your prayers and prayer requests in the comments, and I will pray for you right here on the blog.

Psalm 13 (Original text, NIV)

“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.”

A prayer inspired by Psalm 13:

A dark tunnel without an end. This is how life has felt, at times, Lord. Or, a dark cloud that stalks me. Follows me around, even if it is sunny everywhere else.

When I feel that way, it’s very hard to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Even to get up and brush my teeth is a challenge. It’s the loss of hope that does me in sometimes. Blinds me. Even if there are good things around me, I can’t see them. Or, they don’t matter. They can’t compete, sometimes, with the darkness that overwhelms.

I’ve heard someone refer to it as being your own worst enemy. Yes, I’ve definitely had days like that. When I just can’t take it any more. My mind in distress. Anxious thoughts taking over. Consumed with anger and frustration. Weeping uncontrollably. Unable to interact with anyone.

Those days are awful, Lord. And the worst part? I can’t even stop it when it happens. It’s like a runaway train.

Please be with us, Lord. We need your help severely, when those attacks are unleashed upon us. They don’t only affect us, but our families, and the other people around us.

Calm our hearts and minds. Give us the strength to stop crying. To brush our teeth. Make dinner. Smile, and interact with our kids.

Help us to be able to take breaks when we need them. Please show us what we need to do to calm ourselves – maybe just go into the bathroom and close the door for a few minutes. Lay down on the couch and close our eyes. Send the kids to their rooms for a breather.

Lord, bring Bible verses to our minds to encourage us. Infuse us with your Spirit, and breathe into us your peace and life.

Show us practical steps that we can take, to prevent ourselves from falling into overwhelm and despair. And Lord, reach into our lives and help us. Relieve us, Lord, of those problems that we just can’t take anymore. Where the heartbreak is just too much to bear.

And Lord, if the time has not yet come for those situations to be resolved or removed, give us the strength to bear up under them, moment by moment. Provide us with miracles of sustenance, allowing us to be filled with joy and peace that defies expectations and enables us to again rise up in worship of you. For that, O Lord, is the place of purest relief.

Amen.

To catch up on the rest of this series, you may click the following links:

• What is Better (Series Intro)
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 1: Thought Life
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 2: The World
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 3: Deliverance
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 4: Distractions
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 5: Perseverance
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 6: A prayer for those who suffer
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 7: For When You Are Attacked
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 8: Humility
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 9: Remembering
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 10: A prayer for the helpless
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 11: It’s Coming
• Praying the Psalms – Psalm 12: Words

As mentioned earlier, please feel free to add your prayers and prayer requests in the comments. I would love to pray with and for you. May you be blessed today!

Warm wishes,

Lisa

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