Prayers for loneliness
Leaving a church often means leaving a whole world of people, even when leaving was right. Sunday comes and everyone you used to stand beside is somewhere you can’t be. That kind of alone is its own weight.
These prayers are for the space between the community you left and whatever comes next, and for the promise that holds there: never left, never forsaken.
Start here
When you cannot sleep
He who watches over you will not slumber. Psalm 121:3 (NIV)
God, in my loneliness, I am comforted that You never slumber or sleep. You watch over me constantly. My help comes from You.
Change any words that don’t fit, or stop at the one line that’s true today. More on this one.
All 23 prayers for loneliness
Each one pairs a passage with a short prayer. Find the line that matches where you actually are, rather than where you think you should be.
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Not Alone in Suffering
When you feel like the only one
Father, in my loneliness I am tempted to believe I am the only one suffering like this.
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Not Abandoned
When everything is hard at once
God, I feel persecuted and isolated, but Your Word says I am not abandoned.
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The Lord Be With You
When you cannot find any peace
Lord, in my loneliness, I claim Your promise to be with me.
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Never Forsaken
When you are afraid of being left
God, in my deepest loneliness, I hold onto Your promise: You will never leave me or forsake me.
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Not Alone in Weakness
When you feel weak and ashamed of it
Lord, in my loneliness I remember that You understand isolation.
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The Lord is My Helper
When you have no one to call
God, in my isolation I cling to Your promise: You will never leave me or forsake me.
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My Strength and Defense
When you are afraid and on your own
Father, in my isolation, be my strength and my defense.
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Called By Name
When you feel like nobody knows you
God, in my loneliness, I hear You calling my name.
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The Advocate
When you have no one in your corner
Father, You have sent the Holy Spirit to be with me.
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With You Always
When you wonder if God left too
Jesus, You promised to be with me always, to the very end of the age.
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Where There Is No Revelation
When you have lost your direction
Father, in my isolation I feel like I've lost direction.
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Answers From His Mountain
When you cry out and hear nothing
God, in my loneliness I call out to You.
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At My Right Hand
When you feel alone at night
Lord, with You at my right hand, I am not alone.
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You Are With Me
When you are in the worst of it
Lord, in my deepest loneliness, You are with me.
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The Lord Will Receive Me
When no one shows up for you
God, even when everyone else has left, You will receive me.
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Do Not Turn a Deaf Ear
When God feels silent
God, I call to You—do not turn a deaf ear to me in my loneliness.
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Saved Out of Troubles
When you have nowhere left to turn
God, I am poor and lonely, but I call to You.
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He Saves the Crushed
When you are brokenhearted
Father, I feel so alone with a crushed spirit.
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Ever-Present
When trouble comes and you are alone
Lord, You are ever-present—always with me, always helping in trouble.
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My Refuge and Fortress
When you need somewhere safe
God, I dwell in Your shelter.
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The Lord Has Become My Fortress
When you have no one to protect you
God, in my isolation You have become my fortress.
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He Will Not Slumber
When you cannot sleep
God, in my loneliness, I am comforted that You never slumber or sleep.
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If God Is For Us
When everyone feels against you
God, if You are for me, who can be against me?
Questions people ask
What do I do about Sunday mornings?
Most people find that Sundays are the hardest part for longer than they expected, and that the answer is a new rhythm rather than a replacement service. There is a whole piece on this: what to do on Sunday morning now.
Is it possible to keep my faith on my own?
For a while, and many people do it for years. The honest caution is that faith kept entirely alone tends to go quiet slowly rather than dramatically. That is what the daily prayers are for, and eventually, if you want it, other people.
How do I pray when there is nobody else there?
The same way, just out loud or not, and shorter than you think. Nearly every prayer here was written for someone praying by themselves.
The passages behind these prayers
Some of these come up again and again, in more than one kind of hard day. Each passage has its own page with what was going on when it was written, and what it does not claim: 1 Peter 5:6-11 , 2 Corinthians 4:8-18 , 2 Thessalonians 3:16 , Deuteronomy 31:8 , Hebrews 4:15-16 , Hebrews 13:1-6 , Isaiah 12:2-4 , and Isaiah 43:1-3a .
When the words still won’t come
Sometimes what you’re carrying doesn’t fit one category. You might also find what you need in prayers for grief and despair or prayers for broken trust and betrayal. And if all you can manage today is a single sentence, that counts. God has never graded prayers by length.