Bible Verses About Depression

Honest prayers from dark places

The psalms include prayers that never quite resolve. People ask God how long, whether he has forgotten them and why their soul is so heavy. You are allowed to pray like this. Honesty with God is a form of faith, not a lack of it.

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me?

Psalm 13:1-2 (BSB)

O Lord, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You. May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.

Psalm 88:1-2 (BSB)

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.

Psalm 42:5 (BSB)

Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit. Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.

Psalm 143:7-8 (BSB)

Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come before You. Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call.

Psalm 102:1-2 (BSB)

Faithful people who reached the end

Elijah sat under a tree and told God he had had enough. God's first response was not a lecture but sleep, food and gentle care, given twice. Paul wrote of feeling crushed beyond what he could bear, and Jesus himself spoke of sorrow so deep it felt close to death.

And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” And he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. A second time the angel of the Lord returned and touched him, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

1 Kings 19:3-8 (BSB)

Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”

Matthew 26:38 (BSB)

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 (BSB)

I cried out to God; I cried aloud to God to hear me. In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.

Psalm 77:1-2 (BSB)

God is close in the dark

Depression can make God feel far away, even absent. These verses say that darkness is not dark to him, that he will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a flickering wick. Jesus understands weakness from the inside, and we can come to him without pretending.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light become night around me” - even the darkness is not dark to You, but the night shines like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

Psalm 139:11-12 (BSB)

A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

Isaiah 42:3 (BSB)

I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:1-3 (BSB)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (BSB)

Small steps towards the light

Hope in a dark season is often small: getting through today, one honest conversation, one kept appointment. These verses do not promise a quick fix. They hold out the possibility of seeing goodness again, and they are gentle enough to hold while you wait.

We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (BSB)

Still I am certain to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 27:13 (BSB)

to console the mourners in Zion - to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:3 (BSB)

Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.

Micah 7:8 (BSB)

A prayer

God, I feel heavy and I do not have many words. Some days it is hard even to pray. Thank you that you are not put off by my darkness, and that you do not break what is already bruised. Stay close to me when I cannot feel you. Help me take the next small step, whether that is resting, eating, reaching out or asking for help. Put good people around me, and give them wisdom as they care for me. Hold on to me when I cannot hold on to you. Amen.

Questions people ask

Keep reading

• Bible Verses About Anxiety
• Bible Verses About Comfort
• Bible Verses About Hope
• Bible Verses About Healing
• Prayers for Strength