Orthodox prayers for burnout

Pray these when work, caring for someone or serving at church has worn you out. If rest does not help, see a doctor too.

Picture: Frederic Leighton, Elijah in the Wilderness, 1877–78

4 prayers

When you have nothing left

Have mercy on me, for I am weak (Psalm 6)

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak.Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaken,and my soul is deeply shaken.But You, Lord, how long?

Come back, Lord, and rescue my soul.Save me for the sake of Your mercy.

Traditional wording, 1906

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak;Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed.My soul also is sore troubled:but, Lord, how long wilt Thou punish me?

Turn Thee, O Lord, and deliver my soul;O save me, for Thy mercy’s sake.

These verses of Psalm 6 tell God that you are weak and shaken in body and soul. They ask for His mercy and healing, and they ask Him, “How long?”

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek of the Septuagint, as the book of hours prints it at Great Compline, with Hapgood’s 1906 wording beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, 1906.

Hapgood’s “how long wilt Thou punish me?” adds “punish me”. The Greek asks only, “But You, Lord, how long?”

Where it comes from, and the Greek

When you cannot go on

O God, You know that I have no strength

O God, You know that I have no strength.

Traditional wording, 1907

God, Thou knowest that I have no strength.

Too tired to walk on, the desert monk St Macarius the Great sat down by the road. He asked God for nothing and simply told Him that he had no strength.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, with Wallis Budge’s 1907 English of the old Syriac version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: E. A. Wallis Budge, The Paradise or Garden of the Holy Fathers, 1907.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

When you carry others

Moses’s prayer when the burden is too heavy

Why have You brought trouble on Your servant?Why have I not found favour with You,that You put the burden of all these people on me?

I cannot carry all these people by myself,because the burden is too heavy for me.

Traditional wording, 1611

Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy servant?and wherefore have I not found favour in Thy sight,that Thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?

I am not able to bear all this people alone,because it is too heavy for me.

Moses told God that he could not carry the people of Israel by himself. God answered by giving 70 elders a share of the Spirit that was on Moses, so that they could carry the load with him.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew (verses 11 and 14), with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where it comes from, and the original

When life wears you down

Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O Lord;let my cry for help come to You.Do not hide Your face from mein the day of my distress.Turn Your ear to me;on the day I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke,and my bones burn like a hearth.My heart is struck down and withered like grass,so that I forget to eat my bread.Because of my loud groaningmy bones cling to my skin.I am like a desert owl,like an owl among the ruins.I lie awake,like a sparrow alone on the housetop.

All day long my enemies taunt me;those who mock me use my name as a curse.I eat ashes as my breadand mix my drink with tears,because of Your anger and Your wrath,for You lifted me up and threw me down.My days are like a lengthening shadow,and I wither like grass.

But You, O Lord, are enthroned for ever,and Your name is remembered in every generation.You will rise and have compassion on Zion,for it is time to show her favour;the appointed time has come.For Your servants love her stonesand pity her dust.The nations will fear the name of the Lord,and all the kings of the earth Your glory.For the Lord will build up Zionand appear in His glory.He will turn to the prayer of the destituteand will not despise their prayer.

Let this be written for a generation to come,so that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.For He looked down from His holy height;from heaven the Lord gazed on the earth,to hear the groans of the prisonerand set free those condemned to death,so that the name of the Lord may be told in Zionand His praise in Jerusalem,when peoples and kingdoms gather togetherto serve the Lord.

He has weakened my strength along the way;He has cut my days short.I say: O my God, do not take me awayin the middle of my days.Your years go on through all generations.

Long ago You laid the foundations of the earth,and the heavens are the work of Your hands.They will perish, but You will remain;they will all wear out like a garment.You will change them like clothing,and they will pass away.But You are the same,and Your years will have no end.The children of Your servants will dwell secure,and their descendants will be established before You.

Traditional wording, 1611

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto Thee.Hide not Thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline Thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.

For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.

Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,Because of Thine indignation and Thy wrath: for Thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.

But Thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and Thy remembrance unto all generations.Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory.When the LORD shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.For He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem;When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

He weakened my strength in the way; He shortened my days.I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: Thy years are throughout all generations.

Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands.They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed:But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end.The children of Thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before Thee.

Show the whole prayer

St Athanasius of Alexandria gave this psalm to anyone whom the pressures of life have left weary and in need of comfort. Its last verses turn to God, Whose years have no end.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew, with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where it comes from, and the original

Scripture for this

⁵Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶And 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. ⁷A 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.” ⁸So 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 19:5-8 An angel let the worn-out Elijah sleep and then fed him, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.”

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. ³He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.

Psalm 23:1-3 The psalm pictures the Lord as a shepherd Who makes His sheep lie down in green pastures and restores the soul.

“for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”

Jeremiah 31:25 To His people in exile God promised, “I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”

Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

John 4:6 Jesus Himself grew tired from walking and sat down by Jacob’s well in Samaria.

Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27 Jesus taught that God made the day of rest for people’s good, saying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Blessed be the Lord, Who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. Selah

Psalm 68:19 For anyone who carries someone else’s needs every day, the psalm blesses the Lord, Who “daily bears our burden.”

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

Article · 6 min read How to recover from burnout: what the Desert Fathers teach Burnout isn’t laziness. Learn what the Bible and the Desert Fathers teach about rest, sleep and sharing the load at work, in caregiving and in prayer. Read

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