Orthodox prayers against despair and hopelessness

Prayers for when hope has run out. They tell God how dark it feels and ask for His mercy.

Picture: Caspar David Friedrich, Morning in the Riesengebirge, 1810–11

4 prayers

Hand over your despair

St Basil’s prayer against despair

O Lord Jesus Christ our God,

You are the Radiance of the Father,the exact and unchanging Image of His being and nature,the Spring of salvation and of grace.Open my lips, sinner that I am,and teach me how to pray, and what to pray for.You know the great number of my sins,but Your compassion will overcome them,beyond measure as they are.

See, I stand before You in awe.I have thrown the despair of my soulinto the sea of Your mercy.

Steer my life, You Who steer all creation with a word,by the power of Your wisdom, a power no words can tell,O calm Harbour of the storm-tossed.Show me the way I should walk.

Give my thoughts the spirit of Your wisdom,and give my foolishness the spirit of understanding.Overshadow my deeds with the spirit of reverence for You,and renew a right spirit within me.By the guiding Spirit make my unsteady mind firm,so that each day Your good Spirit may lead me to what is good for me,and I may be found worthy to keep Your commandments.

Traditional wording, 1906

O Lord Jesus Christ our God,

Do Thou, Who art the Brightness of the Father, of His Essence and His Nature the Express and Immutable Image, the Fountain of Wisdom and of Grace,open the lips of me, a sinner, and teach me in what manner and for what needs I ought to pray;for Thou knowest the great multitude of my sins, but Thy loving-kindness shall overcome the enormity thereof.

For lo! I stand in awe before Thee, and have cast into the great deep of Thy mercy the despair of my soul.

Govern my life, O Thou Who governest all creation by a word, with the unutterable might of Thy wisdom, O tranquil Haven of the storm-tossed;and make known unto me the way in which I should walk.

Grant unto my understanding the spirit of Thy wisdom, bestowing upon my ignorance the spirit of Thy understanding.Overshadow my deeds with the spirit of Thy fear, and renew a right spirit within me;and by Thy sovereign Spirit make stable the instability of my thoughts.That being daily guided by Thy good Spirit in that which is profitable for me, I may be enabled to keep Thy statutes.

The priest reads it once a year at Pentecost while everyone kneels. Its turning point is the line “I have thrown the despair of my soul into the sea of Your mercy.”

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek, with Hapgood’s 1906 translation beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, 1906.

Hapgood has “Fountain of Wisdom” where the Greek has “Spring of salvation”.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

If you are thinking of harming yourself, call or text 988 in the United States. If you are in danger right now, call 911 or your local emergency number. You do not have to carry this alone.

When you feel past saving

If faith saves the desperate

O my God, rich in mercy and all-merciful,Lord Jesus Christ,out of Your great love You came downand took on human fleshto save everyone.

Save me too, O Saviour, by grace, I beg You.For if You saved me because of my works,that would not be grace or a gift,but rather a debt.Truly, You are great in compassion,and Your mercy is beyond words.

For You said, O my Christ,“Whoever believes in Me will liveand will never see death.”So if faith in You saves those in despair,see, I believe. Save me,for You are my God and my Creator.

Let faith instead of works be imputed to me, O my God,for You will find no works at all that could justify me.But let that faith of mine be enough in place of all works.Let it answer for me,let it justify me,let it give me a share in Your eternal glory.

Do not let Satan snatch me away, O Word,and boast that he has torn mefrom Your hand and Your fold.But whether I want it or not,save me, O Christ my Saviour.Hurry and reach me first,for I am about to perish.You have been my Godfrom my mother’s womb.

Lord, grant that I may love You nowas I once loved sin itself,and work for You eagerly, without laziness,as I once worked for Satan the deceiver.And I will work for You even more,my Lord and God Jesus Christ,all the days of my life,now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.

Traditional wording, 2011

O my plenteously-merciful and all-merciful God, Lord Jesus Christ, through Thy great love Thou didst come down and become incarnate so that Thou mightest save all.

And again, O Saviour, save me by Thy grace, I pray Thee.For if Thou shouldst save me for my works, this would not be grace or a gift, but rather a duty; yea, Thou Who art great in compassion and ineffable in mercy.

For he that believeth in Me, Thou hast said, O my Christ, shall live and never see death.If, then, faith in Thee saveth the desperate, behold, I believe, save me, for Thou art my God and Creator.

Let faith instead of works be imputed to me, O my God, for Thou wilt find no works which could justify me.But may my faith suffice instead of all works, may it answer for, may it acquit me, may it make me a partaker of Thine eternal glory.

And let Satan not seize me and boast, O Word, that he hath torn me from Thy hand and fold.But whether I desire it or not, save me, O Christ my Saviour, forestall me quickly, quickly, for I perish.Thou art my God from my mother’s womb.

Vouchsafe me, O Lord, to love Thee now as fervently as I once loved sin itself, and also to work for Thee without idleness, diligently, as I worked before for deceptive Satan.But supremely shall I work for Thee, my Lord and God, Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Show the whole prayer

The Russian prayer book places it among the morning prayers. It recalls Christ’s promise that whoever believes in Him will live, then pleads, “see, I believe. Save me.”

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Church Slavonic, with the Jordanville Prayer Book beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, Prayer Book, 2011.

Where the Jordanville English has “as fervently as I once loved sin itself”, the Slavonic says only “as I once loved that very sin”.

Where it comes from, and the Church Slavonic

When you have hit bottom

Out of the depths (Psalm 130)

Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD.Lord, hear my voice.Let Your ears listen closelyto the sound of my pleading.

If You, LORD, kept a record of sins,O Lord, who could stand?But with You there is forgiveness,so that You may be held in awe.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,and in His word I put my hope.My soul waits for the Lordmore than watchmen wait for the morning,more than watchmen for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the LORD,for with the LORD there is mercy,and with Him is abundant redemption.He Himself will redeem Israelfrom all its sins.

Traditional wording, 1611

Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O LORD.Lord, hear my voice: let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If Thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

The psalm cries to God from the depths and waits for Him “more than watchmen wait for the morning”.

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

When hope is gone

His mercies are new every morning

Remember my affliction and my wandering,the wormwood and the gall.My soul keeps remembering them,and it is bowed down within me.

This I call to mind,and so I have hope:by the LORD’s steadfast love we are not consumed,for His mercies never fail.They are new every morning;great is Your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,“so I will hope in Him.”The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,to the soul that seeks Him.It is good to hope and wait quietlyfor the salvation of the LORD.

I called on Your name, O LORD,from the lowest pit.You heard my voice.Do not close Your earto my sighing, to my cry for help.

You came near on the day I called You,and You said, “Do not be afraid.”O Lord, You have pleaded my cause;You have redeemed my life.

Traditional wording, 1611

Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

I called upon Thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.Thou hast heard my voice: hide not Thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon Thee: Thou saidst, Fear not.O Lord, Thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; Thou hast redeemed my life.

In Lamentations a man whose hope has perished remembers God’s mercy, and his hope comes back, because those mercies are “new every morning”.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Hebrew (chapter 3, verses 19 to 26 and 55 to 58), with the King James Version beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: The King James translators, The King James Version, 1611.

Where the King James has “Remembering mine affliction”, its own margin and the Hebrew read “Remember”, a plea to God.

Where it comes from, and the original

Scripture for this

⁸We 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. ⁹Indeed, 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. ¹⁰He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 Paul despaired even of life. God delivered him, and Paul set his hope on God to deliver him again.

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 The prophet sits in darkness after a fall, yet he expects to rise, with the Lord as his light.

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

Isaiah 42:3 God’s servant will not break a bruised reed or snuff out a wick that barely burns, a promise for anyone close to breaking.

¹⁵This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

1 Timothy 1:15-16 Paul was the worst of sinners in his own eyes, and Christ’s mercy to him is an example for everyone who would believe.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 Paul prays that “the God of hope” will fill his readers with joy and peace, so that they overflow with hope.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain …

Hebrews 6:19 When everything feels adrift, hope in God is “an anchor for the soul, firm and secure”.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

A psalm for this

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.
Psalm 40:2

David waited for the Lord, Who lifted him “from the pit of despair” and set his feet on a rock.

Psalm 40 Read the whole psalm, with St Athanasius’s advice on when to pray it.

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