A Prayer for When You Doubt

God — and even that word feels shaky today — I'm still here. That has to count for something.

I have questions I'm afraid to say in church. Why prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling some months. Why You feel near to some people and quiet with me. Whether I've believed something true or just something comforting.

I used to think doubt meant my faith was dying. But then I remember the man who came to Jesus and said, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" — both halves in one breath, and Jesus helped him anyway. No lecture. No disappointment. Help.

So that's my prayer too, exactly as he prayed it. I believe. Help my unbelief.

I won't pretend to a certainty I don't have — You've never been impressed by performances. But I won't walk away either. Doubt that keeps talking to You is still faith; it's faith with its hand up, asking questions. Thomas got to see the scars. John the Baptist sent his question from prison and got an answer, not a rebuke. You have always been patient with honest doubters.

So meet me in the fog, Lord. Show Yourself true — in Your Word, in Your people, in the quiet ways I might miss if You don't open my eyes. Hold on to me while I figure out how to hold on to You.

I believe. Help my unbelief.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this in the seasons when faith feels foggy and you're tempted to fake it or quit it — this prayer is the third option. It also helps to say the questions out loud to a trusted, unshockable Christian friend or pastor; doubts shrink in honest company and grow in hiding.

A Verse to Hold On To

"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." — Mark 9:24 (KJV)