A Prayer for Strength
For the day you are out — of patience, of energy, of ideas — and the day is not over.
Isaiah 40:31 is the promise behind this prayer — those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength — and Isaiah 41:10 gives the reason: “I will strengthen you; surely I will help you; surely I will uphold you.”
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
Then Nehemiah told them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send out portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.
GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
The prayer
Lord, I am empty. Not dramatically; just plainly out.
I have been the strong one for long enough that no one thinks to ask, and I do not know how to say it to anyone but You.
You said You would uphold me with Your right hand. I am taking that literally today, because I have nothing else.
Be the strength I do not have. Carry the part I cannot. Renew me at the pace You choose, and let me stop striving for long enough to receive it.
And if today is only survived, let that count. Amen.
When you are the one everyone leans on
Isaiah 40:31 promises renewal to those who wait — and waiting is the hardest instruction to give a woman who copes. The renewing follows the stopping. That order is not an accident.
Exodus 17 has the picture: Moses’ hands went down because arms get tired, and Aaron and Hur put a stone under him and held his arms up on either side. Someone has to hold up the holder. Let them.
Strength is not the same as capacity
Almost every strength verse in Scripture is a sentence about God’s nearness rather than your reserves. Isaiah 41:10 stacks three of them — I am with you, I will help you, I will uphold you — and none is a description of you at all.
That is worth knowing on a day you feel nothing. If strength were something you generated, an empty morning would be a failure. If it is God drawing near, an empty morning is simply the address.
The smallest version of this prayer
Some days the page above is too many words. Then it is four: Lord, hold me up. Psalm 28:7 is barely longer — “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.”
Say the short one. A prayer you actually meant beats a page you performed.
Where these words come from
Isaiah 41:10 and 40:31 are the two great strength promises. Nehemiah 8:10 names the joy of the LORD as strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 turns the whole idea over — power perfected in weakness — and Psalm 46:1 keeps God present rather than merely powerful: “an ever-present help in times of trouble.”
Praying this for someone specific?
Light a candle for her — and come back to tend it tomorrow.