Prayer For a Broken Heart

Dear Lord, 

I come before you today brokenhearted. I feel shattered. Nothing and no one but you can restore and comfort me.

“Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.”

Psalm 31:9

You know what caused this heartache. You understand how I long for solitude and shelter and to be where no one can hurt me or harm me.

For of You it is written,

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 

Psalm 34:19

Lord, I believe that You are here with me now. I am ready to surrender to You all these pieces of my brokenness. I pray for strength to open up and trust You fully despite my pain and shaken faith.

Take me in your arms, Jesus, and nurture me like a child, so that I may cry all tears of sorrow, hurt, abandonment, and helplessness. In Your holy presence, all emotions and feelings take on meaning and new significance, despite suffering and pain. And in Your peaceful presence is where I want to be.

Thank You, because with You I am safe from all criticism, judgment, and prejudice. You are my shelter and my safe space where I feel worthy and loved, and for that, I am infinitely grateful.

Lord, I choose to lean on your promise through the prophet Jeremiah:

“‘I will bring him near and he will come close to me—for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?’ declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 30:21

These words touch me because I struggle with mistrust of people and events that remind me of my misfortune. Even toward You, my Creator, I sometimes hold a grudge.

I am torn by disbelief that it will ever get better, but You invite me gently, with invisible bonds of love, to come to You. I meditate on the words of the psalmist:

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”

Psalm 84:5-7

I surrender to Your loving power and open my heart wide to Your heart, from which the rays of Your love, power, and mercy pour out. In trust, I invite You,

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”

Revelation 21:5

You alone fill me with the hope that I am not alone, that everything makes sense. You keep on encouraging me:

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:19

“‘Because he loves me,’” says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’”

Psalm 91:14-16

Thank you, Lord, for renewing my inner temple.

Amen.