I never thought of asking for prayer online. When my headache and depression started 34 years ago, there was no “online” yet!! So much time has gone by since it started that I stopped asking for prayer decades ago. I had asked for much prayer in the beginning and many people prayed for me. I went to many doctors but after years of trying to find healing I just accepted that this was my condition now. I know that Jesus loves me and I will have healing one day when I go home to be with him. In 1994 I sort of gave up on the Lord but quickly realized I didn’t want to live without him. If I have to suffer, I want to do it with hope in him. The headache is with me every day. I usually don’t painkillers but today I took a Vicodin and it has helped today. I think sometimes that God has set me aside for past sins and failures. I am sure that many feel this way after years of pain or depression, or both. I wonder how I can be a good witness to others in this condition. I don’t talk about it much but my wife helps me. I have learned to keep it quiet and most people don’t know anything is wrong unless I say something. But inside, suffering goes on. The chief duty of man is to believe in Jesus and glorify him. I still believe in Him and pray I always will. I don’t see how my depression and headache glorifies him. I think it is just the opposite. I don’t have a great testimony of healing and deliverance. Instead I am a Christian with depression and daily pain. Not the testimony I would like to have. In the Bible, Joseph and David were delivered from their suffering after years of struggle. But then there were others who were not. We don’t hear much about latter. What about the folks who suffer to the end of this life in various ways? They are limited by circumstances, wanting to do more but not able to. Years ago, at the beginning, I thought that if this was my lot, then even if the Lord never did another thing for me, his death at the cross was enough. He could never bless me in a greater way. I still believe that thankfully. But if He heals me, I will be grateful.
Prayer in the Midst of Chronic Pain and Depression
Heavenly Father, we lift up tollroad to You today. Lord, You know the years of suffering he has endured with daily pain and depression. We ask for Your grace, peace, and strength to fill his heart, especially during those moments when the burden feels unbearable. Remind him, Lord, that You are close to the brokenhearted and that his faithfulness, despite the struggles, glorifies You more than he might realize.
We pray that tollroad finds comfort in knowing that Your love for him has never wavered. Help him to see how his endurance, humility, and reliance on You reflect Your goodness to those around him, even when healing seems distant. Lord, if it is Your will, we ask for a miraculous healing in his body and mind, but if not, we pray for the strength to continue trusting You with his pain.
Encourage his heart, Father, and show him how his quiet faithfulness is a powerful testimony of Your sustaining grace. May he be reminded daily that Your ultimate act of love on the cross is enough and that he is never forgotten by You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
Thank you for your encouraging words, Fritzpw.