Prayer to find light when you feel surrounded by darkness
By Vivian Bricker
Bible Reading:
“In him it was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5).
Read or listen to the following:
There is a time when we suffer from chronic depression and feel nothing but the darkness. This tends to happen in the winter, but can come anytime throughout the year. When this deep darkness comes above me, I feel hopeless. I want to stay in my bed, hide from the world, never see the light again.
Many people develop depression after a situation or tragedy, but I developed depression due to a known cause. I suddenly developed depression from the time I was taken to homeschool. I wasn’t sad to be homeschooled, but I had an inexpressible pain that I couldn’t clarify in words. I shed tears, but my mother thought it was emotion and sensitivity.
My mother always believed I was overly sensitive, and many people in my adult life said I had “strong emotions.” During my teenage years, I told my mother that it was my sensitivity and that “get over it” or “grow.” Sadly, you don’t “overcome” depression and “grow” it. When I was a teenager, there was not much talk about mental health.
More is being said today regarding mental health, but that doesn’t mean that some parents and other individuals know about depression, anxiety, eating disorders or other mental health issues. This is a great misfortune as our family and loved ones should be our biggest supporters. But how can you support them if they don’t understand or don’t know about mental illness?
Therefore, if you are struggling to find the light when you feel surrounded by darkness, you may be suffering from depression. It may be deep sadness and sadness, but it is worth researching. Depression can be managed primarily by looking at the healthcare professionals and going to treatment. It cannot be cured. However, you can manage and light will appear again.
I get better when I walk near the Lord, engage in the hobbies I enjoy and meet my loved ones. Depression can make you want to isolate yourself, but this is not wise. It will only exacerbate your depression if you choose to isolate yourself from God, others, and what you once enjoyed. God can help us with our depression, but this does not mean that he will heal us from it. I prayed many times to cure depression, but it never goes away. It can be managed and lifted from time to time, but it cannot be completely eradicated. Praying for complete healing from depression may not be optimal, but when we feel surrounded by darkness, we can pray to find the light.
The apostle John says, “In him it was life, and life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). The Lord’s Light can eradicate the darkness we face. His light shines in the darkness, and darkness cannot overcome it. This teaches us that light always reigns in the darkness.
Lean on Jesus and His love. He is the light of the world (John 8:12) and blesses us with everything we need to face this dark time. Darkness cannot stand before Jesus. It flees and the Lord gives us peace again. But the first step is to look to Jesus, pray to him, and trust him with the outcome.
Let’s pray:
Dear Jesus, help us find light when we are surrounded by darkness. Sometimes it feels like there’s nothing around me except darkness. You are the light of the world and I know you surround me with your glorious light. Help me walk through this darkness and concentrate fully on your light. Doing this will make me feel confident and strong in life. You are my leadership and someone who knows me better than anyone else. My heart praises you, Lord, amen.
Photo Credit Unsplash/Ahmed Hasan
Vivian Bricker received his Bachelor of Mission and a Master of Arts with a focus on theology. She loves theology, mission work, and everything that helps others learn about Jesus. Find out more about her content on Cultivate: https://cultivatechristianity.wordpress.com/.
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