Short prayer
A short prayer for strength
Lord, I am out of strength. I have been carrying this alone and I cannot carry it any further. You said Your power is made perfect in weakness, so here is my weakness. Be strong in me today. Carry what I cannot, and give me enough for the next step. Just the next one.Amen.
Strength is not what you think
When we pray for strength, we usually mean: make me feel capable. Take the tiredness away. Give me back the version of myself that could handle things.
God almost never answers that prayer. What He does instead is stranger and better. He says, in 2 Corinthians 12:9, My power is made perfect in weakness. The strength you are asking for does not arrive as a feeling of being strong. It arrives as the discovery that you kept going anyway, and that it was not you.
So the prayers on this page do not pretend. They start from empty.
The oak and the cross
There is an old image of the Christian life: an oak tree with roots wrapped around a cross. Storms come; the oak bends; the roots hold. The tree is not strong because of its trunk. It is strong because of what it is anchored to.
That is what Isaiah 40 means by those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. The strength is not generated. It is drawn. The question in a hard season is not “how much do I have left?” but “what am I rooted in?”
Ask for the next step, not the whole road
Every prayer for strength on this page asks for today, or for the next hour. That is deliberate. Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread; He did not teach us to pray for a full pantry.
When you are in the middle of a long trial, the whole road is unbearable to look at. You are not asked to bear it. You are asked to take the step in front of you, and then to ask again. Manna came every morning and rotted if you hoarded it. Strength works the same way.
Where your strength is actually going
One honest question, asked gently: how much of the strength you have is being spent on the phone?
Not maliciously. But the hours of scrolling at the end of a hard day, the doom-loop of news, the comparison with lives that look easier: these drain exactly the reserves you are praying God will refill. Many people find that a week away from the feed does more for their strength than any amount of coffee. If the reach for the phone is automatic, let PrayerMax stand in the way: a prayer for strength at exactly the moment you were about to spend more of it.
Then rest. Real rest. He gives sleep to those He loves.
More prayers for strength
2. Longer prayer
Prayer for strength in hard times
Father, I did not choose this season and I would not have. It has taken more from me than I thought I had, and I am tired in a way sleep does not fix. I am not asking You to explain it. I am asking You to get me through it. You are the God who gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. You promise that those who hope in You will renew their strength, will soar on wings like eagles, will run and not grow weary, will walk and not be faint. I am not soaring right now. I am not running. I am barely walking. So I am holding You to the last part: let me walk and not faint. Give me strength for today. Not for the whole road, just today. Strength to get up, to do what is in front of me, to be kind when I want to snap, to hope when it would be easier not to. Strength to keep trusting You when I cannot see what You are doing. And when I fall, because I will, pick me up. Do not let this break me. Let it make me into someone who knows, from the inside, that You are enough.Amen.
3. Short prayer
Prayer for strength when exhausted
Jesus, You said to come to You when I am weary and burdened, and You would give me rest. I am both. I am here. I have nothing to offer but my tiredness, so I am offering that. Be my strength when I have none. Be my rest when I cannot stop. Let me lean my whole weight on You, and find that You hold.Amen.
4. Short prayer
Prayer for strength and courage
Lord, I am afraid of what is ahead and I do not feel brave. But You did not say “be strong” because I already was. You said “be strong and courageous, for I am with you.” So the strength is Yours and the courage comes from Your presence. I am asking for both. Walk in front of me. I will follow.Amen.
5. Longer prayer
Prayer for strength in grief
God, I did not know a person could hurt like this and keep breathing. Every morning I wake up and remember, and it is new all over again. I am not asking You to take the grief away. It is the shape of my love, and I would not trade it. I am asking You to give me strength to carry it, because right now I cannot. Be close to me. You said You are near to the brokenhearted, and I have never been more broken. Hold me together when I come apart. Give me strength to get through today: the small tasks, the kind words I do not have the energy for, the moments when the wave hits without warning. And in Your time, not mine, let there be light again. Let me laugh again without guilt. Let me carry them with me into a life that goes on. Until then, carry me.Amen.
6. For someone else
Prayer for strength for someone I love
Lord, You know who I am praying for and what they are facing. They are tired and they are trying not to show it. Give them strength I cannot give them. Hold them up when they cannot stand. Be their courage when theirs runs out. Send them people who will carry part of the weight, and let me be one of them. Remind them that You are with them, and that this is not the end of the story.Amen.
7. Morning
Morning prayer for strength
Father, I am awake and already I feel the weight of today. Before I lift any of it, I am asking You to lift me. Your mercies are new this morning. Let Your strength be too. Give me what I need for the next hour, and then the one after. I will not face this day alone. You are already in it.Amen.
8. From Scripture
Prayer for strength from Scripture
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My grace is sufficient for you, He says, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. The Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you.Amen.
Scripture to pray with
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak... but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:29-31
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:13
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”
Psalm 28:7
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 73:26
How to pray a prayer for strength
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Start with the truth, not the brave face. “I cannot do this” is a better opening line than “help me be strong.” God meets honesty. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says His power shows up precisely in admitted weakness.
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Ask for today only. Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread. Strength for the whole road is not on offer; strength for the next step is. Ask for that.
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Let Scripture carry you. Read Isaiah 40:29-31 out loud, slowly, as your own prayer. On the worst days the Bible has words when you do not.
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Name the specific weight. “Strength for the conversation with Dad,” “strength to get through chemo on Tuesday.” Specific prayers are ones you actually mean.
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Let someone else carry part of it. Galatians 6:2 says to carry each other's burdens. Ask a person for help in the same breath you ask God. He usually answers the second prayer through the first.
Questions people ask
What is a good prayer for strength?
“Lord, I am out of strength. You said Your power is made perfect in weakness, so here is my weakness. Be strong in me today. Carry what I cannot, and give me enough for the next step. Amen.” It is honest, it is built on 2 Corinthians 12:9, and it asks for the right thing: not to feel strong, but to be carried.
What Bible verse gives strength?
Isaiah 40:31 is the one most people turn to: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” Also Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all this through him who gives me strength”), 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 28:7, Deuteronomy 31:6 and Psalm 73:26. Pick one and read it until you can say it with your eyes closed.
How do I pray when I have no strength left?
Say exactly that. “God, I have nothing left.” That is a complete prayer, and one of the most honest in the Bible; David prayed it repeatedly. If even that is too much, read a Psalm aloud (Psalm 61, 62 or 73) and let it pray for you. Romans 8:26 says the Spirit prays when we cannot. Lying still before God, wanting to pray, is prayer.
What is a prayer for strength and healing?
“Lord, You are the God who heals and the God who strengthens. Heal what is broken in me, in body and in spirit. And where healing is slow, give me strength for the waiting. Let me trust You in the not-yet. Amen.” See our full prayer for healing for more.
Is it okay to ask God for strength for small things?
Yes. There is no minimum size. Jesus said to pray for daily bread, which is about as ordinary as it gets. Strength for a hard conversation, a boring afternoon, a workout, not snapping at your kids: all of it is fair game. Small prayers prayed often are how a relationship with God actually gets built.
