A Prayer for When It Feels Like Too Much

Written by Samantha Avril-Andreassen
Author of "Homeless, Not Defeated" and founder of "Stillness Meets Strength"

Lord,
I have carried as much as I can.
And now —
it feels like too much.

You see me.
Sleeping in a car, body cramped, heart breaking.
You see me.
Washing in broken places, surrounded by chaos I did not choose.
You see me.
Trying to hold my dignity in places that have stripped it bare.

I am not asking You to notice me.
I know You already do.
I am begging You to move.
To open the gates that have been slammed in my face.
To tear down the walls built against me.
To make a way where none has been made.

Lord,
I am weary of waiting.
I am tired of being strong.
I am tired of surviving.
I am tired of being the one who must always find a way in the wilderness.

I am tired of hoping when the world keeps handing me heartbreak.

I lay my brokenness before You now —
not neatly,
not quietly,
but desperately.

I lay down the fear that I will be forgotten.
I lay down the fear that injustice will have the final word.
I lay down the ache that sits in my bones like lead.

And I say,
God of Moses, who parted the sea — part this nightmare.

God of Hannah, who heard her weeping — hear mine.

God of Hagar, who found her in the wilderness — find me.

Raise Your hand, O Lord.
Lift me out of this pit.
Send Your angels to guard my body, my mind, my spirit.
Send Your favour into the courts.
Send Your mercy into my days.
Send Your strength into my trembling hands.

I cannot carry this burden another day without You.
And I should not have to.
You are the God who fights for the broken.
Fight for me now.

Rescue me, Lord.
Restore me, Lord.
Rebuild me, Lord.
Remember me, Lord.

I am still here.
Still crying.
Still believing.
Still waiting for the morning that will surely come.

Amen.