Finding Words to Pray When Feeling Spiritually Dry
When experiencing spiritual dryness, individuals often struggle to articulate their prayers, yet biblical texts and theological traditions offer guidance and examples for engaging with God during such times. Prayer is understood as direct address to God, an intercourse of the soul with the divine, which can be oral or mental, constant or occasional [3]. It is a command given in scripture, to be offered to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and is described in various ways, such as "pouring out the soul before the Lord" or "crying to God" [4].
The Psalms frequently express feelings akin to spiritual dryness, providing a rich resource for those who find themselves in a similar state. For instance, Psalm 69:3 laments, "I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail, looking for my God" [1]. This verse captures the physical and emotional toll of persistent seeking without immediate relief. Similarly, Psalm 63:1 articulates a deep longing: "God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water" [2]. These passages demonstrate that expressing weariness, thirst, and longing to God is a biblically affirmed way to pray during periods of spiritual desolation.
Commentators across traditions recognize these expressions as authentic forms of prayer. Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist/Puritan theologian, notes that in Psalm 69, David "complains of the deep impressions that his troubles made upon his spirit," pouring them out before the Lord to ease a heavy burden [8]. This suggests that simply voicing one's distress and weariness to God is a valid and even necessary act of prayer. John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, interprets the "poor and needy seeking water" in Isaiah 41:17 not literally, but spiritually, referring to those who "want many things; as larger discoveries of the love of God, fresh supplies of grace from Christ, more spiritual life" [7]. This spiritual interpretation extends to the "hungry and thirsty" in Psalm 107:4, who "hunger after Christ, the bread of life, and thirst after his grace" [9]. Such interpretations affirm that the language of physical need can be a metaphor for spiritual longing, providing words for those who feel spiritually parched.
The act of stretching forth hands in prayer, as described in Psalm 143:6, is interpreted by Gill as earnestly imploring help and readiness to receive blessings [11]. This physical posture can accompany the internal cry of a soul thirsting for God, "after his word and ordinances, after communion with him in them, after his grace and fresh supplies of it" [11]. Even when the soul "cleaves to the dust," indicating a "deadness to holy duties" or an inclination to worldly things, as Matthew Henry observes on Psalm 119:25, the act of lamenting this condition to God is itself a form of prayer [10].
Scripture also provides examples of prayers under affliction, which can serve as templates when words are scarce. These include prayers for God to consider one's trouble, for His presence and support, for the Holy Spirit not to be withdrawn, for divine comfort, mitigation of troubles, deliverance, pardon, and divine teaching and direction [5]. The Lord's Prayer, taught by Jesus, offers a concise yet comprehensive model, embodying "every possible desire of a praying heart, a whole world of spiritual requirements" [6]. This prayer, though brief, covers fundamental needs and aspirations, making it a valuable resource when one struggles to formulate original words.
Sources
- Psalms “I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail, looking for my God. -- Psalms 69:3”
- Psalms “God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. -- Psalms 63:1”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal. It is a "beseeching the Lord" (Ex. 32:11); "pouring out the soul before the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:15); "praying and crying to heaven" (2 Chr. 32:20); "seeking unto God and making supplication" (Job 8:5); "drawing near to God" (Ps. 73:28); "bowing the knees" (Eph. 3:14). Prayer presupposes a belief in the personality of God, his ability and willingness to hold inter”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Prayer — Commanded -- Isa 55:6; Mt 7:7; Php 4:6. To be offered To God. -- Ps 5:2; Mt 4:10. To Christ. -- Lu 23:42; Ac 7:59. To the Holy Spirit. -- 2Th 3:5. Through Christ. -- Eph 2:18; Heb 10:19. God hears -- Ps 10:17; 65:2. God answers -- Ps 99:6; Isa 58:9. Is described as Bowing the knees. -- Eph 3:14. Looking up. -- Ps 5:3. Lifting up the soul. -- Ps 25:1. Lifting up the heart. -- La 3:41. Pouring out the heart. -- Ps 62:8. Pouring out the soul. -- 1Sa 1:15. Calling upon the name of the Lord. -- Ge 12:8; Ps 116:4; Ac 22:16. Crying to God. -- Ps 27:7; 34:6. Drawing”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Affliction, Prayer Under — Exhortation to -- Jas 5:13. That God would consider our trouble -- 2Ki 19:16; Ne 9:32; Ps 9:13; La 5:1. For the presence and support of God -- Ps 10:1; 102:2. That the Holy Spirit may not be withdrawn -- Ps 51:11. For divine comfort -- Ps 4:6; 119:76. For mitigation of troubles -- Ps 39:12,13. For deliverance -- Ps 25:17,22; 39:10; Isa 64:9-12; Jer 17:14. For pardon and deliverance from sin -- Ps 39:8; 51:1; 79:8. That we may be turned to God -- Ps 80:7; 85:4-6; Jer 31:18. For divine teaching and direction -- Job 34:32; Ps 27:11; 143:10. Fo”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Lords Prayer — the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples. (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) "In this prayer our Lord shows his disciples how an infinite variety of wants and requests can be compressed into a few humble petitions. It embodies every possible desire of a praying heart, a whole world of spiritual requirements; yet all in the most simple, condensed and humble form, resembling, in this respect, a pearl on which the light of heaven plays."--Lange. "This prayer contains four great general sentiments, which constitute the very soul of religion,--sentiments which”
- Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 41:17: When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst,.... This is to be understood not literally, but spiritually; not of their outward circumstances, though the people of God are for the most part the poor of the world, and in need of the good things of it, hungry and thirsty, and naked; but of their spiritual estate: as in Christ they need nothing; but in themselves, and at different times, and in different frames, want many things; as larger discoveries of the love of God, fresh supplies of grace from Christ, more spiritual li”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 69:1: In these verses David complains of his troubles, intermixing with those complaints some requests for relief. I. His complaints are very sad, and he pours them out before the Lord, as one that hoped thus to ease himself of a burden that lay very heaven upon him. 1. He complains of the deep impressions that his troubles made upon his spirit (Psa 69:1, Psa 69:2): "The waters of affliction, those bitter waters, have come unto my soul, not only threaten my life, but disquiet my mind; they fill my head with perplexing cares and my heart with oppressive grief, so that I ”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 107:4: Hungry and thirsty,.... As travellers in deserts sometimes are; their provisions being spent they bring with them, and none to be had on the road; there being no inns to stop at, nor any sort of food to eat, nor springs of water to drink of. In such a condition are souls, when, like the prodigal, they come to themselves, and are thoroughly convinced of their state and condition by nature; they find themselves starving and famishing, and no provision to be had from themselves or the creature: they hunger after Christ, the bread of life, and thirst after his grace, the”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:25: Here is, I. David's complaint. We should have thought his soul soaring to heaven; but he says himself, My soul not only rolls in the dust, but cleaves to the dust, which is a complaint either, 1. Of his corruptions, his inclination to the world and the body (both which are dust), and that which follows upon it, a deadness to holy duties. When he would do good evil was present with him. God intimated that Adam was not only mortal, but sinful, when he said, Dust thou art, Gen 3:19. David's complaint here is like St. Paul's of a body of death that he carried about ”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 143:6: I stretch forth my hands unto thee,.... In prayer, as the Targum adds; for this is a prayer gesture, Kg1 8:38; both hands were stretched forth, earnestly imploring help, and ready to receive and embrace every blessing bestowed with thankfulness; my soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land. As a dry land, which wants water, gapes, and as it were thirsts for rain, which is very refreshing to it; so his soul thirsted after God, after his word and ordinances, after communion with him in them, after his grace and fresh supplies of it; particularly after pardoning gra”