Prayers for Mental Health
Psalm 42 — Why Art Thou Cast Down, O My Soul
Psalm 42 is the Bible's clearest prayer of depression.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God:
when shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my meat day and night,
while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me?
Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him
for the help of his countenance.
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts:
all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime,
and in the night his song shall be with me,
and my prayer unto the God of my life. Amen.
Psalm 42 (KJV)
About the prayer
Written by the sons of Korah, likely in exile far from the Temple, it describes a believer who still wants God but cannot feel him, who weeps day and night and is taunted with the question, "Where is your God?" What makes it pastorally valuable is that it never resolves neatly: the psalmist speaks to his own soul, tells it to hope, and then sinks again — three times over. The Church has prayed it for centuries at funerals and at the Easter Vigil. Pray it when faith feels like memory rather than experience; it gives permission to be honest without letting go.
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