27 Bible Verses about Prayer, Doubts About

Most Relevant Verses

Exodus 5:22-23

So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, “Lord, why have You caused trouble for this people? And why did You ever send me? Ever since I went in to Pharaoh to speak in Your name he has caused trouble for this people, and You haven’t delivered Your people at all.”

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Genesis 15:2-3

But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.”

Joshua 7:7-9

“Oh, Lord God,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites for our destruction? If only we had been content to remain on the other side of the Jordan! What can I say, Lord, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies? When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do about Your great name?”

Numbers 11:11-15

So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so You should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing woman carries a baby,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers? Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me: ‘Give us meat to eat!’ read more.
I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. If You are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now. If You are pleased with me, don’t let me see my misery anymore.”

1 Kings 19:4

but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers.”

Jeremiah 15:15-18

You know, Lord;
remember me and take note of me.
Avenge me against my persecutors.
In Your patience, don’t take me away.
Know that I suffer disgrace for Your honor.
Your words were found, and I ate them.
Your words became a delight to me
and the joy of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,
Yahweh God of Hosts.
I never sat with the band of revelers,
and I did not celebrate with them.
Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone,
for You filled me with indignation.
read more.
Why has my pain become unending,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
You truly have become like a mirage to me—
water that is not reliable.

Jeremiah 20:7-9

You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived.
You seized me and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all the time;
everyone ridicules me.
For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!”
because the word of the Lord has become for me
constant disgrace and derision.
If I say, “I won’t mention Him
or speak any longer in His name,”
His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,
shut up in my bones.
I become tired of holding it in,
and I cannot prevail.

Jonah 4:1-3

But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. He prayed to the Lord: “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster. And now, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

Mark 15:34

And at three Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lemá sabachtháni?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Psalm 22:1

For the choir director: according to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Davidic psalm.My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from my deliverance
and from my words of groaning?

Job 10:2-22

I will say to God:
“Do not declare me guilty!
Let me know why You prosecute me.
Is it good for You to oppress,
to reject the work of Your hands,
and favor the plans of the wicked?
Do You have eyes of flesh,
or do You see as a human sees?
read more.
Are Your days like those of a human,
or Your years like those of a man,
that You look for my wrongdoing
and search for my sin,
even though You know that I am not wicked
and that there is no one who can deliver from Your hand? “Your hands shaped me and formed me.
Will You now turn and destroy me?
Please remember that You formed me like clay.
Will You now return me to dust?
Did You not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and wove me together with bones and tendons.
You gave me life and faithful love,
and Your care has guarded my life. “Yet You concealed these thoughts in Your heart;
I know that this was Your hidden plan:
if I sin, You would notice,
and would not acquit me of my wrongdoing.
If I am wicked, woe to me!
And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift up my head.
I am filled with shame
and aware of my affliction.
If I am proud, You hunt me like a lion
and again display Your miraculous power against me.
You produce new witnesses against me
and multiply Your anger toward me.
Hardships assault me, wave after wave. “Why did You bring me out of the womb?
I should have died and never been seen.
I wish I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.
Are my days not few? Stop it!
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little
before I go to a land of darkness and gloom,
never to return.
It is a land of blackness like the deepest darkness,
gloomy and chaotic,
where even the light is like the darkness.”

Job 13:20-27

Only grant these two things to me, God,
so that I will not have to hide from Your presence:
remove Your hand from me,
and do not let Your terror frighten me.
Then call, and I will answer,
or I will speak, and You can respond to me.
read more.
How many iniquities and sins have I committed?
Reveal to me my transgression and sin.
Why do You hide Your face
and consider me Your enemy?
Will You frighten a wind-driven leaf?
Will You chase after dry straw?
For You record bitter accusations against me
and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

Job 14:1-22

Man born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble.
He blossoms like a flower, then withers;
he flees like a shadow and does not last.
Do You really take notice of one like this?
Will You bring me into judgment against You?
read more.
Who can produce something pure from what is impure?
No one!
Since man’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on You,
and since You have set limits he cannot pass,
look away from him and let him rest
so that he can enjoy his day like a hired hand. There is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its shoots will not die.
If its roots grow old in the ground
and its stump starts to die in the soil,
the smell of water makes it thrive
and produce twigs like a sapling.
But a man dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?
As water disappears from the sea
and a river becomes parched and dry,
so man lies down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;
they will not stir from their sleep. If only You would hide me in Sheol
and conceal me until Your anger passes.
If only You would appoint a time for me
and then remember me.
When a man dies, will he come back to life?
If so, I would wait all the days of my struggle
until my relief comes.
You would call, and I would answer You.
You would long for the work of Your hands.
For then You would count my steps
but would not take note of my sin.
My rebellion would be sealed up in a bag,
and You would cover over my iniquity. But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,
as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil from the land,
so You destroy a man’s hope.
You completely overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away.
If his sons receive honor, he does not know it;
if they become insignificant, he is unaware of it.
He feels only the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.

Psalm 13:1-2

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.Lord, how long will You forget me?
Forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?

Psalm 42:9-10

I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”

Psalm 44:22-26

Because of You we are slain all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. Wake up, Lord! Why are You sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever!
Why do You hide Yourself
and forget our affliction and oppression?
read more.
For we have sunk down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up! Help us!
Redeem us because of Your faithful love.

Psalm 77:7-9

“Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?
Has His faithful love ceased forever?
Is His promise at an end for all generations?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger withheld His compassion?”Selah

Psalm 80:4-6

Lord God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
with Your people’s prayers?
You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure
of tears to drink.
You make us quarrel with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.

Psalm 88:6-9

You have put me in the lowest part of the Pit,
in the darkest places, in the depths.
Your wrath weighs heavily on me;
You have overwhelmed me with all Your waves.Selah
You have distanced my friends from me;
You have made me repulsive to them.
I am shut in and cannot go out.
read more.
My eyes are worn out from crying.
Lord, I cry out to You all day long;
I spread out my hands to You.

Habakkuk 1:2-3

How long, Lord, must I call for help
and You do not listen
or cry out to You about violence
and You do not save?
Why do You force me to look at injustice?
Why do You tolerate wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.

Genesis 15:2-5

But Abram said, “Lord God, what can You give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.” Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” read more.
He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”

Exodus 6:1-8

But the Lord replied to Moses, “Now you are going to see what I will do to Pharaoh: he will let them go because of My strong hand; he will drive them out of his land because of My strong hand.” Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I did not reveal My name Yahweh to them. read more.
I also established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as foreigners. Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered My covenant. “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am Yahweh, and I will deliver you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and free you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who delivered you from the forced labor of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.”

1 Kings 19:1-8

Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!” Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life. When he came to Beer-sheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, read more.
but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.

Suddenly, an angel touched him. The angel told him, “Get up and eat.” Then he looked, and there at his head was a loaf of bread baked over hot stones, and a jug of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord returned for a second time and touched him. He said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Job 40:1-9

The Lord answered Job: Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?
Let him who argues with God give an answer. Then Job answered the Lord:read more.
I am so insignificant. How can I answer You?
I place my hand over my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not reply;
twice, but now I can add nothing. Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: Get ready to answer Me like a man;
When I question you, you will inform Me.
Would you really challenge My justice?
Would you declare Me guilty to justify yourself?
Do you have an arm like God’s?
Can you thunder with a voice like His?

Jeremiah 15:19-21

Therefore, this is what the Lord says:

If you return, I will restore you;
you will stand in My presence.
And if you speak noble words,
rather than worthless ones,
you will be My spokesman.
It is they who must return to you;
you must not return to them.
Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze
to this people.
They will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will deliver you from the power of evil people
and redeem you from the control of the ruthless.

Habakkuk 1:5-11

Look at the nations and observe—
be utterly astounded!
For something is taking place in your days
that you will not believe
when you hear about it.
Look! I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter, impetuous nation
that marches across the earth’s open spaces
to seize territories not its own.
They are fierce and terrifying;
their views of justice and sovereignty
stem from themselves.
read more.
Their horses are swifter than leopards
and more fierce than wolves of the night.
Their horsemen charge ahead;
their horsemen come from distant lands.
They fly like an eagle, swooping to devour.
All of them come to do violence;
their faces are set in determination.
They gather prisoners like sand.
They mock kings,
and rulers are a joke to them.
They laugh at every fortress
and build siege ramps to capture it.
Then they sweep by like the wind
and pass through.
They are guilty; their strength is their god.

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