Prayers Against Fear: For Panic, Anxiety, the Night and the Future

A short prayer against fear: “Lord, I am afraid, and I cannot make the fear stop. Stay with me in it, slow my breathing and my thoughts, and help me trust you with what I cannot control. Amen.” Psalm 56:3 says it in one line: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”

If fear comes in a rush, with a racing heart, chest pain and shortness of breath, it may be a panic attack. The NHS says most panic attacks last between 5 and 20 minutes and are not dangerous, but the same symptoms can have other causes. See a doctor about them, and call the emergency services for chest pain that has never been checked. If fear has brought you to thoughts of ending your life, call or text 988 in the US, or call Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland. There are also more Christian and crisis lines.

Traditional prayers against fear

Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox prayer books all carry prayers against fear, and several of them are evening prayers. Each is quoted here as printed.

Against “faithless fears”

The Episcopal Church’s 1928 Book of Common Prayer gives this prayer among its family prayers. Its words “cast all our care on thee, who carest for us” echo 1 Peter 5:7: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

O most loving Father, who willest us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of thee, and to cast all our care on thee, who carest for us; Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which thou hast manifested unto us in thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer (1928), Family Prayer, “For Trustfulness,” p. 596

For a quiet mind

This prayer from the same book is built on two verses: Isaiah 30:15, “in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength,” and Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength; By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer (1928), Family Prayer, “For Quiet Confidence,” p. 595

“Lighten our darkness”

The 1928 book prints this short collect at Evening Prayer and again in its evening prayers for families.

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer (1928), Evening Prayer, “A Collect for Aid against Perils,” p. 31

An Orthodox prayer against “the terror of the night”

At the start of Great Vespers, while Psalm 104 is read, the Orthodox priest stands before the altar doors and quietly says seven Prayers of Light. The seventh begins, “O great and most high God, who alone hast immortality, and dwellest in light unapproachable,” and goes on to ask for a peaceful night. These lines are from Isabel Hapgood’s 1906 English translation of the Orthodox service book.

… grant that we may pass this present evening and the coming night in peace. Endue us with the armour of light. Deliver us from the terror of the night, and from everything that walketh in darkness; and grant that the sleep, which thou hast appointed for the repose of our weakness, may be free from every imagination of the Devil …

Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church (1906), The All-Night Vigil, Great Vespers, Prayers of Light, p. 4

A Catholic night prayer

Compline is the last service of the Church’s daily round of prayer. The 1888 Manual of Prayers, prepared for American Catholics by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, prints it in English. Its antiphon and its closing prayer both ask for protection through the night.

Save us, O Lord, watching, guard us sleeping: that we may watch with Christ, and may rest in peace.

Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, this habitation, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy: let Thy holy Angels dwell therein to keep us in peace: and may Thy blessing be upon us always. Through our Lord, etc. Amen.

A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity (1888), The Office of Compline, pp. 74–75

For a panic attack or a sudden wave of fear with no clear cause. It can be prayed a line at a time, between slow breaths.

Lord Jesus, my heart is racing and I cannot catch my breath. I know this feeling, and I know it will pass, but right now it feels as if it never will. Be with me in it. Slow my heartbeat. Help me breathe in and out, slowly, and stay where I am until the wave goes by. You stood up in the boat and said to the storm, “Peace, be still,” and “there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). Say those words to my body and my mind. I do not have to fix anything in the next ten minutes. I only have to stay with you and breathe. When it has passed, help me not to dread the next one, and give me the sense to ask for help if these attacks keep coming. Amen.

For worry that runs all day: the same thoughts on a loop, a knot in the stomach, a mind that will not rest. The prayer follows Philippians 4:6–7.

Father, I am worn out with worry. My mind keeps going over the same things, and every answer I find raises a new question. Your word tells me, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). So here are my requests: [name what you are anxious about]. I hand them to you one by one, because you have told me to cast all my care on you, for you care for me. Thank you for what you have already carried me through. Now give me the peace “which passeth all understanding,” and let it keep my heart and mind through Christ Jesus. When the worry comes back in an hour, as it will, help me hand it back to you again, as many times as it takes. Amen.

For fear of what is coming: a job that may end, bills that will not wait, a move, a decision that cannot be put off, or a change nobody asked for.

Lord, I do not know what is coming, and I am afraid of it. I keep living through the worst outcome in my head before it has happened. You told your disciples, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” (Matthew 6:34). Teach me to live today, and only today. You feed the birds of the air, which neither sow nor reap; provide what I need too: work, a roof, enough money for this month. Where I have a decision to make, show me the right choice and give me the nerve to make it. Where something is changing that I cannot stop, help me accept it, and go ahead of me into the place I am afraid of. “My times are in thy hand” (Psalm 31:15). Amen.

For a fear that has to be walked through rather than waited out: a flight, a hospital appointment, a hard conversation, a phobia, the first day somewhere new.

Lord, tomorrow I have to do the thing I am afraid of, and part of me wants to cancel. [Name it.] You know how small this may look to others and how large it feels to me. If I need to walk through this fear rather than have it taken away, walk through it with me. Give me enough courage for the first step: to get in the car, to open the door, to say the first sentence. Then give me enough for the next one. Your word says, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Let me feel that power and that sound mind tomorrow. And when it is over, however it goes, let me remember that you were there. Amen.

For fear of illness: results not yet back, a symptom not yet checked, a disease that runs in the family. Prayer goes alongside your doctor’s care and never replaces it, so if a symptom worries you, have it checked.

Lord, I am waiting for results, and the waiting is the hardest part. Every hour I imagine what the doctor might say. You already know what the tests will show, and nothing in them will surprise you. Keep me from reading every ache as a sign of the worst. Give me the courage to make the appointment I have been putting off and to listen to what I am told. Your word says of the one who trusts you, “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD” (Psalm 112:7). Fix my heart on you. If the news is good, let me thank you for it. If it is hard, stay beside me, and give me good doctors and people to lean on. Amen.

For the fear of death itself, whether it comes with age, with illness, or late at night for no reason. The Letter to the Hebrews says Christ took on flesh and blood and died to “deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14–15).

Lord Jesus, I am afraid of dying. I am afraid of the pain, of leaving the people I love, and of not knowing what comes after. You were afraid too: in Gethsemane your soul was “exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38), and you prayed through it. Pray with me now. You said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). I believe; help me to believe it more. Forgive my sins, so that I need not be afraid to meet you. Remind me that neither death nor life can separate me from your love. Until my time comes, let me live the days I have without this fear holding me down, and when it comes, take me home. Amen.

For fear that grows after dark: lying awake, nightmares, a house that feels unsafe, or old memories that come back when the lights go off. Psalm 91, part of the Catholic Office of Compline, promises, “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night” (Psalm 91:5).

Lord, it is late and I cannot sleep. In the dark everything looks bigger than it did in daylight, and the old fears and memories come back. You do not sleep: “he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4), and the dark is not dark to you. Watch over this house and everyone in it. Where my fear comes from something that really happened to me, heal that wound slowly, and give me people who can help me carry it. Quiet my thoughts. Take the pictures out of my mind and put your peace in their place. If I wake in the night, let my first thought be of you. “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). Amen.

For fear for another person: a child who is far away or in danger, a husband or wife who is sick, someone on the road, someone who has stopped answering the phone. When Jairus was told that his daughter had died, Jesus said to him, “Be not afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36).

Father, I am afraid for [name]. I cannot be with [him or her] right now, and I cannot fix what is wrong. My mind runs ahead to every bad thing that could happen. You love [name] more than I do, and you are there when I am not. Keep [him or her] safe tonight: on the road, at work, in the hospital, wherever [he or she] is. Send the right people to help. Give [name] courage if [he or she] is afraid too. And take the fear out of my love, so that when we next speak I bring comfort instead of panic. I leave [name] in your hands, which are better hands than mine. Amen.

For fear of an exam, a new job or a step of faith that might go wrong, and for the fear of what other people will think.

Lord, I am afraid of failing, and of what people will say if I do. I put things off because I would rather not try than try and fall short. I want to be liked so much that I say yes when I mean no. Remind me that my worth does not hang on this result or on anyone’s approval. Your word says, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up” (Psalm 27:10). If people turn away from me, you will not. Give me the courage to try, to do my honest best, and to leave the outcome with you. If I fail, help me get up, learn what I can, and go on without shame. And help me say the true thing even when it costs me someone’s good opinion. Amen.

For the point where long fear has worn hope away. If you are thinking about ending your life, call or text 988 in the US, or call Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland, and pray as well.

God, I have been afraid for so long that I have run out of hope. I am tired of fighting it, and some days I do not see the point of going on. I do not have the words for a proper prayer, so take these. You are near to the brokenhearted; be near to me. Hold on to me when I cannot hold on to you. Keep me safe from myself tonight. Give me the courage to tell someone how bad it is, and to accept help when it comes. Your word asks, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him” (Psalm 42:11). I cannot praise you yet. Keep me alive until I can. Amen.

These short passages from the King James Version can be said from memory, as they stand or as the start of a prayer.

• “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
• “I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)
• “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
• “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10)
• “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
• “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

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