5 Things to Pray When You’re Doubting

“It seems to me that doubt is worse than trial. I had sooner suffer any affliction than be left to question the gospel or my own interest in it.” – Charles Spurgeon

Perhaps you’d be inclined to agree with Spurgeon on that one. Few things are as miserable as going through the motions while quietly wondering whether any of it means anything. It’s one of those things that we don’t tend to talk about much as Christians. Yet Jude tells us to “be merciful to those who doubt” (v 22)—clearly there’s an expectation of gentle engagement with those who are suffering from this particular spiritual ailment.

At the same time, doubts are not morally neutral. That means that they shouldn’t be cuddled or accommodated, or left in the corner in the hope that they’ll go away—they need to be contended against. And one of our most powerful weapons in the fight for faith is prayer.

On one level, this seems counter-intuitive. But a spiritual sickness needs a spiritual weapon—it cannot be defeated by logic alone.

But how do you pray when it’s the last thing in the world that you want to do? What do you say to the God that you’re not sure is there? To give you a hand, are five things to pray when doubt sets in, all based on 1 John 5 v 9-15 and taken from Five Things to Pray for Your Heart. Bookmark them or print them out, and use them to pray for yourself, or for someone else, next time doubt sets in.

1. Trust your testimony

“We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son” (v 9).

Thank God that he has given us the testimony of his word in the Bible and his Spirit in our hearts. Say sorry to God for doubting it, and ask him to help you to trust his testimony above all “human testimony”.

2. Keep it simple

“Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony … And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (v 10-11).

We might have lots of unanswered questions, but the only thing that ultimately matters is what we think of Jesus: that we believe that eternal life is found in him, the Son of God. Talk to God honestly about what you think of Jesus—tell him now what you believe.

3. Rejoice in eternal life

“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (v 12).

Maybe you sometimes daydream about what life would look like if you gave up on Christianity. But that life would be no life at all. Ask God to give you a real, deep sense of joy in the eternal life he has given you.

4. Listen to you

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (v 13).

Thank God that he wants us to be certain, and he caused the Bible to be written so that we can be. Ask for discipline to keep reading it on your own and meeting with others to hear it taught, however you’re feeling. Pray that as you hear God’s word, he would grow your assurance that in Christ you have eternal life.

5. Speak to you

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (v 14).

Sometimes praying is the last thing we want to do—but take heart; God hears you. Ask God to keep you making the effort to speak to him in prayer—and pray that as you do so, he would increase your confidence that he hears you.

Find help to pray through many of life’s joys and trials in Rachel Jones’ new book: Five Things to Pray for Your Heart: Prayers that Change You to be More Like Jesus. Available now.