Psalm 46 was likely written while Jerusalem stood under real, immediate threat, mountains seeming to fall into the sea, nations in uproar, kingdoms tottering. The psalmist didn’t write around the danger or pretend it wasn’t happening. Instead, right in the middle of it, he wrote God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
These thirty verses are for the kind of trouble that feels bigger than your own household, unstable news, shaking institutions, a world that seems to be coming apart at the edges. If it’s a personal crisis rather than a wider one pressing on you, our post on prayer for hardship speaks more directly to that.
Read these when the news itself feels like the problem, and let “be still” mean an actual pause, not just a phrase you skim past.
Prayer for Troubled Times
1. Psalm 46:1-2 (NIV)
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way.”
Prayer: Be my refuge specifically today, not a distant idea of safety.
Let “ever-present” mean exactly that, even when the trouble feels unprecedented.
Give me courage that doesn’t require the ground to stop shaking first.
2. Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
“He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'”
Prayer: Help me actually be still, not just quiet on the outside while panicking within.
Remind me you are still God over nations, not only over my personal circumstances.
Let this stillness be where I know you, not just where I wait things out.
3. Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress.'”
Prayer: Let me dwell here, not just visit for a moment of comfort.
Give me rest in your shadow while everything else stays unsettled.
Remind me a fortress holds even when what’s outside it doesn’t.
4. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.”
Prayer: Let your presence be enough reason not to fear, even without other answers.
Strengthen me for whatever specifically is unsettling me today.
Remind me dismay isn’t the only option available to me right now.
5. John 14:27 (NIV)
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives… Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Prayer: Give me your kind of peace, not the world’s fragile, circumstance-dependent version.
Keep my heart from troubling itself over things I can’t control.
Remind me this peace was left for me, not something I have to manufacture.
6. Psalm 27:1 (NIV)
“The LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”
Prayer: Let this question actually challenge my fear, not just soothe it briefly.
Give me light for whatever feels dark and unclear right now.
Remind me a stronghold protects the whole of my life, not just parts of it.
7. Psalm 34:17-18 (NIV)
“The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted.”
Prayer: Let my cry actually reach you, not just echo unanswered.
Be close to me specifically if my heart is breaking over what’s happening.
Remind me deliverance from trouble is a real promise, not wishful thinking.
8. Nahum 1:7 (NIV)
“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”
Prayer: Let me trust you specifically in this trouble, not just in easier seasons.
Remind me your goodness and this trouble aren’t contradictions.
Give me the kind of care that feels personal, not distant or generic.
9. 2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV)
“We have no power to face this vast army… We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Prayer: Let me admit honestly that I don’t know what to do here.
Keep my eyes on you instead of fixed only on the size of the problem.
Remind me not knowing what to do isn’t the same as being without hope.
10. Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Prayer: Let me lift my eyes higher than the headlines today.
Remind me help comes from the Maker of everything, not from any single fragile system.
Give me the clarity this psalm has about where help actually originates.
11. Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
“neither death nor life… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.”
Prayer: Let this cover whatever specifically is troubling the world right now.
Remind me nothing in this list of troubles is bigger than your love.
Give me security that doesn’t rise and fall with the news cycle.
12. Isaiah 43:2 (NIV)
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.”
Prayer: Walk with me through whatever this specific water or fire turns out to be.
Remind me passing through implies an other side, not endless drowning.
Give me the confidence that you won’t be burned means I won’t be either.
13. Psalm 112:7 (NIV)
“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.”
Prayer: Steady my heart before the next headline, not after it’s already unsettled me.
Give me trust solid enough to absorb bad news without collapsing.
Remind me this steadfastness is a promise, not just personality.
14. Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV)
“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.”
Prayer: Let me wait in real hope, not passive resignation.
Give me a shield for whatever feels exposed about this moment.
Remind me rejoicing and waiting can happen at the same time.
15. 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Prayer: Let me actually cast this anxiety instead of just naming it and keeping it.
Remind me you care personally, not just about humanity in the abstract.
Give me the relief of setting this weight down, even briefly.
16. Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NIV)
“Though the fig tree does not bud… yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”
Prayer: Let me choose joy in you even while circumstances stay exactly as troubled.
Remind me this rejoicing isn’t dependent on outcomes improving first.
Give me Habakkuk’s stubbornness, not passive despair.
17. Psalm 62:5-6 (NIV)
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation.”
Prayer: Let my soul actually rest, not just my body while my mind keeps working.
Remind me hope has a source, and it isn’t the news.
Give me a rock steady enough for genuinely troubled ground.
18. Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
“Be strong and courageous… for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Prayer: Give me courage that isn’t dependent on feeling brave first.
Remind me you go with me into this, not just observe from a distance.
Let “never leave” cover this specific troubled season, not just the easy ones.
19. Psalm 55:22 (NIV)
“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”
Prayer: Let me cast this care instead of carrying it in silence.
Sustain me through what feels genuinely unstable right now.
Remind me being shaken and being sustained aren’t mutually exclusive here.
20. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Prayer: Steady my mind before it spirals through worst-case scenarios.
Give me perfect peace, not the partial, anxious version I default to.
Remind me trust is the hinge this peace swings on.
21. Matthew 8:26 (NIV)
“He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.”
Prayer: Speak into whatever storm this troubled time actually is.
Remind me you’re not asleep in the boat, even when it feels that way.
Give me the disciples’ honesty in waking you up and asking for help.
22. Psalm 46:7 (NIV)
“The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Prayer: Let “Almighty” reassure me more than any headline unsettles me.
Remind me the God of Jacob has handled generations of trouble already.
Give me fortress-level security in an otherwise uncertain moment.
23. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Prayer: Let me trust this even when the present doesn’t look like prosperity.
Remind me your plans outlast any single troubled season.
Give me hope for a future I can’t currently see clearly.
24. Psalm 3:3 (NIV)
“But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head.”
Prayer: Lift my head when discouragement makes it hard to look up.
Be a shield around me, not just a comfort after the fact.
Remind me glory and troubled circumstances can coexist.
25. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
“Do not be anxious about anything… the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.”
Prayer: Guard my mind specifically against anxious spirals today.
Give me peace that doesn’t need to make logical sense to be real.
Remind me this is a guard, active protection, not just a passive feeling.
26. Psalm 121:7-8 (NIV)
“The LORD will keep you from all harm, he will watch over your life… both now and forevermore.”
Prayer: Watch over my life specifically through this troubled stretch.
Remind me “now and forevermore” includes this exact moment.
Give me confidence in your watching even when I can’t see the outcome.
27. Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)
“my unfailing love for you will not be shaken… nor my covenant of peace be removed.”
Prayer: Let your unfailing love be the one thing that doesn’t shake in troubled times.
Remind me your covenant holds even when everything around it wobbles.
Give me peace rooted in that permanence, not in current events.
28. Psalm 46:11 (NIV)
“The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Prayer: Let this closing line land differently than it did the first time I read it today.
Remind me repetition in scripture isn’t accidental, it’s for people who need to hear it twice.
Give me a fortress mindset heading into tomorrow, not just today.
29. Romans 15:13 (NIV)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope.”
Prayer: Fill me with hope that overflows rather than barely survives.
Give me joy and peace together, not one without the other.
Remind me this filling depends on trust, which I can choose today.
30. Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.”
Prayer: Let this future promise steady me in a genuinely troubled present.
Remind me this troubled time isn’t the final word, however loud it feels.
Give me patience to wait for what’s promised without giving up on today.
Conclusion
The psalmist who wrote God is our refuge and strength wasn’t looking back on danger safely resolved. He was standing in the middle of it, mountains shaking, nations in uproar, and choosing to name God as refuge anyway.
Pick one line from this list and repeat it slowly the next time the news makes your chest tighten, instead of reaching for your phone again. If it’s the wider fear and uncertainty of the moment weighing on you rather than one specific crisis, our post on prayer for fear and uncertainty continues in the same direction.
And when the trouble settles into something more personal than global, prayer for uncertain times and prayer for peace both meet you closer to home.