When you are having suicidal thoughts, you need help quickly. This suicidal thoughts prayer will help you ask for guidance on who can help you right away.

Suicidal Thoughts Prayer

God, I’m in so much pain that life feels unbearable and I think about suicide.  You’ve put this prayer in front of me.   Are you trying to say something?   

Yes.  TELL SOMEONE YOU NEED HELP.  RIGHT NOW! 

My words says, “Seek and you will find.” (Matt 7:7)  Keep on asking until you find the ones I have sent.  I have many helpers for you: friends, family, mental healthcare professionals, spiritual leaders, suicide hotlines 800-273-8255, emergency workers, doctors. 

I am giving you this promise to help you: Be bold and courageous in seeking help. Do not be afraid.  I will go with you.  (Joshua 1:9)  I love you.  You are precious in my sight. 

After Praying this prayer:

Seek immediate help for suicidal thoughts.  It’s a matter of life and death.

Don’t try to handle suicidal thoughts alone.  Seek help right away.  Call 800-273-8255.  You can also go to their website Help Yourself : Lifeline (suicidepreventionlifeline.org)  You can talk confidentially to someone.  They have info on finding a therapist, building a support network and making a safety plan. 

Use the resources God has provided – hotlines, friends, family, mental health workers, ministers, physicians and emergency workers.

Once you’ve gotten immediate help, here are some things that will make a huge difference.

Remember that suicide deaths are preventable. 

Ask someone help you survive the intensity of your darkest moment.  The most important thing is to do whatever it takes to keep from acting on your suicidal thoughts and impulses.      

Make use of the different methods of recovery.

After you have survived your darkest moment, there are many things that can lead you out of your darkness and pain.  Here’s a sample list.

Psychiatric care, including in-patient, out-patient and counseling

Group therapy

Medical care

Medications specific to your needs

Wellness strategies that give you coping tools, such as how to counteract negative thoughts, recognizing your emotional triggers etc.  

Making a self-care plan for wellness that includes a list of things you enjoy doing

Claiming God’s promises of love and help from the Bible

Create and use your personal support network

There are people who care about you and want to help.  Among your family, friends and faith connections are people who will be there for you.  Let them do things like take you to appointments, listen to you when you need to talk, hug you, fix your favorite food, take you somewhere for a short outing, or even help you get out of bed.   

If you don’t think you know supportive people, ask your doctor, mental healthcare provider or faith connections to direct you to a support group of people who will understand what you’re going through. 

Pets and animals can be a great comfort, too.  They accept you as you . Some are specifically trained as therapy or emotional support animals.   There are even programs that use riding horses to regain emotional well-being.    

Don’t worry that you don’t feel like you have faith.  Let others to pray for you.

If you can’t feel God’s presence right now it’s not because he’s not there.  And it’s not because he doesn’t care about you.

If you’ve tried praying and you feel nothing, it’s because you can’t feel anything good right now.  Suicidal thoughts thrive during depression, pain, trauma, isolation and negative thoughts.  Any one of these things can make it impossible to feel connected to anything good.          

Find someone you know who currently is connected to God.  Ask them to pray for you.  Let them feel and believe for you until the time when you can feel and believe again for yourself.

Asking someone to pray for you is an act of faith, showing that you believe God can help. 

Counteract suicidal thoughts by claiming God’s truth and promises

Repeat truth in your mind.  Here are some Bible verses to claim for yourself. 

For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life.  Psalm 56:13 NIV

When I sought the Lord he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.  Psalm 34:4 NIV

You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.  Psalm. 18:28 NIV

You can find more Bible truths to claim are at the end of this article. 

Educate yourself about suicidal thoughts

Mental health professionals and groups can help you know more about suicidal thoughts.  The more you know, the better you can overcome them.  Here are some key facts to know: 

Suicide is completely preventable if you seek help.

Suicide hotlines are manned 24/7 by volunteers you can talk to.  800-273-8255

You can call 911 if you feel like you’re about to hurt yourself.

Someone else can call 911 for you and ask EMS to take you to an emergency room for mental health help.     

Suicidal thoughts can be a reaction to stressful life situations like grief, failure, break ups, serious illness, abuse and bullying.  Getting help with these will give you back your will to live.

Suicidal thoughts can be caused by treatable mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Suicidal thoughts can be caused by prescription medicines, illegal drugs or alcohol.

Suicidal thoughts often lead to suicide when there is access to guns or other lethal means.

Suicidal thoughts can be caused by family history or exposure to suicide in your friend network.

Suicidal thoughts get worse if you isolate yourself and ask people to leave you alone.    

Suicidal thoughts are extremely dangerous when you decide on a means and start getting the things you need to carry things through, like stockpiling pills.

To identify suicidal thoughts, listen to your self-talk or the things you say to others like, “I wish I was dead.”  “I’m worthless.”   

Your risk of following through on suicidal thoughts increases if you have made a previous attempt. 

Suicidal thoughts are more dangerous the younger you are because you don’t have enough life experience and perspective.  Older people know that there are a lot of things that are terrible but are temporary and you will get over them.     

Suicidal thoughts can cause you to behave in dangerous, harmful and reckless ways. 

Suicidal thoughts are worsened by mood swings and highs and lows.

Suicidal thoughts increase when you obsess over death and violence.

Others understand: learn from the experiences of others have had with suicidal thoughts. 

Here are some lessons from people who have been in your shoes.

Someone who acted on suicidal thoughts and would never do it again

I was in a group once where someone who had attempted suicide told about their experiences.  This person suffered periods of severe depression due to a mental health condition.  They tried overdosing on pills.  But after taking the pills, they panicked and decided they didn’t want to die. 

Many suicide survivors suddenly realize that they really don’t want to die after they’ve set things in motion.  This person felt the dread of death closing in on them and called 911.  They were rushed to the hospital.  Their stomach was pumped and the doctor told them they had almost died. 

This person let us know how dreadful, scary and traumatic it was to feel themselves dying.   They didn’t know they really wanted to live until they were already dying. 

Afterwards the person saw how awful it had been for their family.  Their family had been through grief and agony.  The person never wanted to cause their family this kind of suffering again. 

Through the help of mental health professionals and support groups this person began to recover mentally and emotionally.  Their family was very supportive and this person realized not only that their family really cared about them but that this person also really cared about their family.  This person continued to work hard at their wellness because of their resolve never to again attempt suicide because it was such an awful experience for everyone.       

Someone who had suicidal thoughts as a result of prescription medication side effects

I knew a medical professional who has suffered from a lifelong chronic illness that caused constant physical pain.  When trying a new prescription medication, they noticed themselves thinking about suicide whenever their pain was bad.  At first they felt guilty, ashamed and scared about these thoughts. 

Finally they realized this wasn’t how they normally reacted.  They remembered many times in life when God had helped them get over tough times like divorce and serious operations.  

They looked up the side effects of the new medication and saw a warning that some people experienced new or worsening thoughts of suicide as a side effect of the medication.  They called their doctor and the doctor instructed them how to safely stop the medication.   Once the medication was out of their system, the suicidal thoughts stopped.   

They were still experiencing chronic pain so they found a great pain doctor, started aqua therapy and went back to enjoying creative pursuits like writing and doing craft projects.        

Someone who experienced automatic negative thoughts of suicide.

Someone I knew told me about their experience with automatic negative thoughts.  This person had gotten through periods of depression and mental health challenges in the past, but even after they were fairly stable, the automatic negative thoughts crept back in.  As an example, thoughts of suicide would come into their head when they were lying in bed at night. 

Automatic negative thoughts are also called ANTs.  The thoughts in this person’s head said things like “It’s all your fault.”  “You mess everything up.”  “You’re worthless.”  “You’re better off dead.”

Such thoughts are irrational, self- defeating and untrue.  But the longer they work on you, they more they sound true.   And once you start thinking about suicide, it’s always in your subconscious mind trying to come out in your thoughts even when you’re in a triggering hopeless emotional state that causes people to seriously contemplate suicide.        

This person went to therapy to learn how to question and counteract automatic negative thoughts.  They learned to answer their automatic negative thoughts by saying to themselves, “No, I want to live because I have things to look forward to.”  The person then listed things like seeing their baby niece grow up and seeing family members get married.    

This person also told me that another thing that stuck with them was that someone told them that suicide was permanent and there was no coming back.  We all know this fact, but this person told me that at the time you’re thinking about suicide, it seems like a solution to end pain and you don’t think about the rest of everything else it ends.  It’s not a video game where you “die” and then you reset the game and get another “life.” 

More Bible promise to hold onto and claim

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.  (Psalm 103:2-5 NIV)

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.  Psalm 9:10

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?  How long will my enemy triumph over me?  Look on me and answer, O lord my God.  Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, “I have overcome him, and my foes will rejoice when I fall.  But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.  Psalm 13:2-6

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.  Psalm 23:4

Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.  Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.  I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  Psalm 27:11-14

To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy; What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down to the pit?  Will the dust praise you?  Will it proclaim your faithfulness?  Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.  Psalm 30:8-10

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.   Psalm 40:1,2

Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:5

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me.  My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught…My heart is in anguish withing me; the terrors of death assail me…But I call to God and the Lord saves me.  Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress and he hears my voice…Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.  Psalm 55:1,2,4,16,17,22

More helpful articles

Losing Hope Prayer: Restoring Lost Hope through Personal Prayer – Prayer Ideas

Depression Healing Prayer – Prayer Ideas

God Heal Me Prayer Personal Healing Prayer – Prayer Ideas

Anxiety Calming Prayer – Prayer Ideas

Things Are Out of Control Prayer Using Psalm 146 – Prayer Ideas

Angry at God Prayer When Bad Things Happen – Prayer Ideas

Copyright Karen Barber 2022. All rights reserved.