27 Bible Verses about Prayer, Doubts About

Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm and oppression to this people? Why did You ever send me? [I cannot understand Your purpose!] Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed and oppressed this people, and You have done nothing at all to rescue Your people.”

Abram said, “Lord God, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?” And Abram continued, “Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir.”

Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why have You brought this people across the Jordan at all, only to hand us over to the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to live beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that [the army of] Israel has turned back [in retreat and fled] before their enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear about it, and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name [to keep it from dishonor]?”

So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have placed the burden of all these people on me? Was it I who conceived all these people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms as a nurse carries the nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, so that we may eat.’ read more.
I am not able to carry all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. So if this is the way You are going to deal with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

But he himself traveled a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked [God] that he might die. He said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

O Lord, You know and understand;
Remember me [thoughtfully], take notice of me,
take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that for Your sake I endure [continual] rebuke and dishonor.

Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.

I did not sit with the group of those who celebrate,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because Your [powerful] hand was upon me,
For You had filled me with indignation [at their sin].
read more.

Why has my pain been perpetual
And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will you indeed be to me like a deceptive brook
With water that is unreliable?

[Jeremiah said,] O Lord, You have persuaded me and I was deceived;
You are stronger than I and You have prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all day long;
Everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I must shout out;
I shout violence and destruction,
Because the word of the Lord has become to me
A reprimand and a mockery and has brought me insult all day long.

If I say, “I will not remember Him
Or speak His name anymore,”
Then my heart becomes a burning fire
Shut up in my bones.
And I am weary of enduring and holding it in;
I cannot endure it [nor contain it any longer].

But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I ran to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness, and [when sinners turn to You] You revoke the [sentence of] disaster [against them]. Therefore now, O Lord, just take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud [agonized] voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!
Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

‘Does it indeed seem right to You to oppress,
To despise and reject the work of Your hands,
And to look with favor on the schemes of the wicked?

‘Do You have eyes of flesh?
Do You see as a man sees?
read more.

‘Are Your days as the days of a mortal,
Are Your years as man’s years,

That You seek my guilt
And search for my sin?

‘Although You know that I am not guilty or wicked,
Yet there is no one who can rescue me from Your hand.
‘Your hands have formed and made me altogether.
Would You [turn around and] destroy me?

‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
So will You turn me into dust again?

‘Have You not poured me out like milk
And curdled me like cheese?

‘[You have] clothed me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews.

‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness;
And Your providence (divine care, supervision) has preserved my spirit.

‘Yet these [present evils] You have hidden in Your heart [since my creation]:
I know that this was within You [in Your purpose and thought].

‘If I sin, then You would take note and observe me,
And You would not acquit me of my guilt.

‘If I am wicked, woe to me [for judgment comes]!
And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
For I am sated and filled with disgrace and the sight of my misery.

‘Should I lift my head up, You would hunt me like a lion;
And again You would show Your marvelous power against me.

‘You renew Your witnesses against me
And increase Your indignation and anger toward me;
Hardship after hardship is with me [attacking me time after time].
‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
Would that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

‘I should have been as though I had not existed;
[I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.’

“Would He not let my few days alone,
Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer

Before I go—and I shall not return—
To the land of darkness and the deep shadow [of death],

The [sunless] land of utter gloom as darkness itself,
[The land] of the shadow of death, without order,
And [where] it shines as [thick] darkness.”

“Only [O Lord,] do not do two things to me,
And then I will not hide myself from Your face:

Withdraw Your hand from me and remove this bodily suffering,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.

“Then [Lord,] call, and I will answer;
Or let me speak, and then reply to me.
read more.

“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?
Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.

“Why do You hide Your face [as if offended]
And consider me Your enemy?

“Will You cause a windblown leaf to tremble?
Will You pursue the chaff of the dry stubble?

“For You write bitter things against me [in Your indictment]
And make me inherit and suffer for the iniquities of my youth.

“You also put my feet in the stocks [as punishment]
And [critically] observe all my paths;
You set a circle and limit around the soles of my feet [which I must not overstep],

“Man, who is born of a woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

“Like a flower he comes forth and withers;
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

“You also open Your eyes upon him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.
read more.

“Who can make a clean thing out of the unclean?
No one!

“Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You [in Your control],
And You have made his limits so he cannot pass [his allotted time].

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.
“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

“Though its roots grow old in the earth
And its stump dies in the dry soil,

Yet at the scent of water [the stump of the tree] will flourish
And bring forth sprigs and shoots like a seedling.

“But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie face down;
Man breathes his last, and where is he?

“As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river drains and dries up,

So man lies down and does not rise [again].
Until the heavens are no longer,
The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.
“Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would set a definite time and then remember me [and in Your lovingkindness imprint me on your heart]!

“If a man dies, will he live again?
I will wait all the days of my struggle
Until my change and release will come.

“[Then] You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for [me] the work of Your hands.

“But now You number [each of] my steps;
You do not observe nor take note of my sin.

“My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my wickedness [from Your view].
“But as a mountain, if it falls, crumbles into nothing,
And as the rock is moved from its place,

Water wears away the stones,
Its floods and torrents wash away the soil of the earth,
So You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.

“You prevail forever against him and overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away [from the presence of the living].

“His sons achieve honor, and he does not know it;
They become insignificant, and he is not aware of it.

“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

As a crushing of my bones [with a sword], my adversaries taunt me,
While they say continually to me, “Where is your God?”

But for Your sake we are killed all the day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord?
Awaken, do not reject us forever.

Why do You hide Your face
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
read more.

For our life has melted away into the dust;
Our body clings to the ground.

Rise up! Come be our help,
And ransom us for the sake of Your steadfast love.

Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?

Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Have His promises ended for all time?

Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.

O Lord God of hosts,
How long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people?

You have fed them the bread of tears,
And You have made them drink [bitter] tears in abundance.

You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh [at our suffering] among themselves.

You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In dark places, in the depths.

Your wrath has rested heavily upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah.

You have put my friends far from me;
You have made me an object of loathing to them.
I am shut up and I cannot go out.
read more.

My eye grows dim with sorrow.
O Lord, I have called on You every day;
I have spread out my hands to You [in prayer].

O Lord, how long will I call for help
And You will not hear?
I cry out to You, “Violence!”
Yet You do not save.

Why do You make me see iniquity,
And cause me to look on wickedness?
For destruction and violence are before me;
Strife continues and contention arises.

Abram said, “Lord God, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?” And Abram continued, “Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man [Eliezer] will not be your heir but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir.” read more.
And the Lord brought Abram outside [his tent into the night] and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So [numerous] shall your descendants be.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will [not only] let them go, but under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.” Then God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Israel) as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by My name, Lord, I did not make Myself known to them [in acts and great miracles]. read more.
I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as strangers (temporary residents, foreigners). And I have also heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians have enslaved, and I have [faithfully] remembered My covenant [with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]. Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage. I will redeem and rescue you with an outstretched (vigorous, powerful) arm and with great acts of judgment [against Egypt]. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who redeemed you and brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel); and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord [you have the promise of My changeless omnipotence and faithfulness].’”

Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets [of Baal] with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.” And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life, and he came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. read more.
But he himself traveled a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked [God] that he might die. He said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” He lay down and slept under the juniper tree, and behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and by his head there was a bread cake baked on hot coal, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Get up, and eat, for the journey is too long for you [without adequate sustenance].” So he got up and ate and drank, and with the strength of that food he traveled forty days and nights to Horeb (Sinai), the mountain of God.

Then the Lord said to Job,
“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Let him who disputes with God answer it.” Then Job replied to the Lord and said,read more.

“Behold, I am of little importance and contemptible; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.

“I have spoken once, but I will not reply again—
Indeed, twice [I have answered], and I will add nothing further.” Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, saying,
“Now gird up your loins (prepare yourself) like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me.

“Will you really annul My judgment and set it aside as void?
Will you condemn Me [your God] that you may [appear to] be righteous and justified?

“Have you an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?

Therefore, thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah],
“If you repent [and give up this mistaken attitude of despair and self-pity], then I will restore you [to a state of inner peace]
So that you may stand before Me [as My obedient representative];
And if you separate the precious from the worthless [examining yourself and cleansing your heart from unwarranted doubt concerning My faithfulness],
You will become My spokesman.
Let the people turn to you [and learn to value My values]—
But you, you must not turn to them [with regard for their idolatry and wickedness].

“And I will make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
They will fight against you,
But they will not prevail over you,
For I am with you [always] to save you
And protect you,” says the Lord.

“So I will rescue you out of the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the [grasping] palm of the terrible and ruthless [tyrant].”

[The Lord replied,] “Look among the nations! See!
Be astonished! Wonder!
For I am doing something in your days—
You would not believe it if you were told.

“For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans [who rule in Babylon],
That fierce and impetuous nation
Who march throughout the earth
To take possession of dwelling places that do not belong to them.

“The Chaldeans are dreaded and feared;
Their justice and authority originate with themselves and are defined only by their decree.
read more.

“Their horses are swifter than leopards
And keener than [hungry] wolves in the evening,
Their horsemen come galloping,
Their horsemen come from far away;
They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.

“They all come for violence;
Their horde of faces moves [eagerly] forward,
They gather prisoners like sand.

“They make fun of kings
And rulers are a laughing matter to them.
They ridicule every stronghold
And heap up rubble [for earth mounds] and capture it.

“Then they will sweep by like the wind and pass on.
But they will be held guilty,
They [and all men] whose own power and strength is their god.”