Don't Know What to Pray? Start Here
October 26, 2026
You sit down to pray at the end of the day, and nothing comes. Not rebellion. Not doubt, exactly. Just blank. Your head is somehow full and empty at the same time, and after a minute of silence you say amen to a prayer you never actually prayed, and feel a bit guilty about it.
If that is you, you are not doing prayer wrong. Paul described your exact evening, in almost your exact words:
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26, King James Version
Read it again slowly. We know not what we should pray for. Paul does not treat that as a spiritual failure. He treats it as the normal condition of people praying, and he says the Spirit of God steps into the gap and prays what we cannot. A blank mind is not a failed prayer. Most nights, it is simply where prayer starts.
Borrow words until your own arrive
There is no rule that says a prayer only counts if you composed it on the spot. The Psalms are a prayer book that God gave his people precisely so that no one has to invent words in the dark. Believers have prayed borrowed words for thousands of years, and Jesus himself prayed Psalm 22 out loud from the cross. A borrowed prayer, said honestly, is a real prayer.
So tonight, you are allowed to borrow. Tonight’s psalm is waiting on this page, chosen for this evening. Read it slowly, and where its words match your life, say them back as your own.
Six small steps when the words will not come
If you want a path to walk instead of a blank page to face, walk these six steps, one at a time. Each step gives you a verse, one plain prompt, and a line you can pray exactly as written, filling in the blank with your own life tonight.
1. Be still
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10
You do not need the right words to start. Sit quiet for a few slow breaths. God is already near, and he is glad you came.
Lord, I am here. That is all I have so far, and I am bringing it to you.
2. Thank him for today
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
Psalm 103:2
Look back over today and find one good thing, however small: a meal, a kindness, a moment that went right. Name it, and thank God for it out loud.
Thank you, Lord, for ___ today. I almost missed it, but it was from you.
3. Confess and let go
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”
Psalm 139:23
Ask God to bring one thing to mind: a sharp word, a missed kindness, a wrong you keep replaying. Name it plainly. He already knows, and he is kind about it.
Forgive me for ___, Lord. I am handing it to you instead of carrying it into the night.
4. Set down your worries
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee.”
Psalm 55:22
Name each worry one at a time, the way you would set down heavy bags at the door. Money, health, people you love, the thing you cannot fix. You were not made to sleep holding them.
Lord, I am setting down ___ tonight. Please carry it while I rest.
5. Pray for someone
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2
Bring one person to God by name. If you do not know what they need, that is fine. Just hold their name up to him and ask him to be near them.
Lord, please look after ___ tonight. You know what they need better than I do.
6. Rest
“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.”
Psalm 4:8
The day is finished, and so are you. Whatever is still undone, God can hold it until morning. He does not sleep, so you can.
Into your hands I leave this day, Lord, and everyone in it. Amen.
Or start with this prayer
If even the steps feel like too much tonight, borrow this whole prayer and change any line that does not fit:
Lord, I do not know what to pray tonight, so I am starting with thank you. Thank you for getting me through today, for the people in it, and for staying awake when I am worn out. Here is what is on my heart, even if I cannot say it well: the people I love, the things I am worried about, and the things I got wrong today. Please look after all of it while I sleep. I trust you with the night. Amen.
Tomorrow night might feel exactly the same, and that is fine. Prayer was never about having impressive words. It is about showing up, honestly, in front of a God who is glad you came. The words can be borrowed. The showing up is yours.
Just want a prayer for tonight? Tonight’s psalm and a short prayer are waiting on one quiet page. A prayer for tonight.
The words, with you at prayer time
Everything in this article lives in the free Scroll and Pray app, in a Pray tool made for the moment your mind goes blank: six guided steps, words to borrow, and a psalm for tonight. No account, works offline.
Open the app