You Shall Not Fall

Psalm 40:2

David wrote this in Psalm 40, looking back on a time he waited patiently for the LORD and was lifted out of a pit of despair (Psalm 40:1-3).

Father, I have been sinking in something I cannot climb out of, and every effort only pulls me deeper. Thank You that You reach down — draw me up out of the mire, set my feet on rock, and make my steps secure today. Amen.

David wrote this in Psalm 40, looking back on a time he waited patiently for the LORD and was lifted out of a pit of despair (Psalm 40:1-3).

The Scripture

“He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.”
— Psalm 40:2

Prayer points from Psalm 40:2

Thank God that He lifts people out of pits they cannot climb out of on their own.
Name the mire you have been sinking in, the thing that every effort seems to make worse.
Confess how tired you are of trying to climb, and ask Him to draw you up instead.
Ask Him to set your feet on rock today and to make your next steps firm.
Remember a time He has already lifted you and thank Him for it, then ask again, as David did.
Pray by name for someone stuck in despair right now, that God would reach down to them.

About this verse

Psalm 40 opens with David waiting patiently for the LORD, and with a vivid picture of what he was waiting in: a pit with miry clay at the bottom. In ancient Israel a pit was often a dry cistern dug into rock, and Jeremiah was once lowered into one and sank into the mud. You cannot climb out of a place like that, and struggling only drives you deeper. The psalm is clear about who does the lifting: "He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm." The rescued man does not haul himself up; he is drawn up and set down somewhere solid. Then the psalm does something honest. After the new song of praise, its second half turns back to asking for help, because troubles have surrounded him again. Rescue was real, and he still needed it again. If you are caught in something that every effort only makes worse, this is a prayer to stop climbing and be lifted, as many times as it takes.

When to pray this prayer

When depression feels like sinking and you can't pull yourself out
When you're stuck in an addiction and every attempt to quit has failed
After a relapse, when you're ashamed to ask for help again
When debt keeps growing no matter what you do
When you're waiting on God and nothing seems to be changing
When you need steady footing for just the next step today

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