Strength & Courage

He Gives You Wings

Isaiah 40:31

God spoke this through the prophet Isaiah to His weary people, in the chapter that opens with comfort for Jerusalem (Isaiah 40:28-31).

Lord, I have nothing left; every step is more than I can give. But I wait on You. Trade my exhaustion for Your strength — lift me up as on eagles' wings. Let me rise, and run, and not grow weary, because You are the one who carries me. Amen.

God spoke this through the prophet Isaiah to His weary people, in the chapter that opens with comfort for Jerusalem (Isaiah 40:28-31).

The Scripture

“But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.”
— Isaiah 40:31

Prayer points from Isaiah 40:31

Thank God that He never grows tired or weary, and that He gives strength to the weak.
Tell Him honestly that you have nothing left, and name the place where your strength has run out.
Ask for the patience to wait on Him instead of pushing through on willpower alone.
Ask Him to renew your strength for the specific day ahead, whether you need to soar, to run or simply to walk.
Confess where you have trusted your own stamina, and ask to lean on His strength instead.
Pray by name for someone who is exhausted, a caregiver, a parent or a friend, that God would renew their strength.

About this verse

Isaiah 40 opens with words of comfort spoken to Israel during the despair of exile — a people who felt abandoned, worn down, and forgotten by God. The prophet answers their exhaustion not with a pep talk but with a picture of God's sheer scale: He measures the oceans in His palm and calls the stars by name, yet stoops to renew the strength of the weary. The promise is specific and physical — rising like an eagle riding a thermal without flapping, running without collapsing, walking without giving out. The condition is simply to wait on Him rather than push through on empty. This is a prayer for the point of true depletion, when willpower alone has stopped working.

When to pray this prayer

When you're running on empty after weeks of no real rest
During caregiver burnout when you have nothing left to give
Before a demanding day you're not sure you have the energy for
In a long season of grinding through work with no relief in sight
When exhaustion has turned into discouragement or despair
Any time you need to stop striving and simply wait on God to renew you

More prayers for strength & courage

Did this help you pray today?

Stay a little longer with Scripture

Watch the Bible word for word, or rest with a painting of Jesus, piece by piece.

Bible MoviesWhole Bible chapters as films, word for word→

Bible JigsawPaintings of Jesus to piece together, each with a verse→

No app? Watch a chapter here · Play a jigsaw here

More prayers for Strength & Courage → The whole prayer library

✶ · Our Bible Moments