Prayer as a Coping Skill: Finding Comfort, Meaning, and Emotional Support
Prayer can be a helpful coping skill for people who find comfort, meaning, connection, guidance, surrender, or strength through spirituality or religion. Prayer may involve speaking to God, a higher power, ancestors, the universe, or one’s deepest sense of wisdom. It may also be quiet, wordless, ritual-based, contemplative, or communal. For some people, prayer is a way of asking for help. For others, it is a way of being honest, grieving, releasing control, remembering values, or feeling less alone.
Peer-reviewed research on religiously and spiritually integrated mental health interventions suggest that incorporating a person’s faith or spirituality into care can be helpful when it is consistent with the person’s beliefs and preferences (Anderson et al., 2015; Captari et al., 2018; Gonçalves et al., 2015). Some studies have examined prayer-based or religiously integrated interventions for depression, anxiety, and chronic illness; findings suggest potential benefits for some patients (Boelens et al., 2009; Pearce et al., 2015). The most important clinical point is that prayer should be personally meaningful and never imposed.
As a coping skill, prayer can be used in many ways. You might pray for strength to get through the next moment, courage to take the next step, comfort in grief, patience with uncertainty, help making a decision, or support in releasing what you cannot control. Prayer may also be paired with breathing, journaling, reading sacred texts, listening to music, meditating, walking, lighting a candle, or placing a hand over the heart. The practice does not have to be polished. A simple prayer such as “Help me through this moment” may be enough.
Prayer is not a substitute for safety, medical care, therapy, medication, crisis support, or necessary action. It is also not a measure of worth, goodness, or whether someone is “coping correctly.” If prayer has been connected to shame, fear, spiritual abuse, rejection, or pressure, it may need to be approached carefully or not used at all. The most supportive version of prayer is one that helps you feel more grounded, connected, honest, compassionate, and able to move toward care.
References
Anderson, N., Heywood-Everett, S., Siddiqi, N., Wright, J., Meredith, J., & McMillan, D. (2015). Faith-adapted psychological therapies for depression and anxiety: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 176, 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.01.019
Boelens, P. A., Reeves, R. R., Replogle, W. H., & Koenig, H. G. (2009). A randomized trial of the effect of prayer on depression and anxiety. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 39(4), 377-392. https://doi.org/10.2190/PM.39.4.c
Captari, L. E., Hook, J. N., Hoyt, W., Davis, D. E., McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., & Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2018). Integrating clients’ religion and spirituality within psychotherapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(11), 1938-1951. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22681
Gonçalves, J. P. B., Lucchetti, G., Menezes, P. R., & Vallada, H. (2015). Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. Psychological Medicine, 45(14), 2937-2949. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291715001166
Pearce, M. J., Koenig, H. G., Robins, C. J., Nelson, B., Shaw, S. F., Cohen, H. J., & King, M. B. (2015). Religiously integrated cognitive behavioral therapy: A new method of treatment for major depression in patients with chronic medical illness. Psychotherapy, 52(1), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036448
