When You Feel Far from God: Faith, Depression, and the Silence in Between

Trusting in God

May 20

There are seasons in life when we don’t feel God’s presence, when the prayers feel empty, worship feels hollow, and His Word seems quiet.

If you’ve ever sat in church feeling like an outsider in your own faith, or cried in bed asking God, “Where are You?”, this post is for you.

You’re not broken.
You’re not less saved.
You’re not alone.

Let’s talk about the intersection of faith and mental health, and how spiritual doubt is not the end, it’s often the beginning of deeper healing.

“Why Can’t I Feel God?”

One of the heaviest lies that anxiety and depression whisper is:
"You’re too far gone for God to reach you.”

In reality, the silence you feel may not be God’s absence, it may be the fog of mental illness distorting your perception of Him.

Depression can:

Mute your emotions
Make joy feel impossible
Numb your spiritual senses

Anxiety can:

Make you question if you’re enough
Fill you with guilt for not “trusting God” more
Trigger shame for needing therapy or medication

But hear me clearly: Needing help doesn’t mean you lack faith.

When Prayers Feel Weak & Worship Feels Far

There was a time I stopped praying, not because I didn’t believe, but because I didn’t have the strength to.

And still, God held me.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18

God doesn’t withdraw when you’re down.
He’s not waiting for you to “get over it.”
He sits in the silence with you.

Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a breath, cry out honestly, and simply whisper, “Jesus, help me.”

Faith & Mental Health Can Coexist

You can love Jesus and take medication.
You can believe in the power of prayer and see a therapist.
You can trust God and still struggle.

This doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human. And Jesus was drawn to the real, the raw, the hurting.

What to Do When You Feel Spiritually Disconnected

Here are gentle ways to reconnect with God during mental health struggles:

Trade performance for presence.
You don’t have to “feel” spiritual to be loved by God.
Use breath prayers.
Inhale: “You are with me.”
Exhale: “Even in this.”
Surround yourself with grace-filled people.
Find a community that doesn’t shame mental health battles.
Read Scripture or Listen to Scripture-based audio (like YouVersion).
Let the Word wash over you, even when reading feels hard.
Talk to a Christian therapist or counselor.
Healing can be spiritual and clinical. God works through both.

Sis, you are not your symptoms.
Your mental illness is not your identity.
And your spiritual doubts do not disqualify your faith.

God sees you. He loves you. And He’s still in this with you.

Even when you can’t feel Him, He’s never stopped being near.

Sis, let’s heal together.

If this post spoke to you, there’s more where that came from.
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