This prayer can help you when you want to get rid of bad or intrusive thoughts. Remember, this prayer is just a start. Authentic prayer comes from the Spirit speaking to and from your heart.
But first, let’s explain a few things…
Prayer and intrusive thoughts
Do you ever feel like you can’t control your thoughts? This is actually much more common than you might think. Sometimes you might even be shocked by the bad thoughts that come into your head.
Even people who have very strong faith might face similar difficulties. Remember, a fleeting thought, no matter how bad, isn’t something to feel guilty about. It doesn’t mean you have hidden evil inside you. It only means you are human, and sometimes strange thoughts pop into our heads.
Now if you were to act upon those thoughts, then that would be a problem. Or if you willfully desired to think those thoughts, then it might mean something is wrong.
Here’s what typically happens. You might be doing nothing special or even praying, and boom… a horrible thought or image appears in your head. You’re horrified, and it might take a while for the thought to go away. Eventually, your thoughts return to normal, but it might happen again at another time. And you start to feel like something is wrong with you or you feel guilty.
Don’t worry. This is common. We humans are strange and complex creatures. Maybe you are processing something emotionally or spiritually, and the strange thoughts are part of it. Don’t spend too much time trying to figure it out. Instead, let the process take its course. This doesn’t mean you try to think bad thoughts, but you don’t obsess over them either.
Sometimes it helps to focus on a characteristic of God. You might even repeat to yourself things about him, such as:
God is good.
God is merciful.
God is kind.
God is patient.
God forgives.
Repeat these truths over and over again until the moment passes. In most cases, with time, the bad thoughts go away completely on their own. As with all things, prayer and God’s Word help tremendously to bring your mind back under control and into focus.
If you are having an especially hard time breaking out of a thought cycle, you can also try a reality check. You simply open your eyes and look at a neutral object (cup, tree, table, etc.) and name it. You say, “This is a tree.” You can even mentally describe what you are doing, like this, “I am sitting in a chair. I am in my house. It is sunny outside… ” Just describe the reality you are in at the moment.
Now, here’s the prayer…
We all have bad thoughts sometimes. They can even be horrible or overwhelming. The best defense is God’s Word and seeking his presence in prayer. If you trust in the truth of Christ’s resurrection, he is certain to free you. Do not feel guilty about a fleeting thought that you didn’t want to think. Let the Holy Spirit make you strong to resist the lies and attacks of the enemy. Christ’s victory is absolute and eternal.
PRAYER AGAINST BAD THOUGHTS
Dear loving God,
Sometimes I have terrible thoughts that run through my head.
Do you see me, dear Lord? Do you see my struggle?
You are mighty. You are strong, and you love me.
Set me free Lord!
Remove the bad thoughts that torment me.
Cast the enemy out of my mind and my life. Let no attack, deceit or contamination affect me any more.
For I have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.
Your mighty Spirit protects me always.
All victory is yours alone.
Dear loving Lord, clear my mind, bring rest to my heart with the sweet caress of your loving grace.
In Jesus’ holy name,
Amen.
I’ve been dealing with negative thoughts for a long time now and they have only made my mind worse. I fought him and took him down. Now the only thing left are the thoughts. Honestly, finding this prayer made me realize how good God is and to always be with him.
Thank you Keira for your message. You are so right, God is good! Don’t ever give up on Jesus’ love to heal you and free you.
I find reading the Psalms and the Gospels helps me very much. And keep praying. If you can, go to church and worship God with a community of faith. All these things will nourish your spirit.
I am and will be praying for you!
Vincent
I am a teenage boy struggling with weird, horrible and even scary thoughts, typical teenage boy stuff, on top of that I am struggling with OCD and it just makes the thoughts worse and harder to shrug off I think, it would be great if someone could pray for me that God would help me get through my struggles and get over these weird thoughts.
Do not be afraid Jonah! You actually have a pretty clear and healthy perspective about your situation. That’s awesome!
Get closer to the Lord and his Word. Reading the Bible (especially the Psalms and the Gospels) helps me a lot. Also, try to cut down on Internet use, get exercise and connect with people in the real world. Find a church and attend service regularly. That helps a lot too.
God has great plans for you Jonah! Trust in his forgiveness and mercy. And when you make a mistake, let God lift you up and put you back on your feet to keep going. You can do it! Trust that the Lord will help you. Jesus is your guide.
I am and will be praying for you!
Vincent
I scared I might touch my self again and it’s really hard to stop thinking about
Be not be afraid friend! Seek God in all things. Do not be afraid to go to him for comfort and forgiveness. Let his Word (the Bible) guide you in your struggle. And if you fall, get back up and return to the Lord. He will never, ever turn you away. His love for you is infinite and indestructible!
I am and will be praying for you!
Vincent
I am struggling with similar things, you will get through it eventually, I can pray for you if you would like?
I am afraid my bad thoughts caused my job to abandon traditional gender roles in favor in of pleasing the majority with tattoos
Dear Laura,
I’m not sure what you mean by this message, but your thoughts alone cannot control what others do. God certainly does not work like that. There are so many things beyond our control. Try to focus on your personal relationship with Jesus. That is the most important thing. His Word (the Bible) is a great place to start. And love God by loving others. Also, love yourself!
I hope you are and remain well. I will be praying for you.
God’s grace to you,
Vincent
IM AM SO grateful to be a child of God I am so grateful for accepting Jesus Christ in my heart and my soul and my spirit in my life as my Lord and Savior one of the reasons why I am grateful because Jesus Christ is the only true God he is the only God that can power over anything JESUS IS THE CEO OF universe in the process of me thinking negative foolish thoughts for one that thought was a lie and I’m so happy and so grateful to have a relationship with God because God told us the Devil comes out for three things lie💪🏾💪🏻💪🏼 kill and destroy in our mind is so important as a man thinketh so is he we are no better than I thought so we think so in the process of me thinking These Foolish silly stupid thoughts when I got done praying the thoughts literally immediately got out of my mind and to be honest I start laughing and I told God I say Lord I know better than thinking these thoughts and I say thank you for allowing me to think these thoughts because I learned A NEW strategy
strategy is wisdom I UNDERSTAND MY Minds is most importantly MY MIND should be the strongest things IN MY life o because I serve God IN MY MIND I say all of that to say this you are stronger than those silly thoughts in your mind you are better than those silly thoughts in your mind and if you see this message it was God’s purpose for you to see this message be strong God love you and I’m praying for you… and always keep in mind we are human we cannot control what come across our mind we only control what stay and I’ll remind make it a responsibility to have a positive mindset about your life about yourself a positive mindset create self-love word to the wise💪🏾💪🏻💪🏼❤
Love-beauitfullbanks Los Angeles California
Unstoppable faith!!!
April 12 2021 11:23pm
Amen Beautiful banks! Thank you so much for your inspiring words. You are so right. He gives us the power to chose and decide. And like you say, it depends on having a solid relationship with the Lord. You are blessed!
God’s grace to you,
Vincent