The Bible invites us to cry out to God in trouble and promises that He hears. "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD" (Psalm 130:1), and "In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me" (Psalm 120:1). God told Moses, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people... and have heard their cry" (Exodus 3:7). When blind Bartimaeus cried out, "Jesus stood still" (Mark 10:49).
Sometimes prayer is quiet and orderly. Other times it is a cry: words shouted in the car, sobbed into a pillow or whispered because you have nothing left. The Bible is full of cries like that. Israel cried out in slavery, David cried out from a cave, the psalmists cried out of the depths, and blind beggars and lepers cried out to Jesus by the roadside. Scripture never treats these cries as a lack of faith. They are faith at its most honest: turning to God when there is nowhere else to go. These twelve King James verses give you words for crying out from the depths, assurance that God hears His people's cry, and stories of people who cried out to Jesus for mercy. If you are crying out with tears, see also Bible verses about tears, and for answered prayer, God answering prayers.
Cries from the depths
1. Psalms 130:1-2
"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications."
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Psalm 130 is one of the Songs of Degrees, sung by pilgrims on the way up to Jerusalem. The depths is a picture of deep water, of feeling overwhelmed and sinking. The psalm goes on to confess sin and wait for God "more than they that watch for the morning" (Psalm 130:6). However deep you are, your cry can still reach God's ears.
2. Psalms 22:2
"O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent."
This psalm begins with the words Jesus cried on the cross: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1). Verse 2 continues: I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not. The psalmist is honest that heaven feels silent. Yet he keeps crying, day and night, and later he says God "hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted" (Psalm 22:24). Silence from heaven is not the same as absence.
3. Psalms 142:6
"Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I."
Psalm 142 is titled A Prayer when he was in the cave. David was hiding from King Saul, cut off and hunted. He prays, Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low, and admits his enemies are stronger than I. There is no pretending in this prayer. Telling God plainly that you are weak and outnumbered is not a failure of faith; it is exactly the kind of prayer He invites.
4. Psalms 28:1
"Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit."
David calls God O LORD my rock and begs, be not silent to me. His fear is that without God's answer he will become like them that go down into the pit. Many people know that fear: that if God does not act soon, they will not make it. David brings that fear straight to God. By verse 6 he is saying, "Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications" (Psalm 28:6).
God hears when His people cry
5. Exodus 3:7
"And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;"
Israel had been slaves in Egypt for generations. Their cry rose to God (Exodus 2:23), and from the burning bush He told Moses: I have surely seen the affliction of my people... and have heard their cry... for I know their sorrows. Seen, heard, known. Those three words describe how God responds to a cry for help. Then He acted: "I am come down to deliver them" (Exodus 3:8).
6. Psalms 120:1
"In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me."
This short verse opens the Songs of Degrees (Psalms 120-134) and sums up a lifetime of experience: In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me. It is written in the past tense, a testimony. One of the best ways to strengthen faith when you are crying out now is to remember the times God heard you before. Keep a list of answered prayers to read on hard days.
7. Psalms 34:6
"This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."
Psalm 34 comes from a low moment in David's life, when he pretended to be insane to escape a foreign king (1 Samuel 21:13). Afterwards he wrote, This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. He calls himself this poor man: no title, no strength, just need. God does not wait for us to be impressive before He listens. A few verses later: "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth" (Psalm 34:17).
8. Psalms 31:22
"For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee."
I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes. In panic David concluded that God had abandoned him. He was wrong: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. Our feelings in a crisis are real, but they are not always accurate. God heard David even when David was sure He had not. He hears you too, even when it feels like your prayers hit the ceiling.
Crying out to Jesus for mercy
9. Mark 10:47-48
"And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me."
Bartimaeus was a blind beggar outside Jericho. When he heard Jesus was passing, he cried out, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. People told him to be quiet, but he cried the more a great deal. Sometimes others, or our own embarrassment, tell us to stop asking. Bartimaeus would not. His persistent cry is a model of faith that refuses to be silenced.
10. Mark 10:49
"And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee."
And Jesus stood still. The Son of God, on His way to Jerusalem with a crowd around Him, stopped for one shouting beggar. Then people told Bartimaeus, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. He threw off his cloak, came to Jesus and received his sight (Mark 10:50-52). Your cry is never too small or too loud to stop Jesus in His tracks.
11. Luke 17:13
"And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."
Ten men with leprosy, kept away from everyone by their disease, lifted up their voices from a distance: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. Jesus sent them to the priests, and they were healed on the way. Only one, a Samaritan, came back to thank Him (Luke 17:15-16). Crying out for help is good; coming back to give thanks when help comes completes the prayer.
12. Psalms 86:3
"Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily."
Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. Some cries are one desperate moment; others go on for months or years: a long illness, a prodigal child, a marriage in trouble. David's prayer is daily. Keep crying out. Jesus told a parable about praying and not giving up, and asked, "shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him" (Luke 18:7).
A short prayer
Lord, I cry out to You from the depths. You know what I am facing, and You know I cannot fix it myself. Hear my voice. Do not be silent to me. You have seen the affliction of Your people and heard their cry before; see me and hear me now. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Stop for me as You stopped for Bartimaeus. Give me strength to keep crying out daily, and a grateful heart when Your help comes. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
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Write your cries and God's answers in the 30-Day Prayer Journal · Download the free Lord's Prayer printable · Keep Psalm 120:1 close with the Scripture Memory Cards
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to cry out to God?
Crying out to God means bringing Him your need with your whole heart, often in distress, honestly and urgently. It may be loud or silent, with words or only groans; Paul says that when we do not know how to pray, "the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26). It is the opposite of hiding our pain from God. See Bible verses about prayer.
Does God hear us when we cry out to Him?
Yes. Scripture repeats this promise again and again: "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles" (Psalm 34:17), and "Call unto me, and I will answer thee" (Jeremiah 33:3). God's answer may not come as quickly or in the way we expect, but He is never deaf to His children. See God answering prayers.
Is it okay to be angry or confused when I cry out to God?
Yes. Many psalms are full of questions, complaints and even anger brought to God, like "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1). God would rather have your honest cry than polite silence. The psalmists usually move from complaint toward trust, but they get there by telling God the truth. See Bible verses about suffering and doubt.
Is there a time to stop crying out and act?
Sometimes. At the Red Sea, God told Moses, "Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exodus 14:15). Prayer and action go together. Keep praying, and also take the next step you can: call the doctor, reach out to a friend or counselor, make the hard phone call. If you are in crisis or thinking of ending your life, please call or text 988 now.
If you are crying out because you feel you cannot go on, please reach out to someone today. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, in the US call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in an emergency.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Tears · Prayer · God answering prayers · The power of prayer · Deliverance · Mercy · Suffering · Darkness
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