Prayers for Peace of Mind

A restless mind rarely has room for a long prayer. These are short enough to say in a queue, at a desk, or lying awake. Pick one and repeat it slowly; repetition is not a failure of imagination but one of the oldest ways Christians have prayed.

Peace of mind and peace of heart are not quite the same thing. A mind can be busy while the heart is at rest, and a quiet room can hide a troubled heart. Christ promised peace to both: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful” (John 14:27). The narrated prayer above is built on that promise. This one asks for both kinds of peace:

No prayer is “powerful” in the sense of working automatically; a prayer’s power is the God it is prayed to. But a prayer for stress can be powerful in another way: by being honest. Stress is usually too many things at once. Jesus said as much to Martha, busy and resentful in her own kitchen: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed” (Luke 10:41–42). And to the apostles, exhausted after their first mission, he said, “Come away into a deserted place, and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31).

You cannot argue a thought away, and trying hard not to think something usually makes it louder. Scripture suggests something better: not emptying the mind but turning it. St. Paul speaks of “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5), and gives the Philippians a list to turn toward: “whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report” (Philippians 4:8). The psalmist simply hands his thoughts over: “Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23).

In practice: notice the thought, name it to God (“Lord, there it is again”), and turn to something true, a verse, a short prayer, the next task. Do it as many times as the thought returns, without scolding yourself.

Some thoughts are more than negative. If unwanted thoughts keep coming back that you cannot stop, especially frightening thoughts about sin or about harming someone, that can be a treatable condition, and a doctor can help; tell your confessor too. And if your thoughts are telling you to hurt yourself or that you would be better off dead, please reach out now:

Peace of mind is rarely won in a single evening. It grows from a habit, and the Church’s habit is to pray at both ends of the day. The best-known daily prayer for peace is the Peace Prayer of St. Francis, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,” which asks to become a bringer of peace rather than only a receiver of it. Here is a simpler pair, one for the morning and one for the night:

The mind is loudest at night. Psalm 131 describes the peace to ask for with a picture any parent knows: “Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother” (Psalm 131:2). A child asleep on its mother’s shoulder has not solved anything. It has simply stopped needing to.

People ask which Bible verse is for peace of mind. These are the ones most often prayed, each fetched here in the World English Bible, Catholic Edition:

• “You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). Peace kept by trust.
• “I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). Peace that does not wait for the trouble to end.
• “the mind of the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).
• “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
• “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
• “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). The whole passage, with the command not to be anxious that comes before it, is prayed slowly on Philippians 4, do not be anxious.

The peace Christ offers is “not as the world gives.” It is not calm circumstances, and it is not a feeling you can summon on demand. The Catechism, quoting St. Augustine, defines peace as “the tranquillity of order” (CCC 2304): things in their right place. Peace of mind, in that sense, is the mind in its right place before God: trusting him with what it cannot control, doing what is its own to do, and no longer carrying what belongs to him. And “earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ” (CCC 2305).

Peace is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Church lists twelve: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity” (CCC 1832). A fruit grows; it is not manufactured. That is why the same short prayers, said day after day, do more than a single long one.

It helps to know what peace is not, too. It is not the absence of feeling: Christ wept at a friend’s tomb and sweated in anguish in Gethsemane. It is not always felt in prayer: some days prayer is dry, and the Catechism is reassuring that “one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state” (CCC 2710). And it is not a reason to avoid help. If your mind has had no peace for weeks, if worry is stopping you sleeping, eating or working, see a doctor; restlessness of mind can be a symptom of an illness that can be treated, and taking care of it is part of taking care of the gift of life.