Old Testament
Psalm 34:17-19
17 The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
New Testament
1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
Psalm 34 speaks with the plain honesty of those who have cried until their throats were sore. The Lord hears. The Lord is near. He does not stand at a safe distance from the broken-hearted, as though grief were contagious. He draws close, and he saves the crushed in spirit.
And we ask the Church to become safer than stigma: a place where truth can be spoken slowly, and help can be received without humiliation. Lord, keep us near to the broken, because you are near. Teach us to lay down what we cannot carry, and to love without hurry.
Peter addresses the same human ache from another angle: humility under God’s hand, and the strange relief of being able to hand over what is too heavy. “Cast all your anxiety on him.” μέριμνα is not imaginary trouble; it is the care that knots the chest and crowds the mind. Peter does not scold it. He tells us where to put it.
So we pray for those living with anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, addiction, or long despair; for those who cannot explain their pain without feeling ashamed; for those whose lives have become a brave performance of “fine.” We pray for social care and mental health services where people are treated as neighbours, not as nuisances.