Getting Unstuck: Reflection & Prayer Prompts

Personal Reflection Questions

Take your time with these. There's no rush. Read each question, sit with it, and let yourself respond honestly — even if the answer is uncomfortable.

Looking Back

1. What is something you've been telling yourself you're going to do for a long time? Don't filter for what sounds acceptable. What's the thing that keeps coming to mind when you're honest with yourself?

2. How long has this been going on? Not "about a year" — try to be specific. When did you first start saying you would do this? What has that timeframe actually looked like?

3. What have you tried so far? List the attempts, the restarts, the methods. What has each attempt taught you about what doesn't work?

4. Where have you been medicating yourself with intention? When you say "I'll start tomorrow" or "I'll get to that soon" — what feeling does that give you? What does it let you avoid facing?

Looking Within

5. What is this stuck pattern costing you? Not theoretically — actually. What has it already cost in your health, relationships, time, money, peace? What will it cost if nothing changes in the next year?

6. What feeling do you avoid when you stay stuck? Sometimes we stay stuck because the alternative feels scary. What might you have to feel or face if you actually moved forward?

7. Have you been harder on yourself than you've been honest with yourself? There's a difference between shame ("I'm terrible") and honesty ("This isn't working"). Which have you been practicing more?

8. What would change if you believed that needing help wasn't weakness? Sit with this one. What stories have you told yourself about what it means to need support?

Looking Forward

9. What kind of external structure might actually help you? Not "what should I do" — but "what support already exists that I could join?" Think people, groups, programs, professionals.

10. What's the smallest step you could take this week toward getting help? Not the whole solution. Just the first step. Who could you tell? What could you look up? What conversation could you have?

Guided Prayer Language

These aren't scripts — they're starting points. Use them to begin a conversation with God, then let it go wherever it goes.

A Prayer of Honest Admission

God,

I've been telling myself I'm going to change this, but I haven't. I've been stuck here longer than I want to admit. I've judged myself by my intentions, but the reality is my behavior hasn't matched.

I don't want to hide from that anymore.

Help me see clearly without drowning in shame. Help me face the truth about where I am without losing hope about where I could be.

I'm tired of the loop. I'm ready for something different — even if I don't know what that looks like yet.

Amen.

A Prayer for Letting Go of Shame

God,

I've spent a lot of energy feeling bad about this. Beating myself up. Promising to do better. And it hasn't worked.

I want to release the shame — not because what I've been doing is okay, but because shame isn't getting me anywhere. It's just keeping me stuck in a cycle of feeling terrible and then numbing out.

Help me trade shame for honesty. Help me look clearly at what this is costing me without spiraling into self-condemnation. Give me the courage to be honest without being cruel to myself.

I'm more than my stuck patterns. Help me believe that.

Amen.

A Prayer for the Humility to Ask for Help

God,

I don't like needing help. I want to be able to do this myself. Asking for support feels like admitting defeat.

But maybe defeat isn't what I've been taught it is. Maybe needing a crutch when my ankle is broken isn't weakness — it's wisdom.

Soften my pride. Show me who or what might help me. Give me the courage to reach out, even though it's uncomfortable.

I don't want to stay stuck because I was too proud to ask. Help me be humble enough to accept the help I need.

Amen.

Optional Journaling Prompts

If writing helps you process, try one of these. Write freely, without editing. Let the words come without judgment.

Prompt 1: The Letter to Your Stuck Self

Write a letter to yourself about this area where you're stuck. Tell yourself what you've noticed. What you're losing. What you wish for. What you're afraid of. What you hope might be possible. Be kind, but be honest.

Prompt 2: A Year From Now

Imagine yourself one year from today. Write two versions:

Version A: Nothing has changed. You're still stuck in the same place. What does life look like? How do you feel? What has it cost?

Version B: You took a step. You got help. Something shifted. What does life look like now? How do you feel? What's different?

Don't rush through Version A to get to the hopeful version. Sit with what staying stuck actually costs. Let that be real before you imagine something better.

Prompt 3: What I've Been Avoiding

Write about what you've been avoiding by staying stuck. Not the obvious answer — dig deeper. What feeling? What confrontation? What truth about yourself or your life? What responsibility?

Sometimes we stay stuck because forward feels scarier than standing still. What is your forward asking of you?

Prompt 4: The Help I Wish I Had

If you could design the perfect support for your stuck area — the ideal person, group, structure, or help — what would it look like? Who would be involved? How would it work? What would make it safe enough for you to actually engage?

Don't limit yourself to what you know exists. Describe what would actually help. Then ask yourself: Does anything like this exist? Could I find it? Could I create it?

Prompt 5: What I Would Tell a Friend

If a close friend came to you with exactly the stuck pattern you're dealing with — the same timeline, the same failed attempts, the same frustration — what would you say to them?

Write out the advice you would give. The encouragement. The honest challenge.

Now read it back to yourself. Is there anything there you need to hear?

A Final Word

Being stuck isn't a moral failure. It's a human experience. Paul wrote, "The good thing I want to do, I don't do." That's not just his story — it's all of our stories, at different times and in different ways.

But you don't have to stay there.

The way forward isn't shame or willpower. It's honesty about where you are and humility to accept the help you need.

God meets us in the honest places — not when we've got it all figured out, but when we're finally willing to say, "I can't do this alone."

That's not the end of the story. It's the beginning.