About Jodi 

Nearly 12 Years of Daily Prayers Have Brought Mental Health, Peace, Joy, and Contentment!

Hello, my dear reader, and Welcome! My name is Jodi and I am so glad you are here! I am the sole author and webmaster of Prayersforjoy.com. My greatest desire is to help you who are struggling with depression, mental illness, or suicidal thoughts…

If you are feeling suicidal, or just need someone to talk to, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. There is help for you!

For help in English, dial 988

Línea de Prevención del Suicidio y Crisis 1-888-628-9454

Lifeline For Deaf & Hard of Hearing TTY: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988 

There is no shame in asking for help! You are deeply loved and people are praying for you!

I am a survivor of all of the above. From 1990 to 2013, I was a prisoner of depression, bipolar disorder, and on more than several occasions, intense suicidal feelings. I was hospitalized nearly every year starting in 2005 for psychosis and mania.

I want to share how my life began to be transformed in amazing ways when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 2013 and how adding daily prayers has helped me overcome deep depression and mental instability.

I do not have an extensive list of degrees or accomplishments in my life, but what I do know is that God is Good!

After becoming a born-again Christian, God has always been good to answer my cries for rescue from the seemingly bottomless pits that I often found myself.

What is amazing, is that when I ask Him to help me process a troubling emotion, or lift me out of depression, He has blessed me with a deep and abiding peace. I only need to continue to call upon Jesus and trust that He will help me!

And while the answers to my prayers aren’t always immediate or in the way that I would expect, God continues to guide and protect me, even when I can’t sense His presence.

For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5 KJV)

Praying daily has been, by far, the most helpful habit that I have ever adopted, as well as one of the most satisfying uses of my time. It makes me feel like I’m doing important work for the body of Christ, and it is so encouraging when God moves mountains in reply!

I take my prayer responsibility seriously (Know that I’ve been praying for you for quite some time!), but I’m not always as eloquent as I would like to be. Thankfully, God is more interested in heartfelt, honest cries for help, rather than dramatic soliloquies or beautifully poetic prayers.

When we accept Jesus into our lives, we are no longer strangers to the LORD! We become His blood-bought children! He gives us full access to Himself and invites us to talk with Him about everything we are concerned about: our needs, our distresses, our dreams... 

God is a personal Father. He wants us to talk and listen to Him as little children.

The Lord is a compassionate and loving God. He doesn’t try to shame us into good behavior. He understands our weaknesses and struggles. He is an Encourager, not a slave master or guilt tripper as some would have you believe.

After I became born-again Christian and I fully accepted that God is LOVE and that He loved me as I was, and not as I longed to be, I learned to lessen my own unrealistic expectations and perfectionism. I was allowed to make mistakes. It was ok to fail.

More importantly, I am as God created me with my unique personality and strengths! 

I’m learning day by day to see myself as Jesus sees me, beautiful and wonderfully made as I am.  

No more striving for worldly standards of perfection.

No need for fame and accolades.

I wake up every morning with a new perspective and gratefulness for my life. And while I still have occasional bad days where I struggle with depression, I am able to recover much more quickly with prayer and God’s help! 

My depression and emotions don’t rule me any more!

It's important to note that I continue to seek help from my psychiatrist and support team. God does move mountains, but it's important to continue taking my medication and following my doctor's orders. God chose not to completely heal me, but He always insures that my white blood cell count is at a safe level for my medication each month.

Furthermore, He takes care of all the things that are beyond my control as I take care of the things that are within my control! 

I used to think that I could just stop taking my medication and I would be healed. Please don't make that mistake. While God can miraculously and completely heal a person if He so chooses, I believe He leads and equips us to take an active role in our healing. So trust that God will help you when you accept Jesus, but it's ok to prayerfully seek medical help if you are suffering from depression, mental illness, or suicidal feelings!

God has given us health professionals and medications that can assist us in our healing, whole foods and exercises that lead to improved quality of life, and the Bible to instruct us in the way that we should go. He empowers us to fully utilize all resources that are available to us, all the things that are within our control. 

And then we give to God what we cannot control: lab test results, external circumstances, effectiveness of medications, etc. When we take care of ourselves and actively seek His help, surrendering our lives to Him and living in obedience as the Holy Spirit convicts us, He will take care of the things that we have no power to change.

Ultimately, it is God Who heals us! He combines all the resources, our efforts, and His Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent power to give us relief, peace, and mental wellness! 

Since becoming a born-again Christian, the Lord has blessed me by answering my prayers in the following ways: 

  • My sanity was fully restored and I stopped having rapid cycling mood swings and behaving in dangerous, impulsive ways. I now seek wisdom and discernment from God and my support team. I try to always consult God with prayer before taking action.
  • For many years now, I have taken only one medication for my bipolar disorder that helps me to sleep. I routinely visit with my psychiatrist and other doctors to stay on top of my health. 
  • I haven’t been hospitalized in just over 7 years. My last hospital stay was used mightily by God to connect me with a dear sister in Christ when I was afraid I had lost my salvation. We are friends to this day. 

Blessedly, when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, God promises that He will never leave you nor forsake you! Once you humbly and sincerely ask Jesus into your life, you cannot lose your salvation!

"...for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5 KJV)

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1 KJV)

  • I’ve been gainfully employed at the same company for 12 years and counting. Prior to becoming a Christian, I would randomly quit my jobs, thinking I would magically land on my feet. Now I find great satisfaction in having steady work and working heartily for the Lord. 
  • I am content with my life. I don’t make a lot of money, but I’m so very thankful for God’s daily provision.
  • I have created safe boundaries in my life and I am able to respectfully say no to people so that I don’t overextend myself. My prayers for freedom from unhealthy people pleasing continue to be answered by God. This is a big relief!
  • I no longer drink alcohol and I have self-control with food. I used to be a binge eater and drinker.
  • I give myself plenty of time to take care of things instead of pushing myself to finish unrealistic goals.
  • I am devoted to taking better care of myself. I get plenty of rest and drink plenty of water. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and I actually crave healthy foods! I try to avoid sugary foods and desserts most of the time.
  • I experience God’s peace every day. This is such a remarkable gift from God! You will be so thankful if you accept Jesus into your life!
  • I spend time every day lifting daily prayers to Jesus for myself and others. I enjoy this daily quiet time with the Lord. He sustains and encourages me!
  • My relationships are precious to me. Prior to becoming a Christian, I was contentious and belligerent toward those who loved me the most. And though I’m not perfect and still have disagreements and annoyances, I’m better able to relax my expectations and give people grace as Jesus has given me grace. 

I’m able to accept others as they are. What freedom! I don’t have to control others, but just love them!

  • I am better able to take on harder tasks that previously left me frustrated. I used to give up easily, now I take breaks when necessary and give myself credit for trying. Knowing that I will be able to come back and try again gives me the courage and motivation to keep going.
  • In October 2024 I successfully earned my Certificate to Teach English as a Foreign Language! I am now working with a class of six wonderful students from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Cuba, as well as a young woman from Mexico on Sundays. I'm having such a great time and my students are so smart and excited to learn English! Praise Jesus for these opportunities!
  • Over the last few months of 2024 I have really started internalizing that with Jesus I can do all things! Big and small goals! And I continue to reach out to others and share myself: my love and compassion, as well as my strengths and weaknesses.

I can share how God has lifted me up, and not in my own strength, but His!

What I can tell you is that I came from very dark beginnings, but now I’m on the side of God’s immense and undeserved grace! How He can love me as much as He does is a mystery that I may never fully understand on this side of eternity, but I am eternally grateful for His care. 

I pray that you will accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and then entrust your deepest sorrows, unspoken fears, and every bewildering emotion to the LORD that heals, for doing so God will help you in His best timing sort of way. I promise you that He longs to strengthen and lift you up. He has good plans for you!

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV)

As I mentioned before, I don’t have a long list of accomplishments, or even a degree in theology, but what I do have is honest to goodness experience praying to our Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent LORD! And He continues to amaze me with His forgiveness, mercy, and peace! 

I pray that you will stay awhile and join me in daily prayers for joy!

Love, Jodi 

Scripture and references to Scripture followed by KJV are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. 

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.