In the Low: Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons

We spend time in the Low because we’re human, not because we’re broken.

In the Low is a collection of contemplative words and images for seasons of depression. It is a book designed to meet you where you are and sit with you there the way God does: intentionally and without judgment.


For many of us, the question isn’t whether or not we will enter into depression but how to be there when we do. In those low places, we experience disconnection from others, from a meaningful life, and from God, and it can be difficult to know what to think or pray. This is where art and the honest prayers of others can help us name what we’re experiencing so we know we’re not alone.

In the Low is designed to meet you in the dark and linger there with you as you sit under the weight of depression or despair. Instead of shaming you for how you feel, minimizing your pain, or suggesting quick fixes, Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson offer you prayers in language and imagery that can help you be honest and vulnerable with yourself and with God.

Featuring poetic prayers for deeper relationships, healing from trauma, a hopeful future, and more, In the Low meets you where you are in your journey and calls you deeper into the heart of God--who is not afraid of the dark.


＂In the Low has a permanent spot on my bookshelf.＂--Emily P. Freeman, New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk into a Room

＂Here is a tender guide, not to answers but to the shared humanity of searching, waiting, and finding meaning in the in-between.＂--David Gungor, The Brilliance

＂I can offer no higher compliment than this: Someone I love dearly picked up this book during a stretch of pressing darkness, and it helped them.＂--Shauna Niequist, author of I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet

＂As someone who has wanted to end it all in her own season of depression, and who accompanies many others in theirs, In the Low is the gift I’ve longed for.＂--Tara Owens, executive director, Anam Cara Ministries, spiritual director, and author of Embracing the Body

＂In the Low gives voice to those struck speechless by despair, honoring the sacred truth that faith often speaks through the shadows.＂--Jonathan Merritt, columnist and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch

＂This book resonates deeply within my angsty artist heart, and I’m so grateful it exists in the world.＂--Jess Janz, poet and founder of Dinner with Strangers

＂Scott and Justin created a hand to hold in the valley, and I’m grateful to the both of them for how warm it is.＂--Levi The Poet, spoken word artist

＂You will treasure this book, I predict, and come back to it again and again.＂--Brian D. McLaren, author of Faith After Doubt and Life After Doom

＂In the Low is accompaniment for the places inside that deserve to be known, the wordless places that need words, the dark and diffuse places that need form and shape.＂--Dr. Hillary L. McBride, psychologist, podcast host, author, and mother

＂A warm, tender, desperately needed book that doesn’t speak about the ache but from inside of it.＂--Jonathan Martin, author of How to Survive a Shipwreck and The Road Away from God

＂In the Low is both simple and subversive, inviting us not simply into peace but fuller personhood.＂--K.J. Ramsey, licensed therapist and author of The Book of Common Courage

＂Encounter this book on its own terms. Encounter this book at the necessarily slow pace of God. And above all, encounter this book and come to know the joy of the God of the Low.＂--Curt Thompson, MD, author of The Deepest Place and The Soul of Desire

＂Permission to name the ache in our hearts without rushing to fix it.＂--Kayla Craig, author of Every Season Sacred and To Light Their Way and creator of Liturgies for Parents

＂Justin and Scott offer us words, images, and their own selves in ways that gently dispel that piece of the darkness and give us a sense of companions who see us, know us, and care.＂--Donna Hatasaki, senior director of spiritual formation, Young Life

Justin McRoberts is an author, coach, speaker, and songwriter. When he’s not writing, speaking, or coaching, you can find him as the host of the At Sea Podcast. He lives in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at JustinMcRoberts.com.
Scott Erickson is an artist, author, performance speaker, and creative curate. Scott’s work has appeared on CNN, National Geographic, and various magazines, newspaper outlets, and book covers. Scott lives in Vancouver, Washington. Learn more at ScottEricksonArt.com.