8 Songs For When You’re Feeling Broken
What songs help when you feel broken by porn addiction?
Worship music meets you where shame leaves you. Eight songs that speak to a broken heart include Forgiven and Come As You Are by David Crowder, I Am Redeemed by Big Daddy Weave, and How Can It Be by Lauren Daigle. I Am Redeemed opens the Conquer Series because it names the identity struggle directly. You are not what you once were. Singing to God draws you back into intimacy with Him.
Music plays a profoundly healing and deeply spiritual role in our lives. But why is that? I believe it is because we were created to worship God, in deed and in song. When we sing to God we are doing exactly what we were created for.
If your church is facing this, start a Conquer Group at your church can help you take the next step.
When I was in the midst of my battle with porn, I would come back to God each time after I had failed, feeling broken and unworthy.
In those lonely moments listening to music and praising God helped me to seek forgiveness, accept God’s enduring and relentless Grace and go deeper in intimacy with Him. From that place of intimacy He eventually showed me the way to freedom.
Related Article: 4 Songs To Encourage The Betrayed Wife
Here are 8 powerful songs that speak to the heart in the midst of feeling broken…
1. Forgiven, by David Crowder
This is one of the most recent songs on our list. Released last year, Forgiven takes us to the place where we nailed Jesus’ hands to the cross with such a vivid description, “I’m the one who held the nail, it was cold between my fingertips.”
The song is such a poignant reminder of the power behind what Jesus did on the cross, breaking us free from the grave for all eternity. Crowder has another song, Come As You Are, which is addressed to us as Sinners, and is worth a mention, as it has some powerful reminders, that “Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal," and beckons “wanderer, come home, you’re not too far, lay down your hurt, lay down your heart, come as you are.”
Related Article: Surrendering Shame In A Grace-Filled Church
2. I Am Redeemed, by Big Daddy Weave
Selected as the opening track to the Conquer Series, we had to include I Am Redeemed on the list! The song looks at our identity struggle, and reminds us that we are not what we once were, we are redeemed, we have been set free.
Related Article: Who Am I? Knowing Your Identity Brings Freedom From Porn
You can see why we used this song as a backdrop for the life of Dr. Ted Roberts, host of the Conquer Series, as he journeys from a young boy, through addiction to a place of healing where he now has helped thousands of men walk in freedom. It’s amazing what happens when we know that our identity is in Christ, that we are redeemed.
You can see the I Am Redeemed clip featuring Big Daddy Weave in Lesson one of the Conquer Series. Learn more about the Conquer Series.
3. How Can It Be, by Lauren Daigle
When I first heard How Can It Be, it took me right back to how I used to feel after acting out in my addiction, “I am guilty, ashamed of what I’ve done, what I’ve become, My hands are dirty, I dare not lift them up to the Holy One.”
Then a beautiful ode to Romans 8:34 where Jesus intercedes to God the Father on our behalf, “You plead my cause, You right my wrong…You gave Your life to give me mine.”
Related Article: Who You Say I Am: Finding Your Identity In Christ
4. I’m Not Alright, by Sanctus Real
I’m Not Alright, sometimes this is very hard to admit. I was highly active in my church when I struggled with pornography and just didn’t think I could ever tell even those close to me that I wasn’t ok – and then I heard this song by Sanctus Real.
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As the song suggests, once we understand that we aren’t alright, that we are broken inside, it opens us up to being closer to God. That’s when He can begin the work of healing us! As the song concludes, “I’m not alright, that’s why I need You.”
5. Mighty to Save, by Hillsong
This is an oldy, but I’ll never get tired of hearing Mighty to Save. In the midst of our struggle, when we feel like giving up, it is so reassuring to know that God is bigger than any temptation, any fear or failure.
“Savior, He can move the mountains, my God is Mighty to Save.”
6. Mess of Me, by Switchfoot
Released the year before I really got serious about my recovery, I think God used_ Mess of Me _to really prompt me to think about where my life would head if I didn’t get help.
“I’ve made a mess of me, I wanna reverse this tragedy, I’ve made a mess of me, I wanna spend the rest of my life alive.”
That’s the truth about pornography or addiction in general, you eventually realize, “When I try to make the decisions, when I try to be in control, it all becomes a mess.” Tragically addiction often results in physical death, or at the very least, a spiritual death, where you become an empty shell living life like a zombie. Hopefully, at some point, in your heart, you realize where your addiction has taken you and that you want to spend the rest of your life differently.
Related Article: Rescued: One Man's Journey From Shame To Grace Addiction: It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way
Another gem in this song is the call to self-forgiveness, “It’s hard to free the one’s you love when you can’t forgive yourself!” Often addiction becomes a prison not only for the addicted but also for their loved ones. In recovery, to set them free starts with understanding God’s endless Grace in our own hearts.
7. Sweetly Broken, by Jeremy Riddle
Sweetly Broken is another powerful song that takes us back to the cross. During the Conquer Series Dr. Ted Roberts tells us that it is so important to close our eyes and meditate on Christ for 30 minutes before we go to bed.
Related Article: How Meditating On God Changes Your Identity
I find this song so helpful in that place, listening to the lyrics and letting the images play out in my mind, bringing me to a place of complete surrender. “At the cross You beckoned me, You draw me gently to my knees…I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered.”
8. Once Again, by Matt Redman
Once Again was another song that I turned to so many times when I failed as I tried to break free from pornography.
“Once again, I look upon the cross where You died, I’m humbled by Your Mercy and I’m broken inside, Once again I thank You, Once again I pour out my life”.
I remember, with tears rolling down my cheeks and a broken voice crying “Once again, I thank You”; How many times did I need to sing “Once again,” before I would finally be free?
Looking back, I am grateful that despite all my failed attempts and having no idea how to break free, God heard my prayers, my broken promises and songs of praise. He was at work in many of these songs, revealing His Grace to me and bringing me to a place where I could find help and break free from porn.
I still find these songs helpful as God continues to work in me. May they be a blessing to you.
What songs do you listen to when you are feeling broken?
Writing at the intersection of faith and neuroscience to help men and women break destructive cycles and walk in lasting freedom.
More articles by Jeremy Wiles →Frequently Asked Questions
Why does worship music help when you are struggling with sin?
Because you were made to worship God, and singing to Him puts you back in the place you were created for. Music reaches past the arguments in your head and speaks straight to the heart. When shame tells you to hide, worship pulls you toward God instead of away from Him. From that place of intimacy He can begin showing you the way forward.
What should I listen to right after a relapse?
Reach for songs that take you back to the cross rather than songs that pile on guilt. Once Again and How Can It Be both put honest words to the shame of having failed, then turn your eyes to what Jesus already did about it. Sing them even with a broken voice. God hears broken promises and songs of praise from the same heart.
What song opens the Conquer Series?
I Am Redeemed opens the Conquer Series, and it was chosen on purpose. The song goes straight at the identity struggle every man in this fight carries, reminding you that you are not what you once were. That is the foundation of the whole course. Knowing your identity is in Christ changes how you fight, and the series returns to it again and again.
Is there a worship song about admitting you are not okay?
Yes. I'm Not Alright names something many church-going men cannot say out loud. You can be active in ministry, close to people, and still be unable to admit you are broken inside. The song makes that admission the doorway rather than the end: once you stop pretending you are fine, God can begin the work of healing you.
Can music alone break a porn addiction?
No, and it was never meant to. Worship softens your heart, reminds you of grace, and keeps you from drifting into isolation, but it is not a strategy for the battle. Think of it as what draws you back to God so you are willing to take the next step, which is telling the truth to someone and getting into a process with other men.
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