For those experiencing grief, sometimes the sting of loss can be amplified by the rest of the world happily going on about its business. Taken from My Prayer Book, these grief prayers are a helpful resource for those wondering how to pray for comfort while grieving.
After a Death in the Family
Merciful heavenly Father, the death of my dear ( name ) has filled my eyes with tears and my heart with sorrow. I am distressed by the mysteries of Your providence. As Your child, I want so much to say, “Not my will but Yours be done,” but I find it difficult to do at times. Forgive me and help me. By Your Holy Spirit, give me the peace to accept Your ways as always best.
Apply the healing touch of Your precious promises to my wounded heart, and let me soon experience its power. Teach me not to mourn as those who have no hope. Dry my tears that I may be able to see beyond my grief to the glorious victory over death and the grave that are ours in the resurrection of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
May the passing of ( name ) remind me that I, too, am but a pilgrim and stranger on earth.
Grant me the grace to love less and less the things that are material and temporal and to love more and more the things that are spiritual and eternal. Teach me to number my days and apply my heart to the wisdom taught by Jesus Christ, that He is the way and the truth and the life, and that no one comes to You but by Him. Amen.
For the Sorrowing
O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, look down upon me in my sorrow and affliction. Comfort me with Your gracious consolations. As an earthly father pities his children, have compassion on me in my suffering. May the loss I have suffered be for me a token of Your love.
In my distress, lift me up to You. Remind me that in Your wisdom all things work together for good to those who love You. You have ordained that I, together with all believers, must enter into Your kingdom through much tribulation.
You have cast me into the fiery furnace of affliction. By the mercies of Christ, refine my heart from the stain of sin and help me to emerge a stronger Christian, better equipped to understand the problems and to deal with the troubles of others. Cause the loss that I have suffered to remind me that the things of earth are like a shadow that does not continue so that I am not inclined to set my affections on things on earth but on things above. But above all, grant me the sure conviction that Your will and Your ways are best; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
At the Loss of a Young Child
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief, weakness, doubts, discouragement, and deep grief at this moment. My heart is broken. My mind is paralyzed. I don’t know what to say, even to You. This is the unimaginable, the unspeakable—the worst moment of my life. My dear child has died. I don’t even know where to go from here.
I don’t know what I am, for there are no words to describe it. A widow is a woman whose husband has died. A widower is a man whose wife has died. Orphans are children whose parents have died, but what am I, Lord? I have to be more than simply an “ex-parent,” for this beloved child will always be a part of my life. I thank You for the assurance given in my child’s Baptism that he/she is with You in eternity, and I long to be there with You and him/her now. Pull me up from this despair and empower me to live and cope with this smothering sorrow. Clear my mind and settle my heart so I might know You understand exactly what I am experiencing. You went through it Yourself; Your Son died. He died for me and for my child. Now He lives, and that makes all the difference.
Give me always a resurrection mindset. Connect me with compassionate people who can support me, those who have also experienced this extreme pain. As I become stronger, empower and use me to comfort and strengthen others. Keep me faithful to You until I join my child and all the saints where we can praise Your Son with unspeakable, unimaginable joy. In His name. Amen.
Prayers from My Prayer Book © 2021 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Find more prayers like these in My Prayer Book.
