Prayers for Grief and Loss

Prayer for Grief and Loss
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If you've lost someone near to your heart, you may be feeling intense emotions that seem beyond your control. Or, you may be numb, not feeling anything at all. Perhaps you know someone who has lost a loved one and you're desperate to find some way to help.

When faced with grief and loss, prayer is sometimes the only thing that holds any kind of comfort.

How Can ​Saying a Prayer for Grief Help?

Grief stirs up emotions like anger, disappointment, and sadness, which can easily move us away from God. Some believers fall or even abandon the Lord in their anguished struggle with grief. Blaming God can push us beyond emotions associated with loss into a permanent rejection of our faith.

While grief and loss may always remain with us to some degree, prayer can help us stay connected to God through the hardest parts of the journey. God is our true source of strength and emotional healing. Talking to God about our pain can help us move past the anger, disbelief, and sadness into acceptance and living again.

Prayer helps us heal and grow with God. Sometimes it is the only thing we can do for someone. Here are two prayers you can say or adapt for your own needs:

Prayer for Grief in Personal Loss

Dear Lord,
Thank you for being my rock and my strength. I don't know why this happened. I know you have a plan for each of us. But right now I'm hurting, and that hurt runs deep.
Lord, I know that you are a comfort for me, and I pray that you continue to be by my side through this time. Right now it feels like this pain will never go away. It feels like I'll always be stuck here hurting. Everyone keeps saying that time will ease what I'm going through. But that's hard to believe.
I feel angry. I feel hurt. I feel alone. I don't know if time will help me, but I know you will. I cannot imagine going through this without you holding me.
Sometimes, Lord, it's hard to think about tomorrow. I don't know how I will get through this day without my loved one in my life.
Lord, please be here for me. I ask for your strength to take another step. I need you to help me cope with the loneliness so that I can move forward in my life.
Please, Lord, help make each day a little easier. Continue to fill me with hope for tomorrow. I know I will never stop missing my loved one, but it helps to imagine them with you.
Thank you, Lord, for always being here for me.
In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.

Prayer for Someone Who Has Experienced a Loss

Dear Lord,
I come to you now for my friend who is hurting. I ask you to give him/her strength and comfort in this time of deep need. His pain and grief run deep. My heart breaks for him, but I can only imagine how difficult this time is for him. I pray that you help him maintain his faith during this difficult time, so that he can depend on you.
Lord, you can be his strongest shoulder and biggest provider. At this time when daily life can be so burdensome, please give him patience as he works through his grief.
Surround him and his family with understanding so that they can work through all the emotions this loss has stirred up. In times when life is chaotic to manage--when bills need to be paid, homework needs to be done--let your grace sustain him through day to day life.
And Lord, permit me to be a comfort to my friend. Help me to give him what he needs during this time. Let me have comforting words to share, kindness in my heart, and patience to allow grief to take its course.
Let me shine your light and impart your comfort during this time.
I pray all these things in Jesus' holy name.
Amen.
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Your Citation
Mahoney, Kelli. "Prayers for Grief and Loss." Learn Religions, Aug. 25, 2020, learnreligions.com/prayers-for-grief-and-loss-712488. Mahoney, Kelli. (2020, August 25). Prayers for Grief and Loss. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/prayers-for-grief-and-loss-712488 Mahoney, Kelli. "Prayers for Grief and Loss." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/prayers-for-grief-and-loss-712488 (accessed March 19, 2024).