7 Prayers That Work

When you experience trauma and grief, you feel hopeless. The future is frightening. But God's promises are powerful.  Pray this prayer, based on Isaiah's prophecies in Isaiah 49 :  God of heaven, You declare great things over me-- help me to believe them! You say, "You have formed me and designed me for your purpose. No matter what I've done,  no thing is too hard for you to redeem ." You say, "You who are overlooked and hated, some day, you will be noticed and accepted. The Lord is faithful ." You say, "In good times, I will pour out my blessing on you; I will covenant to you to set you free from darkness. You will find sustenance on every hill. You will not hunger or thirst. I will make roads for you where there are none. My compassion will lead you." Shout for joy! The Lord remembers his people; he will comfort me in distress. It's not possible for a mother to forget her nursing baby; it is not possible for you to forget me. You have eng...

  Oh, Lord, our Comfort and our Hope-- I'm grieving a loss. I don't have anywhere to turn but you. I don't know what to say or how to feel. I can't navigate the breadth of my emotions and fears. Only your words and your truth can help me rest in the peace that you alone are my Rock and my Fortress. You are my Stronghold ( Psalm 18:2 ).  I don't need to be afraid. But I am. So help me steer through the fear and the pain to the hope that waits on the other side of grief. When I'm ready-- and every time I'm not ready-- you are present to comfort and re-orient me. Your words are truth, and I will eat them ( Jeremiah 15:16 ). Thank you. In Jesus' name, Amen. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of ...

  "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again." ( John 12:27-28) Oh, God, I'm really sad . I feel overwhelmed . It's not any one thing-- I just feel a heavy weight of so many concerns , fears, and disappointments. I feel lost. Although you always knew your purpose on earth, and you always knew how things would end, you were sad, too. Maybe the knowing is worse than the not-knowing? You knew the enormity of your calling. But what if I'm not sure of mine? What if I've gotten off track? What if I've ruined everything? Please take my sadness away-- I'll try to give it to you. I know you can transform it into something beautiful and worthy, something life-giving. Hear me, Lord. Wipe my tears. Hold my heart . Wrap me in your comforting arms. ...

Lord Jesus, Bring relief to the marginalized people in this country. Comfort the grieving families of this recent attack in Georgia. Bring awareness, empathy, and compassion to all of us-- but particularly your children-- so that we reach out to those who wander, suffer with those who hurt,  and offer belonging to everyone. I pray your special blessing on Asian-Americans, on immigrant children separated from their parents, on single parent-families living in poverty, on inner-city kids without the resources to reach their dreams. Fill each with the assurance of your love and a desire to know you. Comfort and protect them. And God, change us into your image before them! Stir our hearts to break down stereotypes, partisanship, and elitism and embrace the diverse world you created. You love us all. You offer salvation freely to everyone. You call us to reach the world. Now convict us to reach the world you've brought to us, to think of safety for all instead of safety for ourselves. H...

  Oh, Lord, This is a lament about violence.  Our hearts are grieved but not surprised at the violence and encouragement toward violence that's been occurring in this country.  There is no limit to the senseless hatred and selfishness that transpires when we do not seek your kingdom first. Forgive us, Lord, for our partisanship and hatred for one another. Forgive us for our inconsistent laws and prejudiced perspectives. Forgive us for consulting political consultants instead of you. Forgive us for turning on one another because we disagree. Lord, we need to repent individually and corporately.  Restore power and order through the body of Christ. Let it spill out and influence our local and national leaders. May our churches lead the cause of compassion and restitution. Protect our law enforcement . Protect innocent bystanders. Bring perpetrators to justice. Vengeance belongs to you. We ask you to work through our justice system fairly. Give our country another ch...

Oh, Lord, Today is a grief-day for me. You know this. Nothing can change that or fix this. I can only lean into you. I seek refuge in your arms in and the truth of your words. Answer me in my distress. Protect me. Send me help from your sanctuary-- Will you give peace? Renewed faith? A call to action? Surround me with your angels. Remember my faithfulness and forgive me of my unfaithfulness. I confess and repent of all of it. I know that you will give me the desires of my heart and make all my plans succeed because you save me when I call on you. You reward me according to your faithfulness and goodness. You are everlasting. You are comfort. You are peace. You are enough and more than enough for me. Thank you. I love you, Amen. Psalm 20 Other prayers about grief: Prayer to fill the grieving space Praying comfort over grief How to pray a Bible verse when you're grieving How to pray when you're overwhelmed with sadness How to pray a pra...

The death of a good person generally doesn't make sense. It's never the right time. Someone is always too young. No answer to your "why?" is ever sufficient, if it gets answered at all. Grief is always unbearably hard. Rachel Held Evan's death doesn't make sense. It wasn't a good time. She was too young. She was accomplishing so much. When something tragic happens, all I know to do is pray (which is sometimes simply a rhetorical "why????" and that's okay.) If you're grieving, give prayer a try. Dear Lord, Comfort Rachel Held Evans' family, friends, and readers at her sudden death. Comfort those of us who grieve whenever we feel another's loss fresh with pain. You can't make us understand, so just help us to trust you with our loss and our grief. Use this and every sorrow to bind us closer to you and find solace and faith in trusting your love for us and your continued plan to prosper us as your children...

When grief rolls over you like an ocean, you often don't know what to do except cry and pray. The problem is usually that you don't know what to pray. You have no words, but your heart longs to cry out. In times like these, I pray Bible verses. I figure if God inspired them, then they speak the truth He wants to hear. And since the Bible is full of people who prayed prayers of grief, I have plenty to pick from. Today I found this little gem in Isaiah 25:8-9 . Look it up to see the actual words (part of a poem). Below is Isaiah 25:8-9, made into a prayer of grief: Oh, Lord, I believe you came to swallow up death forever. Could you come and wipe away my tears today? Remove my disgrace, my shame, my heartache from being remembered in my life and in this world. Let people remember me for your influence on my life. Transform my grief into purpose and blessing. You have declared this to be your passion. Someday, people will say, "Look at what God did throug...

This morning I had one of those mothering moments when you ask your child to trust your "no" because you are building character into him so he can become the man God wants him to be. Then I say that someday, he'll realize how much it mattered to have a mom who cared about these things. Then I think about my mom and how I never realized the extent of her wisdom and love until I became a mother. And how much I wish I could tell her that again right now. How I wish I could tell her anything at all, and how completely devastating it is to know I won't speak to her again in my lifetime. The realization returns , almost like the first time it hit me. And I have cried off and on all day ever since. Grief sucks like that. How can there still be so many unseen empty spaces that hold grief? God, Would you just fill them, please? Would you just pour yourself into the holes of longing and loss and smother the grief with joy and contentment. Will you hear this ...

Experts guess that between 10-25% of pregnancies end in miscarriages, for various reasons. To a woman who knows she's pregnant--who knows there's a baby forming in her womb--it doesn't matter why the pregnancy fails. She just knows that one day she was a mother, and the next day, she was not. She feels grief. For all those excited and anticipating the birth of a baby, a miscarriage is a death. If this is you, here is a prayer to help you grieve and hope: Dear Abba Father, You have created all things. Your work is perfect. You created me for a purpose, and you created this little life for a purpose, although it doesn't make sense to me now why a helpless baby's life should be cut short so quickly. I am so terribly sad-- I feel such a sense of emptiness and loss. To be honest, I feel robbed. This is confusing, because I know you aren't a robber. You have come to give life and give it more abundant. So why did you bless me, only to remove the bl...

Christmas is hard for people who grieve. They remember other Christmases filled with memories and laughter, and grief becomes overwhelming. Or perhaps Christmas is their loneliest time, without any cherished memories, which makes it that much harder to be festive. Is Christmas hard for you? Does it make you feel hopeless? Just since December began, I've attended one funeral, watched one on television, and revised my family, whom I haven't seen since my mom died. Collectively, grief is strong and real. But I do not grieve as one without hope ( 1 Cor. 15:18-20 ). Perhaps that is why we sing the "Messiah" at Christmas. Hope began with the birth of a baby, but hope continues through Jesus' resurrection and  his predicted triumphant return. Hope culminates with the " Hallelujah Chorus ." (Turn up the volume--it's the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!) This Christmas, pray this prayer of hope. Hope dispels grief. Hope gives suffering a context and a ...

Lord Jesus, You personally know the pain of death. You know how afraid and sorrowful it makes us. You know that grief cuts deeply into the human soul, that it feels like there will never be an end to the heartbreak. Someone wonderful has died. You know that, too. The death of your children is beautiful to you, but it is so difficult for us. I am feeling grief for some good people who have lost a loved one. They are overwhelmed, shocked, traumatized, bereft. They feel an ache they never could have imagined. Only you can fill that gaping hole left by their loved one. Only you can pour hope and peace, ever so gradually, into their life. Only you can give them courage to live again-- to seek healing, to start over. When they're ready. I ask for your peace to fall on them right now. Erase the terror about the future. Block an regret about the past. Stop the panic about the present. I beg you, Holy Spirit, to speak words of love and comfort into the dark fearf...

Dear God of all comfort, Thank you. I'm grieving, but I thank You for everything. Thank you for creating the church, which functions like a family. I can't explain how people I've never met or hardly know can send me a prayer or encouragement, and I instantly feel loved and no longer alone. Thank you for making prayer a way to express grief, joy, fear, and frustration. I don't know why it works, but it does. Thank you for the opportunity to serve You by serving other people. I don't know why loving someone else when I need to be loved fills an emotional hole, but it does. Thank you for growing my faith through trials. I don't completely understand how suffering can produce joy in my life, but I see it happen all the time. Thank you for asking me to be generous. I can't explain how we can give away so much and still pay our bills, but remarkably, it's true. Thank you for a million other blessings--for every sunset, for every flower, for ...

Dear God of all comfort, You get grief. It sucks, doesn't it? Grief interrupts the joy of living and suffocates you. It's like dying but knowing you will eventually come up for air, and you will not pass out. You will live through it. You get it. You felt grief in the sharpest way possible. You were betrayed and rejected by the object of your love and sacrifice. And then you were rejected by your Father. You bore the weight of the sins of the whole world--the horrific acts of violence, cruelty, and debauchery. You felt them and You wore them as You died. And because You know what grief is, You are the only true comforter. So comfort us. Spread Your peace like a quilt over the shoulders of those who grieve parents, children, and the lives they hoped to live. Give each of us hope and confidence that You have a plan for us--You will prosper and keep us in Your perfect will. Grief is just a part of Your will. It's just not the part we wanted to experience. To und...

Lord, my Hope and Healer-- Give me words when my thoughts are jumbled. Give me peace when I am overwhelmed. Give me community when I feel alone. Give me comfort when I am grief-stricken. Give me Yourself, the only one who satisfies. Help me see You in the world, like hope on the horizon. Help me see You in Your people, who put their arms around me. Help me see You at work in my life, even when my heart feels hopeless. I'm lost without You. Amen.

Lord of Heaven, the Great Comforter, You, above all others, understand grief. You have experienced the anguish of being separated from the ones You love. So I pray confidently to ask for peace and comfort for my friends, who are grieving the loss of their father and husband. No matter how long someone lives, it is never long enough for those who love him. Saturate this family and friends with joy at his home-going and calm over the empty space in their hearts. Help them remember everything about his life and his love with thankfulness and happiness. Although they grieve, give them a grief that's overshadowed by praise of a life well-lived and a hope of eternal glory. Surround them with old friends and give them the blessing of hearing how he has impacted the world for Christ. And during the quiet moments and the darkness of night, send your Spirit to sit with them, hold them, and speak truth into their aching hearts. In Jesus' loving name, Amen. "Brothers and ...