Prayer for the grieving heart

A Prayer for the Grieving Heart
By: Jennifer O. White

“But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” ->Romans 8:26b (NLT).

Our world has been shaken. My husband’s older brother and only sibling, Ken, dropped dead in his bathroom. We still don’t know why. While we wait on autopsy results, we shake our heads in disbelief at how someone who appeared to be the picture of health could just die so suddenly.

My husband and I, his parents, his children, extended family and many friends are all flooded with grief. We have great joy in knowing Ken is with Jesus enjoying the best days of his eternal life. We celebrate our hope of joining him there. Meanwhile we miss him greatly.

If you are experiencing a grief like this, take this prayer to a quiet place, light a candle or two, and let your soul speak to the One who always hears his children’s tears.

A Prayer for the Grieving Heart

You are Immanuel, God with me. Thank You for being with me now as I mourn this loss. You are the God of all Comfort and I willingly receive Your comfort now. I do not know what Your comfort will look like or feel like, but I trust it even so.

My heart is broken but You are near. My spirit is crushed, but You are my rescuer. Your Word is my hope. It revives me and comforts me in especially now. My soul faints, but you are the breath of life within me. You are my help, the One who sustains me. I am weak but You are strong. You bless those who mourn, and I trust You to bless me and my family with all that we need. You will rescue me from this dark cloud of despair because You delight in me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Editor’s Note: Portions of this devotional were taken from Jennifer White’s article, 4 Simple Prayers for the Grieving Heart. You can read that piece in full here.

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Perhaps social media has increased our awareness, but chances are you or someone you know is enduring a season of grief right now: the death of a loved one, friend, neighbor or coworker.

Loss always produces grief. There is no escaping it. If you try to deny it or postpone it, it will only gather force and become more debilitating the longer you try to suppress it. That is one reason prayer is an indispensable resource for a grieving heart. While intelligible prayer may seem impossible in the early days of a deep loss, one or more of the following prayers may become helpful as the shock begins to subside:

1) Pour out your grief.
“Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief” (Psalm 31:9, NIV). My heart is broken, my mind exhausted. I cry out to you and hardly know what to ask. All I can do is tell you how I feel and ask you to “keep track of all my sorrows. . . . all my tears in your bottle. . . . each one in your book” as I pour them out to you (Psalm 56:8, NLT). Amen.

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2) Ask for comfort.
Jesus, You said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4, NIV). I am mourning; send me Your comfort now. Wrap around Your arms around me and hold me tight. Send angels of mercy to me. Shower Your comfort on me through those around me, and keep far from me those whose words and actions are no comfort. Amen.

3) Ask for healing.
O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, hurry to help me. Please take the consuming anguish I feel right now; take it from me and hold me in Your arms. Heal my broken heart and bind up my wounds (see Psalm 147:3). Amen.

4) Ask for peace.
Jesus, You told Your followers, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well. . . . Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:1, 27, NIV). I need Your peace. I need “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” to guard my heart and mind (Philippians 4:7, NIV). I need peaceful sleep. I ask for peaceful thoughts and emotions to rule my days and nights. Amen.

Read More: The Garden That Healed Our Grief

5) Ask for hope.
Lord, the Bible says You are “close to the brokenhearted and those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18, NLT). Draw close to me and rescue me. Help me not to grieve like those who haven’t discovered Your kindness and mercy, who have no hope (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13); lift me up and give me hope once more. Help me to believe that tomorrow will be better, and the next day will be easier, and that a day will come when I will feel a surge of energy and expectation for what You are doing and where You will take me. Amen.

As the prayers above suggest, you may find special comfort in reading and praying the Psalms during a season of grief. They can help you take the time to grieve well and to pray as much as you are able.

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Our world has been shaken. My husband’s older brother and only sibling dropped dead. We still don’t know why. While we wait on autopsy results, we shake our heads in disbelief at how someone who appeared to be the picture of health could just die so suddenly. Our family and many friends are all overwhelmed with grief.

We have great joy in knowing Ken is with Jesus enjoying the best days of his eternal life. We celebrate our hope of joining him there. Meanwhile we miss him.

Grieving together is not new to our family. Ken’s oldest daughter, Leigh Ann, died ten years ago after a tragic car accident. So we smile through our tears knowing that father and daughter are completely whole and reunited in the presence of our Lord.

The shock of death seems to steal our breath and with it our ability to think clearly. I’ve noticed that it has been hard for me to think of how to pray for the people I love so dearly and for myself. I’m thankful that my faith is deeper than my grief. And I’m even more thankful that God knows precisely how our brains function in times like these and He has mercifully given us the Holy Spirit to pray for us.

But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings
that cannot be expressed in words.
Romans 8:26b NLT

I see Romans 8:26, God’s deep compassion for us. I imagine the Spirit so filled with love for us, knowing our weakness in grief and relentlessly praying so that we can experience God’s comfort.

I’ve written the following Scripture prayers so that you and I can find them when tragedy strikes and we can’t find our way through the fog of grief to the words we want to pray.

Note: You can reword these into prayers for those who are grieving and don’t feel like they can pray for themselves.

Declarations of Faith

You are Immanuel, God with me. Thank You for being with me now. Isaiah 7:14

You are the God of all Comfort and I receive Your comfort now. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:13

My heart is broken but You are near. My spirit is crushed, but You are my rescuer. Psalm 34:18

Your Word is my hope. It revives me and comforts me in all my troubles. Psalm 119:50

My soul faints, but you are the breath of life within me. Job 33:4, Ezekiel 37

You are my help, the One who sustains me. Psalm 54:4

You bless those who mourn, and I trust You to bless me and my family with all that we need. Matthew 5:4

You will rescue me from this dark cloud of despair because You delight in me. Psalm 18:19

Thanksgiving

Thank You, Lord, for providing people to weep with me. Romans 12:15

Thank You, Lord, for surrounding me with Your goodness and mercy even today as I grieve. Psalm 23:6

I trust that You, Lord, are my source of joy and I will not weep forever. Psalm 30:5

I’m thankful, Lord, that You have not hidden Your face from me. Thank You for hearing me when I cry to You. Psalm 22:24

Lord, I am thankful that You know what I need before I ask You. Matthew 6:8

Thank You, Lord, for being my strength and my shield. Psalm 28:7a

Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to cast my anxieties on You. 1 Peter 5:7

Petitions

Here’s my broken heart, Lord. I need Your healing touch. Psalm 147:3, Isaiah 61:1

I am weary and heavy-laden and in great need of rest from You, Lord. Matthew 11:28, Psalm 62:1

Protect me from the evil one and his offerings of depression and anxiety. Hide me under the shadow of Your wing. Psalm 17:8

For Your name’s sake, deliver me from thoughts of weakness, hopelessness and helplessness. Psalm 109:21-22

When my heart sinks low, send Your word and heal me, Lord. Psalm 107:20

Help me, Lord, not to panic and make unwise decisions. I need Your help to be still and acknowledge You as my source of my wisdom and stability. Psalm 46:10

Help me to guard my heart, Lord, so that I am not easily offended by people who say the wrong things or avoid me because they are not sure what to say. Proverbs 4:23

Help me, Lord, to receive Your comfort from the people who are drawing near to me. I do not want to dismiss Your servants who bring me Your comfort. Romans 12:15

My mind feels like fog and then sometimes it is a whirlwind. Guide my thoughts with Your counsel, Lord. Psalm 73:23-24

Deliver me, Lord, from the fear of _________. Psalm 34:4

Praying with Songs

Sometimes it is hard to find the strength to voice our prayers. In those moments, we can listen to the following songs with a “yes, Lord” in our hearts.

Here is a YouTube playlist of prayers for the grieving heart that I put together. You can let these songs bypass your unsettled mind and allow them to nurture your soul with God’s truth about who He is to you and who you are to Him.

www.jenniferowhite.com

The shock of death can quickly rob us of our ability to think clearly. If you or someone you know is suffering from a grieving heart, here are 4 simple prayers to help bring peace.

Credit: ThinkStock

RELATED: 4 Lies Satan Will Use To Try To Deceive You In Times Of Darkness

The shock of death seems to steal our breath and with it our ability to think clearly. I’ve noticed that it has been hard for me to think of how to pray for the people I love so dearly and myself. I’m thankful that my faith is deeper than my grief. I’m so much more thankful that God knows precisely how our brains function in times like these and He has mercifully given us the Holy Spirit to pray for us.

But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings
that cannot be expressed in words (Romans 8:26b NLT).

I see in Romans 8:26, God’s deep compassion for us. I imagine the Spirit so filled with love for us, knowing our weakness in grief and relentlessly praying so that we can experience God’s comfort.

I am documenting the following Scripture prayers so that you and I both can find them when tragedy strikes and we can’t find our way through the fog of grief to the words we want to pray.

RELATED: How To Pray The Psalms For Comfort During Grief

Note: You can reword these into prayers for those who are grieving and don’t feel like they can pray for themselves.

Table of contents

1 Declarations of Faith
2 Thanksgiving
3 Petition
4 Praying with Songs
5 Prayers to Encourage Your Christian Life

Declarations of Faith

Credit: ThinkStock

You are Immanuel, God with me. Thank You for being with me now as I mourn the loss of _________. Isaiah 7:14

You are the God of all Comfort and I willingly receive Your comfort now. I do not know what Your comfort will look like or feel like, but I trust it even so. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:13

My heart is broken but You are near. My spirit is crushed, but You are my rescuer. Psalm 34:18

Your Word is my hope. It revives me and comforts me in especially now. Psalm 119:50

RELATED: This Prayer For Inner Peace Comes In Handy When Life Gets Crazy

My soul faints, but you are the breath of life within me. Job 33:4, Ezekiel 37

You are my help, the One who sustains me. I am weak but You are strong. Psalm 54:4

You bless those who mourn, and I trust You to bless me and my family with all that we need. Matthew 5:4

You will rescue me from this dark cloud of despair because You delight in me. Psalm 18:19

Thanksgiving

Thank You Lord for providing people to weep with me. Romans 12:15

Thank You Lord for surrounding me with Your goodness and mercy even today as I grieve. Psalm 23:6

I trust that You are my source of joy and I will not weep forever. Psalm 30:5

I’m thankful, Lord, that You have not hidden Your face from me. Thank You for hearing me when I cry to You. Psalm 22:24

Lord, I am thankful that You know what I need before I ask You. Matthew 6:8

Thank You, Lord, for being my strength and my shield. Psalm 28:7a

Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to cast my anxieties on You. 1 Peter 5:7

Petition