Beloved Lord, 

Thank You so much for Your love, mercy, grace, goodness, and faithfulness that goes with us all every breath, every step, every moment of every day.  Your holiness and righteousness hem us in before, beside, behind. 

There is never a tear that runs uncounted by Your eyes nor sob released that isn’t captured by Your ears.  Every aching beat of our heart echoes within Your infinite compassion.    

Lord, please bring all who are grieving right now an acute awareness of Your presence, Your love, and Your strength.  Give them the opportunity to see glimpses of the glorious work of Your hands. 

Lord, I pray for a release and a freedom for all who mourn.  Freedom from any pressure to grieve in a certain way or for a specific period of time.  Release from the weight of anguish too heavy to bear by oneself.    

Lord, whether the loss just happened recently, if it has been months, or even years or decades, whether it was anticipated for a time or unexpectedly sudden, when the swells of sadness splash down, may there be a willingness to cry out to You.  May the desire to wade through the waves grief with the one true God be greater than the fleshly desires to avoid, to stuff, to numb, or to run from processing the pain. 

Lord, I pray that those who have been comforted by You, who You have walked down lanes of loss previously in their paths, would reach out to be comfort givers.  May their presence be peaceful, may their ears be attentive, may their hearts be compassionate, and may their words speak life. 

Lord, I pray unity, patience, and understanding for grieving families.  Families are such beautiful blends of unique personalities, all of which process loss in different ways and at different paces.  Lord, please work between and through all precious members of the family so they have not only what is needed individually, but that the needs of the whole are abundantly provided for.  Supply any necessary buffers preventing additional pain from the collision of different grieving styles. 

Please remind all who weep alone, separated, isolated from those they love, who long to be comforted by being held, that You hold them in the strength and tenderness of Your arms, under the comfort of Your wing.  Bring warm feelings of Your touch, Your presence, to melt away the cold chill of seclusion. 

Lord, please give courage to all who grieve to not give up.  Help them to resiliently place their trust in You time and time again.  May they have the boldness to reach out to others even if they are uncertain of how to articulate what it is they need, knowing that the Holy Spirit communicates in ways so much greater than we can understand.  

Lord, remind us all in trying times that You will never leave us or forsaken us.  You are the Abba Father, the Good Shepherd, who gave Jesus Christ as a sacrifice to take the total of all anguish, all pain, all suffering, all death, and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome what fleshly loss separates to be united in You for all eternity.  

As we journey through seasons of grief, walking with You in the shadow of the valley of death where the breath of evil makes the hair on our necks stand on end, we need not fear, but trust that You will deliver us.  You are the great God of redemption and restoration, of healing and hope, of peace and provision.

In the name of Jesus, beautiful and resurrected Savior, we pray, amen.