A Prayer for the Grieving
By Emily Rose Massey

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, ESV).

Several years ago, I watched my husband, his parents, and my sister-in-law experience the deepest pain imaginable – pain so difficult that it physically hurt. The night my husband, Paul, received the news that his brother was in a tragic drowning accident, I held him as we both cried, huddled on the couch. He kept grabbing his chest and saying, “I miss him so much. This hurts so bad.” Each day after that moment, we continued to put one foot in front of the other as we walked through the pain with Jesus, trusting that He would continue to heal our broken hearts and believing we will see our precious brother (who was also a believer) again in heaven someday.

Not only did I sense the nearness of God after we lost our dear brother, but the scriptures flooded my heart with hope. This passage from 1 Thessalonians reminded me to keep my mind fixed on eternity: 

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, ESV).

What a beautiful reminder to all who might be experiencing pain and grief right now! We may feel pain and sorrow, but that does not mean we have no hope! Our life is only a vapor (James 4:14); this place is not our home. We have a promise that one day every tear will be wiped away, and pain will be no more (Revelation 21:4).

The Bible is full of truth about eternity and wisdom on how we should live our lives while we are still here on earth. Jesus doesn’t promise that we will escape pain here on earth, but He does promise that He will be with us always (Matthew 28:20).

In your pain and sorrow, cry to the Lord and walk with the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to bring you true comfort and peace while guiding you into truth about the Kingdom to come. Soon and very soon, we will be with Him forever where His perfect love will be all we ever experience. Until then, keep drawing near to Him and He will faithfully draw near to you, just as His Word promises us.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, 
As the waves of grief come crashing in on me, please remind my heart of the hope that I have in Christ. Holy Spirit, help me to fix my gaze upon heaven, where the promise of eternal life awaits me. Give me a voice to share my story of Your goodness and faithfulness during this difficult time of grief and pain. Thank You for bringing a peace that passes all understanding and healing broken hearts in Your timing.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/kaipong