Prayer for the grief-stricken at Christmas

If you are consumed by grief this Christmas, you are not alone. Can we just take a moment to pray?
Lord Jesus, I am so overwhelmed. My heart is heavy, burdened. The losses this year are crushing me, overcoming my peace and joy.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalm 34:18
I know you tell us you are close to the brokenhearted, but I don’t feel you. I feel lost, hopeless, abandoned. My spirit is crushed, but I don’t feel as if you are rescuing me.
I need you. I need you to draw me close. I need you to lift my spirit, to rescue me. I need you to take my grief and give me a spirit of joy.
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 1 Peter 5:10
I know this is a season, a season that has a beginning and an end. But right now it feels like it will never end. I need hope, hope to believe you will truly restore me, strengthen me. I need hope to believe you will one day have me put together and on my feet for good. I need a vision of the future you have for me, a future of hope and blessings from you.
The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28:7
As I walk through the trials of this life, I am learning yet again to trust you. I know when I come out on the other side, I will find you completely faithful. I know you will help me. Give me vision to see the many ways you are working right here around me, the many ways you are helping me. Fill my heart with joy so I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3
It’s so easy to become distracted, to focus on the many losses I have experienced. Forgive me. Help me to put my thoughts, my attention on you. Help me cling to you, to your word, to your promises. Help me be fixed on you because I know it’s the only way to enjoy your perfect peace.
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17
Take delight in me. Calm my fears. Rejoice over me. Help me feel your love in tangible ways.
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16
I’ve never needed your mercy and grace more than I do right now. I’m standing at your throne, begging you to pour it out upon me! Lavish me with your gifts, your goodness. You are my only hope!
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7
I keep giving you my worries, my cares, but it seems I always pick them back up again. Help me release them to you once and for all. Take them, Lord. I can’t carry them any longer. The worries and cares of this life are crushing me, sucking the life out of me.
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8: 26
I am weak beyond all explanation. I am collapsing under the weight of the pain and suffering. I have no words to pray, nothing except a broken heart to offer you. Help me in my weakness. Intercede on my behalf. Pour out your prayers, your groanings, over me. There are no more precious prayers than your prayers prayed over me.
But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
When you take away, I know there’s a reason. I don’t understand your ways, your purpose. I don’t understand why we have suffered these tremendous losses. But I know you will make a way. I know you will take the past and do something new. I know you are always at work around me and in me. Do something new in me. I surrender to you.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
Father, you tell us all things work for good. I don’t see it right now. I don’t know how sickness and death can work for my good. I don’t have your eyes in this situation. But I do trust you. I’ve seen you take the most difficult, painful circumstances and use them for good. I want to believe you will take this year and do the same. Help my unbelief.
Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. Zechariah 9:12
May I be among those who have hope, for You are my only hope. I don’t know how to get through these trials. I don’t know how to keep living in the face of these losses. Help me cling to you. Help me cling to the promise you have great blessings in store for me, blessings that greatly outweigh the troubles.
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:22-23
Thank you that your mercies never end, that your faithfulness is perfect. Thank you that each day is filled with your love, your goodness, your grace. Give me fresh eyes to see the beauty of this life you have given me, in spite of the pain and suffering I am facing now.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5
Lord, thank you that your favor comes. There is an end to this pain, this suffering. I only ask you to sustain me through the night as I wait to see the morning sun.
As I walk through this holiday season, give me a fresh glimpse of who You are. Help me remember the suffering You experienced as You watched your Son on the cross, a gift given just for me. Help me remember with joy and wonder the amazing gifts we have simply because you gave, a precious baby born that Christmas morning. Help me focus my heart and mind on Immanuel, God with me.
You are my hope, my only hope, for Christmas and every day on this earth. May I always carry your hope with me. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.
Now available is our new Daily Prayer devotional! An easy way to find start your day 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elijah and His Accomplishments

Image
His name means “The LORD is my God.” The message of his life matched his name. It still does today. Not only do we see evidence of this man threaded throughout portions of the Old Testament, but we also find mention of him sprinkled in the New Testament as well. His name? Elijah. So who was Elijah? What did he accomplish? As a person, what was he like? How did his faith intertwine with his everyday living? And how does he impact us?  Let’s take a look at fifteen attributes of Elijah and see how this man of faith encourages us in our own faith today. 1. Elijah was a Prophet Elijah’s message and the meaning of his name go together like a fresh glass of milk and warm cookies. He walked, talked, and encouraged others to believe that truly the Lord was God—just as his name purported. As a prophet he adamantly shared God’s message and warnings. Often, both came under fire. Sometimes, however, people turned from following false gods and found themselves deep in worsh...
Read more

Pentatonix

Image
Pentatonix 'What Christmas Means to Me' Yule Log (Music Video)  - Inspirational Videos djbeats   11515 views   about a month ago   source:  PTXofficial Oh! We are getting in the Christmas spirit! A capella group Pentatonix has released another great single “What Christmas Means To Me” from their holiday album “Christmas Is Here!”. If it’s anything like their previous holiday albums, this one will quickly rise to the top of the Billboard.  “Candles burning low  Lots of mistletoe  Lots of snow and ice  Everywhere we go  Choirs singing carols  Right outside my door”  With tight harmonies and amazing overlapping rhythms, Pentatonix really has our toes tappin’ with this upbeat version of “What Christmas Means To Me”. The upbeat song captures the joy of Christmas so perfectly. Add in a yule log video with flickering candles and Christmas trees and we admit to having the Christmas itch! It’s almost time to trade out the p...
Read more

Psalm 24: 1-6

Image
The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his sould to an idol nor sworn deceitfully, He shall receive blessing from the Lord. And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face. It is believed that these verses are a song that was written as David was bringing the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem. Later in the New Testament, Paul quotes these same words. This passage states that everything is under the control of God. It takes it back to creation onward. There are only the righteous who will be allowed to go into Holy Places with the Lord. These are those with clean hands and a pure heart; those with ethics and integrity. Living a good life has its rewards,...
Read more