Words of Comfort: A Prayer for Seasons of Mourning

I'm writing this from a hotel room in Houston, but my heart is scattered across the country today. In Florida, members from my cancer support group are gathering to honor the memory of a fellow member and beloved friend. In Austin, one of my dearest friends is attending her mother’s memorial service.

Both of these beautiful women are now living in glory, so we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. But we do grieve. And I know that, like me, you have both spoken and unspoken grief in your life. 

Although today’s prayer is for those who are mourning any loss, my heart is particularly heavy for those who are experiencing the loss of a loved one. I’d like to share a personal message that I wrote for my friend as she sat by her mother’s hospice bedside. The Scripture verses and reflection brought her much comfort—I pray they bring comfort to you as well.

To a friend sitting at her mother's bedside:

Oh, how I’m praying for you. As I pray, I sense a slowed-down, tender feeling in the Spirit—almost as if God Himself is pausing to sit with you today. He’s noticing, and His full attention is on you and your mom. (Because He can do that and still hold the world together!) He's pausing with you and hovering over you to saturate every second with His comfort and care. He's hovering just like He did in Creation--because He's still creating something new. “He who began a good work in (your mom, you) will bring it to completion.” Right now, He’s bringing that good work to completion—creating a new birth for your mom. The pain you feel today is the pain of new birth: in a believer’s transition to eternal life, the birth pains are shared by those who love them.

He sees every tear:

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev 21:4 ESV).

She’s going forward into JOY:

"But for you who fear My name [with awe-filled reverence] the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go forward and leap [joyfully] like calves [released] from the stall" (Malachi 4:2 AMP).

Death cannot claim her because she will be swallowed up by LIFE—eternal and untouchable:

"For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life" (2 Cor 5:4 ESV).

Although my friend was heavy on my heart as I wrote the following prayer, I was also thinking of:

• the person who was just diagnosed with a life-changing disease.

• a beloved sister-in-Christ whose canine companion recently died.

• those whose dreams for their family have been fractured by disease, addiction, or death. 

What are you mourning today? The Lord knows your circumstances and situation. He sees you and longs to come near to you. Take a moment to pray A Prayer for Comfort in Mourning and draw close to your Comforter today.

As always, I spent time searching Scripture before writing A Prayer for Comfort in Mourning. These are some of the verses that were fueling my thoughts as I wrote:

"Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!" (Psalm 4:1).

 "Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!" (Psalm 102:1-2).

"I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words” (Psalm 17:6).

"Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help" (Psalm 22:11). 

"I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, 'Do not close your ear to my cry for help!' You came near when I called on you; you said, 'Do not fear!'“ (Lamentations 3:56-57).

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).

“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” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy..." (Philippians 2:1).

"Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead..." (Philippians 3:13).

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death..." (Philippians 3:7-10).

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6).

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

"The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:9-10).

 If A Prayer for Comfort in Mourning encouraged you, please pray it for a loved one and pass it along to them! Let’s spread the compassion and comfort of Christ to others. 

May you be enrobed in the warm embrace of Christ's comfort today. 

*Unsplash photo by @aaronburden