Prayer for the family of the dead

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

The loss of a loved one can be a shocking and desperate time, whether it was sudden or foreseen. Losing someone you love is a long and winding journey. Grief is unpredictable and can feel extremely lonely. It is important in times of mourning and sadness to recall the truth of God's love and faithfulness.

We have selected some of our most read prayers to offer comfort and peace when you lose a loved one. Call out to God in the stillness, share your emotions, and let the peace of God help you in this time of loss. 

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)

Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

A Prayer for Comfort in Loss

I cry for those of us left behind, for the lonely ones with hollows in our hearts. I ask You to comfort us, give us peace, restore hope, and lavish us with love, family, and belonging. In the depths of loss, meet us with Yourself.

I cry for the legacy this loved one left, for the ways the world has been made different by their presence, and for the memories that become both more beautiful and more painful on this side of death. And I pray that the work You have accomplished in this remarkable life will grow deeper, wider, and stronger in the days to come, uninhibited by a weak opponent like death. - Gregory Coles

It can often be hard to trust God when life hurts this much. For help on how to pray during this time, download our FREE Trusting God When Life Hurts 30-Day Prayer Guide.

A Prayer for When You Grieve a Lost Loved One

My heart feels like a thousand knives are running through it. I am weary, spent, and just so sad. Please, help me! Hear my prayers. Hold my family and me up. Give us strength. Be present. Be persistent in your love. Carry us through this heartache. Sustain us. Bring us joy and hope. - Lisa Appelo

A Prayer for Loss of a Friend

Today Father, as I grieve for the loss of my friend, I find comfort in the fact that You too grieve for him.  You have watched soul after soul after soul fall prey to the enemy’s lies.

Thank You, Lord, for opening my ears to Your words, my eyes to Your truths, and my heart to Your message.  Thank You for allowing me to understand what truly awaits the ones who choose not to come.  Thank You for the ones who sought me out to share the glorious news of eternal life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. 

Father, forgive us for being selfish with Your message of hope.  Open our eyes to see the people of this world through Your eyes, so that we would move with urgency, carrying Your Banner of Hope, until the whole world hears.  We ask these things in the Sweet Name of Jesus, Amen. - Amy Duncan

A Prayer for When Grief Makes Praying Hard 

Jesus, my pain is so deep. My anger is fierce, my fear is crippling. And then in the midst of all of these emotions, numbness sets in. I struggle to know how to pray or where to begin! So I’m going to remind myself of truth. I know you are here with me in my grief. I know you are mending the brokenness in ways I can’t always see. Lord, hold me in your arms, take this pain and help me bear it. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

A Prayer for Comfort When You’re Grieving

Father, grant me gospel joy; help me to rejoice in Christ even as I grieve. Envelope me with the peace and comfort only you can provide. As the days move into months, may this burden lessen. As the months move to years, use me to encourage and bless someone else who must walk a similar path. Help me to point them to you as the God of all comfort. I know that you are always with me and that your love never ceases. Help me to find refuge in you and nowhere else. - Christina Fox

A Prayer for God to Fill the Emptiness

I find myself crying out to you day and night. You calm my soul even as I turn my heart to you. May I long for you as the deer longs for streams of water. May I thirst for you even as the tears flood my face (Psalm 42:1-3).

I know you are my refuge and strength and that you always stand ready to help in times just like this. I will choose not to fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble. Let the oceans roar and foam and the mountains tremble as the waters surge! (Psalm 46:1-3) And as the world chaotically moves around me, I will rest in you. I will choose to be still and know that you are God (Psalm 46:10).

Father, I am empty. But you are my rescuer, my cup-filler. You are the joy of my heart, my only hope. I come to you asking for more—more of your power, more of your strength, more of your renewal. Take my heartaches and pains. Take my grief and my exhaustion. Take it and renew me. Amen. Dena Johnson

For Jesus to Comfort

Jesus, You know what it is like to feel that God has abandoned you.  You know pain and loss better than anyone else.  Come to us now and let us feel your presence.  We know that you are close to the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourn (Psalm 34:18). Help us to let you into our grief, to give you our anger and doubt.  Jesus, pull us out of the void. In your name, Amen.

A Prayer for When You Feel All Alone

Dear God, Thank you for seeing us right where we are, amid our pain and struggle, in the middle of our desert land. Thank you that you have not forgotten us and never will. Forgive us for not trusting you, for doubting your goodness, or not believing you’re there. We choose to set our eyes on you today. We choose joy and peace when the whispered lies come and say that we should have no joy or peace. Thank you for caring for us; your love for us is so great.

We confess our need for you. Fill us fresh with your Spirit, renew our hearts and minds in your truth. We ask for your hope and comfort to continue to heal our hearts where they’ve been broken. Give us the courage to face another day, knowing that we have nothing to fear with you before us and behind us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. - Debbie McDaniel

For God's Presence and Comfort

Jesus, You know what it is like to feel that God has abandoned you.  You know pain and loss better than anyone else.  Come to us now and let us feel your presence.  We know that you are close to the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourn (Psalm 34:18). Help us to let you into our grief, to give you our anger and doubt.  Jesus, pull us out of the void. In your name, Amen. - Katie Harmon

A Prayer For the Sting of Death

Dear Lord, we will face many terrifying events throughout this life, but may we never forget that the ultimate victory belongs to you. Through your sacrifice, death has been defeated. As we continue to walk in your truth, help us to set our eyes on Heavenly things. Amen. 

Prayer for the Hope of Heaven after This Life

Jesus, When it came time for you to comfort your disciples you told them about the home you were preparing for them in heaven. Thank you for knowing we need the assurance that this life is not the end, and the promise that _________ will have eternity in heaven with you. For the pain and suffering he must endure now, please reassure his mind and help him to grasp onto the truth that he will be with you, and heaven will be his forever home.

Please strengthen him with the knowledge that you will be the one to wipe away all his tears, and that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Though he can’t see it now and it is beyond our human abilities to comprehend, give him faith to continue to believe your promise to help sustain him each moment of this journey. Amen. - Lisa Samra

Prayer for a Friend's Strength

Gracious God, My heart grieves for my friend but I am also so saddened for her family and friends who are deeply impacted by this heart-wrenching situation. As these family members navigate their own pain and suffering, please remind them that you are near to comfort them as well. When they are overcome by sadness and fear, remind them that you do not sleep, or even take a nap; instead, you are always alert and available to provide the strength they need. You are the only true source of healing and recovery. As they provide practical care and faithfully serve, please strengthen them when they are discouraged. As they lift their eyes to you, remind them of your love and that the empowering presence of your Spirit is available to them at every moment of each day. Amen. - Lisa Samra

A Prayer for When You’ve Lost Everything

Lord, I’ll just be honest: I feel like everything good has been taken from me. And I feel like You’ve let it happen. Can I admit that to You? Thank you for being big enough to handle all my fears, angers, and uncertainties.  Lord, thank you for this truth: I am afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, struck down but not destroyed. Lord, help me- give me Your Spirit, help me know Your goodness even in the midst of this pain. Help me out of this pit, Lord, and onto steady ground. Thank You God for never leaving me. Help me only have hope in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

From Sorrow to Joy

Dear Lord, Thank You that there is healing in Your presence. I call on Your Name now, Jesus, and invite The Holy Spirit to come near and touch me with Your healing balm. I release my sorrow to You and ask You to fill every void in my heart with Your peace and love. Thank You for my loved one’s life on earth and for the time I had with them. I release them to You, entrusting You to care for them for all eternity, knowing that I will see them again in Your timing. I choose to praise You at all times. Thank You for healing my heart. I love You Jesus. In Your Holy Name, Amen. - Margaret D. Mitchell

For God's Love and Peace

Dear Lord, You alone are the Comforter. Please provide a season of comfort in the midst of deep sadness, to the hearts that are hurting. Hold them, Father. Please wrap your loving arms around them so that they know they are not alone. You are the One who brings peace. We need you, Lord. Please cover the hurt with Your faithful and peaceful presence, Jesus. In your name we pray, Amen. - Courtney Stanford

Prayer for the Broken-Hearted

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. - Dena Johson

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalm 34:18

Prayer for Eyes Fixed on Jesus

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.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3

For Strength in Weakness

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.

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

For Hope in Sickness and Death

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

A Prayer to Mourn with Those Who Mourn

Father, teach me to help those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. My tendency is to try and "fix" the problem when someone is hurting. Help me remember that I can't fix the problem … I can't speak the right words that will make everything better … but I can be there. I can listen. I can pray. I can mourn with them. May the love and compassion of Jesus flow through me. In Jesus' name. - Living Free Every Day

A Prayer for Joy After Mourning

Dear Lord, help me accept the difficult circumstances in my life. Thank You for staying by my side, even when the hardships of life seem to have come between us. I hand You my heartache today, and I trust You to use my pain for a greater purpose in others’ lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7

Lord, you are my strength and my shield. You are my protector, my warrior who goes before me and behind me. I know I must learn to release my fears, my doubts, and trust you, trust you to fight the battles only you can fight. It’s only by trusting you, by turning my heart toward you and believing the promises of your Word, that I can find joy again.

Show me your faithfulness again. Show me your goodness and grace. Show me your unmatched and unconditional love for me. Wrap me in your arms and smother me with your peace so I can experience your joy, so I can praise you with song.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, Psalm 30:11

I know you will turn my mourning into dancing, that you will again clothe me with joy. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. But I choose to believe, to trust your word, to belief your truth.

Help me to refocus my heart and mind, to think on those things that are lovely and noble and true and right and excellent and praiseworthy. Help me to bring my cares to you, casting them on you because you care for me. Teach me to cast out worry and anxiety and fear and instead bring my concerns to you with thanksgiving. Help me be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Give us joy, true joy that only comes from you. Amen. - Dena Johnson

Prayer for a Fragile Heart

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that you are a God who loves us unconditionally.  Thank you for being our comforter in our deepest times of need.  Lord I ask that you would send hope and healing into my heart right now. I’m hurting more than I ever knew I could.  I need you.  I need your comfort and strength. Help me take my next breath and next step in you.  Help me to know that it will be okay because you are with me.  In Jesus name, Amen. - AJ Luck

What is the best prayer for the dead?

What is the best prayer for a family?

What is the prayer of comfort?

What do we pray for after death?