A Prayer for Those Mourning A Loss this Winter
By Meg Bucher
It takes a strength that we don’t humanly possess to move through a season of sadness and despair. The Winter months can carry a blue perspective, especially when the snap of gray winter skies extends beyond our ability to cope without sun-light. God’s Spirit rests upon the frigid air, to comfort those saying earthly good-byes and facing the impossible return to life as usual without someone they held dear.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
Refuge is a shelter or protection from danger, trouble. (dictionary.com) The original Hebrew root-word means to seek or flee for protection; to put confidence and trust in God. (Strongs 2620)
God’s character assures us that though our lives bend and twist, He is the same. When we wander in grief, He is strong. Jesus promised never to leave us, and His presence restores peace to our souls. “God is our shelter and our strength,” the VOICE paraphrase sings, “When troubles seem near, God is nearer, and He’s ready to help. So why run and hide?”
Instead of hiding our grief and attempting to walk through it numbly, we serve a God who wants us to break down to Him. We can crumble at His feet, and He will pick us up. His love is perfect. Christ came down to earth out of compassion for us, and He watches after every one of His sheep. When one is lame or hurting, He knows! And He rushes to our side.
Father,
Praise You for Your omnipotent hand of protection over our lives. Even though we come to You with downcast hearts, we know in full confidence that You are able to lift us out of our grief. You are our Healer. You know our hearts, from our aching hurts to our feelings of despair. As the frigid winter air freezes the ground, our hurting hearts tend to harden. Mourning isn’t easy, and we’d often rather go it alone, or avoid it altogether. When we wish to close everyone off and isolate our hearts, empower us to bring the broken pieces of our hearts to You.
Death is difficult, but we are promised to be reunited with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in heaven. For those of us that mourn the loss of a fellow believer, we know that our pain is temporary, and that theirs has now passed away to eternal peace with Christ in heaven. Though it’s difficult to say good-bye, we know that Your presence is more than enough to restore our peace and fuel our continued perseverance of Your purpose for our lives on this earth.
Forgive us for wallowing in times of despair and hopelessness. Holy Spirit, translate the groaning of our heart to the Father that sits above all in sovereignty. Relieve feelings of anger, confusion, depression, anxiety, and all other maladies of the heart and soul the coincide with grief and mourning. Help us to adjust to life without the one we mourn.
Thank You for the time we were granted with their sweet soul while their time on earth ran its course. For the ways they helped us grow closer to You, and challenged us to follow the course You set out for our lives. For those of us saying goodbye to mentors and teachers, seeds of doubt that we can walk as courageously without them will temp us to falter. But the remnants of their love for You will carry on in our lives in ways that we may never comprehend. Help us to retain their memory, Father. May our memories be swift, and our grief be short.
We know that every life is numbered perfectly by You, and we trust You first with our lives, and the lives of the ones we love on this earth. Help us to let go, knowing every life belongs to You, first. Bless us with an appreciation of the mark they left in Your honor on this earth, Father. May they rest in the peace of Your arms, until we see them again.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Meg Bucher encourages others to seek Him first through her life as a stay-at-home mom, a career as a freelance writer, teaching Emoti-moms Weekly Bible Study, and leading the kids worship teams at her local church. She resides in a small, Northern lake town with her husband of ten years, two daughters, and their Golden-doodle. Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ on her blog, https://sunnyand80.org/.
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