Prayer For Family Of Suicide Victim
Dear Lord,
I lift up this hurting family and all the hurting friends.
Wrap your loving arms around them and calm their emotions and soothe their pain.
Lord, I pray that you would give the lady who wrote me your words and your wisdom so that she can be an instrument of your healing - and help her also to heal.
Father, I am at a loss for helpful ideas, but you are the God of all comfort. Personalize your encounters with each hurting one. Give them strength and motivation to keep moving forward toward a more healed place in you.
Help each one to make a commitment to move toward you and not away from you.
Bring your miracles into the lives of all the family and friends who are in this painful place.
Shelter each one from the plots and plans of the enemy.
Protect each one from suffering from false guilt and unproductive human reasoning.
Protect them and bless them this day and every day.
In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen
Our hearts are broken.
_____ took his/her own life.
And even though it might appear
that s/he died by his/her own hand,
no one does this without great, coercing pain,
inner suffering that seems to have no end,
even though we wish
s/he knew that no agony is forever.
Source of compassion, help us to cry out loud,
to hold each other gently,
to live with unanswerable questions,
normal feelings of anger and guilt,
and this gaping hole of loss.
Help us to reach out to others who are suffering,
to show them our love, to say the kind word,
and that this is not a choice we condone
or is worth imitation.
It is hard to see the divine image in the lives of those who suffer.
The sun sets and rises.
We put one foot in front of the other.
We hold our hearts in our hands.
We lift them up to You, God of eternal peace,
and to each other.
Help us live each day.
Amen.
God our creator,
Your Holy Spirit prays for us even when we do not know how to pray.
Send your Spirit to comfort us in our need and loss, and help us to commend (their name) to your merciful care;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Dear Lord,
Please help me in this time of loss and overwhelming grief. I don't understand why my life is filled with this pain and heartache. But I turn my eyes to you as I seek to find the strength to trust in your faithfulness. I will wait on you and not despair; I will quietly wait for your salvation. My heart is crushed, but I know that you will not abandon me forever. Please show me your compassion, Lord. Help me through the pain so that I will hope in you again. I believe this promise in your Word to send me fresh mercy each day. Though I can't see past today, I trust your great love will never fail me.
Amen.
Merciful God,
hear the cries of our grief,
for you know the anguish of our hearts.
It is beyond our understanding
and more than we can bear.
Bless, O God of eternal life,
all who have died
by their own hand.
Grant them peace
from their inner turmoil
and the compassion of your love.
Comfort those who mourn
their loved ones.
Strengthen them to face the questions of pain,
the guilt and anger,
the irreparable loss.
Help us to reach out in love
to others who prefer death
to the choices of life
and to their families who grieve.
Amen.
God our strength and our redeemer: you do not leave us in this life nor abandon us in death. Hear our prayer for those in despair, when days are full of darkness and the future empty of hope. Renew in them your sustaining strength for we believe that there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
God of hope, we come to you in shock and grief and confusion of heart. Help us to find peace in the knowledge of your loving mercy to all your children, and give us light to guide us out of our darkness into the assurance of your love, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.