Prayer healing protection and comfort during the loss of loved one

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer has been heard and your sorrow is not hidden from the Lord. The grief you carry is grievous and beyond words, to lose your cousin and best friend so suddenly, and to bear the loss of three cousins in such a short time, while caring for children who are also hurting. It is right to weep and to mourn, for love makes the wound deep, and God does not despise tears.

In this time of brokenness, take comfort in the oracles of God as medicines for the soul. Keep the New Testament, the Gospels, the Apostolic Epistles and the Acts as your constant teachers. When grief befalls you, dive into them as into a chest of medicines and take comfort for your trouble, whether it be loss or death or bereavement. Keep them in your mind, not only reading them once but taking them wholly to you, so that they may speak to you when you cannot see the way forward.

You have said that you trust that God makes no mistakes and that you know His will is perfect, even while your heart is broken. That trust is itself a ground of comfort. The promise we have in Jesus Christ is not only for this life where there is peril and sorrow, but for eternal life where grief and mourning flee away. Hope that is seen is not hope, and the promise of life in Christ calls us to look beyond what we suffer now.

We grieve, but not as those without hope. For those who have fallen asleep in Christ shall rise in Him, and we are comforted not only with the resurrection but with the abundant honor and the sure hope that we shall be ever with the Lord. Your cousin whom you loved, who was saved and loved the Lord as you do, rests in that hope. That does not take away the pain now, but it gives the pain a place to rest, in the mercy and faithfulness of God who will wipe away every tear.

I will pray with you and for you.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for today and for every day You give. We ask You to heal, bless and protect this family in every way. Let no weapon formed against them prosper, and deliver them from all evil. In this time of sorrow, wrap Your hands around them, be their eyes when they cannot see and their strength when they can barely hold their heads up. Comfort the five children who have lost their mother, and comfort these four children who have lost their godmother and who grieve deeply. Watch over all of them on their way to and from school and shield them with Your wings. Give this dear one strength to be strong for her family and her children when she feels alone, and remind her that with You she is never alone. Provide for the need of a proper funeral according to Your provision and grace, and sustain them day by day as they continue on. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for opening your heart so honestly in the midst of such deep sorrow. Hearing that you have lost three cousins in just months, and now your favorite cousin and best friend so suddenly, helps me understand why you feel so broken. The weight of grief you carry is very heavy, and it is right to bring it all to the Father. He sees you, He sees those five precious children who are hurting, and He sees your own children who loved their godmother so dearly.

Scripture calls our heavenly Father the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation. One of the reasons He allows His people to walk through affliction is so that we come to know His comfort in a personal way, and then are able to share that same comfort with others who suffer. You are not alone in this dark night. In the darkest hours, the Lord stands by to comfort and strengthen and encourage those who belong to Him. Even when it feels as if He is asleep or far away, even when the storm has lasted many days and you cannot see the sun, He is near. He has promised to be your eyes when you cannot see and your strength when you can barely lift your head.

You said you feel you must be strong for your family and your children, yet you feel your own strength is failing. That is the very place where God wants to show Himself as your strength. It is not your strength that will carry you, He is your strength. The Lord is the strength of your life, so you need not fear. He is your shield, your heart can trust in Him and you will be helped. He has promised to give strength to His people and to bless His people with peace. When you have come to the end of your own abilities, when you have tried everything and have nothing left, that is where He proves His faithfulness and provides the comfort you need for each day. Like David you can say, I will go in the strength of the Lord God, not in my own. He will not cast you off or forsake you when your strength fails, and He will give you strength to show His faithfulness to the next generation, to your children and to those five children who need to know His care.

Your grief is heavier than sand, and there are times when even friends who mean well do not know what to say. Some may be silent, some may not understand. But God understands the greatness of your sorrow. He does not heap guilt upon you. He offers pity and compassion to the afflicted. He knows that pain and sorrow, while very hard, are often the tools He uses to shape our character and to make us more like Christ, and He will not waste this suffering. He speaks a word of comfort over His people, and He promises a future restoration. He who comforts Zion will make her waste places like Eden and her desert like the garden of the Lord, so that joy and gladness and thanksgiving will be found there again. That day is coming, and even now He can bring small springs of joy and melody back into the wilderness of your heart as you walk with Him.

I am praying for you and your family now. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ I bring this dear one before You. Thank You that You are the God of all comfort. Please wrap Your arms around her, around the five children who have lost their mother, and around her own four children. Heal the brokenheartedness, give the comfort that only You can give, and be their strength when they have no strength. Let no weapon formed against them prosper in any shape or form, and deliver them from all evil. Provide for the needs for a proper funeral according to Your will, and show Yourself as Jehovah Jireh who sees and provides. Watch over all the children as they go to and from school, shield them under Your wings and keep them safe. Give this mother wisdom and daily strength to continue on for her family, and remind her moment by moment that she is never alone because You are with her. Thank You that her cousin loved You and was saved as a child, and is now with You. Help them all to rest in the hope of eternal life through Jesus alone, and to know that You are working in them both to will and to do Your good pleasure even through tears. Fill their mouths with Your praise and keep them in Your peace until You make all things right. In Jesus mighty name, Amen.

May the Lord keep His hand upon you and give you His strength, His peace, and His love day by day.