Prayer has been difficult for me since burying a child-I’ve written about that struggle in a previous post.
I have yet to find a comprehensible way to think about both the sovereignty of God and His goodness, free will and predestination.
So I find myself incapable of praying for things like safety for my children, freedom from disease or specific outcomes in difficult circumstances.
Instead I pray the prayers of Paul, straight from Scripture-prayers that focus on expanding a person’s understanding of Who God is, how much he or she is loved by God and the development of godly fruit in his or her life.
THESE are prayers I can still pray, I hope they are helpful for others in similar circumstances.
Ephesians 1:17-23
Glorious Father, I thank you for_______, and I bless them. I ask You to give _____the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that ______may know You better. Enlighten the eyes of ______’s heart, so that they may know
- the hope to which You have called them,
- the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints,
- And Your incomparably great power for them because they believe, the power of the resurrection and the ascension which seated Jesus at Your right hand where He is above all rule and authority, and power and dominion in this world, and all things are under His feet.
Fill ____with all the fullness of Jesus in every way today.
Ephesians 3:15-20
I call You Father, and I pray
- that from Your glorious riches You will strengthen______with power through Your Spirit in their inner being,
- that Christ may dwell in ______’s heart through faith,
- that ____will be rooted and established in love,
- that____may have power, with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
- that ____will know this love that surpasses knowledge,
- that___will be filled to the measure of the fullness of God.
I give You all the glory, for You are able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to Your power that is working within us.
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Melanie,
Thank you for this. I too struggle with sovernity and my child no longer here. It has been 5 yrs. Still sucks but i am doing better. I can pray but safety for my other 2 girls. I pray that, but I know it could happen again.
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I pray mostly that He would spare the lives of our unsaved children and grands so that He can bring them to faith. And I pray for the purity of our 6 grandsons and their future wives (the oldest is only 13). I also pray that God would make them 1 Cor 16:13-14 men—“Be on The alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” And my go-to personalized Scriptures include Eph 3:14-21, Ps 51:12, and the best ever: Rom 15:13 (Now may the God of hope fill ____ with all joy and peace in believing, that ____ may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”) I use these in praying with hospice patients and people in general…like my husband. I have many other faves that I tend to use rather than my own prayers. A really good reason to memorize Scripture!
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Such a wonderful prayer! I learned about praying Scripture 30 years ago and have done it ever since. It IS a good reason to memorize it. These are absolutely my go-to prayers since Dom left us. What a precious ministry you have if you are serving in Hospice. May the Lord continue to strengthen you for this journey. ❤
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Yes, I just can’t seem to pray for the safety of my living daughter. It’s been 21 months and I am still wrestling with prayer, although I do seem to find it easier to pray for the needs of others. I trust in the Lord always. That’s all I can do. Prayers for you and all the bereaved parents out there.
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I have the same struggle. I don’t pray for safety although my heart still desperately wants to. I’m so sorry for your pain and your loss. Praying that the Father will give you the strength to endure and to hold onto hope. ❤
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I have the same dilemma in regards to prayer now as you have. I too, usually pray these things for others and myself: God’s strength, knowledge of Him, understanding Him, Godly wisdom, His perfect peace, knowing His love, & having patience, rather than specific outcomes like healing from a sickness… But even praying for these things that lead us to being Christ-like seems risky….for in suffering we gain many of these attributes…. We know from our own personal loss, the afflictions don’t seem light and momentary….but rather searingly agonizing. I know in my weakness, he is strong…. but those trials that show our weaknesses can really, really hurt, as you well know. Sometimes however, I do pray for specific physical outcomes: I hugged my remaining daughter yesterday and silently prayed, “Please don’t take her yet, Lord. May she yet have more days ordained for her.” May the Lord carry us all home. 🕊
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Deirdre, I join you in praying the same for my living children-so I suppose I DO pray for physical outcomes in general still. Yes. May the Lord carry us all home and may we be compassionate companions to one another on the way. ❤
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You and me are in a similar place for this one, I hope that some day it will be different – better I mean!
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Needed this….thank you!
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