Loving Lord, You are the one Who said, "suffer the little children to come unto me," and today we specially think of the many children who have lost one or more parents due to illness or accident, or even due to desertion, suicide or imprisonment.
Father, today we lift up all those who have lost a parent, or have been parted from them for whatever reason, and we pray that Your special comfort and grace would be extended to these children in their time of loss and trauma. We ask that You would draw close to each one and help them to come to terms with losing one of the most important people in their life.
We pray that their loss and grief would not be overlooked by other adults, but that You would provide the right people to minister to them and to supply the appropriate comfort and support during this time of loss. May each child come to know You as their Heavenly Father, and receive from You the comfort of a loving parent, so that they may grow into emotionally stable adults who have come to trust You as their Saviour and Friend. This we ask in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, it is so hard to finally say goodbye to a parent. I never really thought that the time would ever come that my father or mother would die, and it has caused me to reflect on what both my parents meant to me.
Oh Lord, as I look back over the years, I realise that I could have done so much more to show how much I loved them and how much they meant to me, but instead I too often took their love and sacrifice for granted.
Forgive me my carelessness towards them, but I thank You with all my heart for giving me the parents I had. I know they also made mistakes but Lord, what a joy to have a parent such as mine, and I thank You for the precious memories I have as I look back over my childhood and later life.
Lord, I know that I am going to miss my parents so much, and I pray that You will help me to come to terms with the fact that although they are not with me in person, that the lessons that they taught me and the love that they showed me will remain with me throughout life. I pray that I may continue to apply the lessons they taught me and give You grateful thanks that in Christ we will one day meet again. In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Dear Jesus,
Come wait here, come dwell here with me. I hide in your presence, and rest in the grief.
I lost so much when dad passed away, his comfortable arm around my shoulder, his generous love of me. Lord, stir up these wonderful memories and help me to soak in that warmth. And when I am chilled by his absence, please cover me with your love and surround me with your arms.
Fill up my dreams with the hope of Heaven, my mind with the promise of truth. Give me the vision to trust that my father is safe now with you. Lead me to new springs of life to enjoy, until I too come home Lord to you.
Amen.
Words can not express
How much I feel for you,
And how greatly
I pray for you,
To find some heavenly peace
In this hard time.
Amen.
Time is in your hands, O Lord
You place the sun and moon.
You turn the tides of ocean deep
So you can hold me safe in grief,
You can hold me safe.
Eternity is always there
Around us everyday.
From every seed that grows a tree
Creation sings of life redeemed,
In Christ we are redeemed.
Love is yours, it bears your mark,
Your imprints everywhere.
Each tender word I shared remains
Love lives beyond our fleeting frame,
It lives beyond our frame.
My precious one runs to your arms
I trust them to your care.
You catch my tears and help me see,
The hope of Heaven's glorious light,
The hope of Heaven's light.
“God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.
Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.
In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.
Amen.”
“Father,
you know our hearts and share our sorrows.
We are hurt by our parting from those whom we loved:
when we are angry at the loss we have sustained,
when we long for words of comfort,
yet find them hard to hear,
turn our grief to truer living,
our affliction to firmer hope
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.”
“May God remember the soul of my father, my teacher (mention his Hebrew name and that of his mother) who has gone to his [supernal] world, because I will — without obligating myself with a vow — donate charity for his sake. In this merit, may his soul be bound up in the bond of life with the souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and with the other righteous men and women who are in Gan Eden; and let us say, Amen.”