When we lose someone, the world becomes a darker place. We are left with questions and grief, and our hearts feel heavy.
As you grieve, prayer can be a powerful tool to help you through your loss. It can help you feel connected to the person who died and comforted by God’s love. Prayer can also give you strength to face the future without missing the person who has passed away.
It’s best to pray in times of grief on your own or with family members or friends rather than with a group of people. You shouldn’t feel pressured or rushed into praying aloud at funerals or other memorial services. However, if you want to pray aloud, here is an example:
Dear God, thank you for this life—for all the good times we shared together and all the blessings in my life today. I know that death is not an end but only a transition from one stage of life to another. Please take care of [name] now that he/she has passed on from this world into eternity with you at [place]. And please give me strength as I continue without him/her here beside me every day until we meet again someday in heaven
As a funeral director, I have seen many things in my career. The most important part of the job is to be present for the people who are mourning. I am here to help you through this difficult time and remind you that you are not alone.
I will guide you through the process of planning a funeral and help you find the services that best fit your needs. You can trust me to provide guidance and support during this difficult time.
If there is anything else we can do to make this process easier, please do not hesitate to let us know.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life and mourn the passing of [name], who is now with God.
The Bible tells us that death is nothing to be afraid of. We believe that, because we know that death is always followed by resurrection. Death is not a period at the end of life’s sentence, but an ellipsis—a pause in a story that will continue on even after our own bodies are gone.
We also know that death is not a final goodbye, but a temporary farewell. We can’t see it with our eyes or touch it with our hands, but it’s there: death has no sting; it doesn’t hurt us anymore than water hurts fish.
We are gathered here today to pay our respects to [person’s name], who died on [date].
We remember them as a kind and generous person who loved animals and always brought joy to those around them. They were known for their ability to make you feel like the most important person in the room, and they will be missed by all who knew them.
As we celebrate their life, may they rest in peace.
In the midst of loss, we turn to prayer for comfort and support.
It can be difficult to know what to say when someone is grieving, which is why here at [company name], we’ve put together a list of some of the more popular prayers from around the world.
These prayers have been used by people in all walks of life—from royalty to paupers, from soldiers to scientists—to help them find peace during their time of need. Read on for some ideas on how you can pray for someone who has lost someone they love!
1) The Lord’s Prayer (New Testament)
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen
Invocation prayer for funeral
Gracious and Eternal God, we come before you with sorrow in our hearts.
We come before you with sorrow in our hearts. But not only sorrow. We also bring gratitude for the life of your beloved child and friend, ____.
God, we know that you are a gracious and eternal God, present to us as we are present to each other. You live in our hearts and minds even when we forget about you or fail to recognize your presence in our lives.
You are the creator of life itself; without your joyous power over death there could be no birth—let alone resurrection! Your grace is infinite at all times, but especially now that ____ has been called home by his Saviour Jesus Christ who promised him eternal life on this earth (John 14:1-4).
Help us to remember that death is not the end of life, but a transitional stage.
The death of a loved one is a difficult time, but we can find comfort in knowing that they have moved on to a better place. Perhaps they are no longer suffering as they were here on Earth, or maybe they have become one with God and we will be reunited with them again someday. As you say your prayers today, help us to remember that death is not the end of life, but a transitional stage.
We know that you are with us at all times, above all things and within all things.
We know that you are with us at all times, above all things and within all things.
You are the God of life, who brings forth and renews life in every moment of existence. In your mercy and wisdom, you have created a pattern of seasons in which we may experience joys as well as sorrows; times of plenty as well as scarcity; times of strength as well as weakness; times when we feel close to our Creator or distant from him.
As we mourn the loss of this person whom we loved so much on earth, please remind those who mourn that they are not alone in their grief. You are present there with them just like you were present at their birth, baptism or marriage ceremony (or other Christian sacrament). As Jesus said: “I am with you always.”
Creator of Life and God of All Compassion, we thank you for the gift of [Name].
Creator of life and God of All Compassion, we thank you for the gift of [Name].
Thank you for your kindness to us in giving us our loved ones. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into a world where their goodness is still present. We ask that Your mercy continues here on Earth as well as in Heaven. Help us to remember and honor [Name] by taking time out of our schedules, remembering them and honoring them with charity work or other acts that will benefit others.
Loving God, help us now to remember [Name], not as she/he was at the end, but as she/he was in the beginning; whole and well; active and alive; caring deeply and living fully.
Loving God, help us now to remember [Name], not as she/he was at the end, but as she/he was in the beginning; whole and well; active and alive; caring deeply and living fully.
We recall all that you have done for [Name] and ask that you give us strength to carry on with our lives. We know [Name] is safe with you now, but we are sad because we miss him or her so much already. Help us to accept this time of loss as a gift from you — an opportunity to be reminded of your infinite power and love for each one of us.
In the midst of our sorrow, we pause to give you thanks for [Name] who was a blessing in our lives.
In the midst of our sorrow, we pause to give you thanks for [Name].
Thank you for the gift of life. We thank you for the gift of [Name].
In this time of grief and loss, we bless your name with gratitude for all that you have given us in [Name]. Thank you for making each day an opportunity to love and serve one another. Thank you for giving us time together with [Name]. We joyfully celebrate what she accomplished in life, remembering all that she gave us by her example.
Yet even as we mourn her/his passing, comfort us in our grief. Help us to take heart, knowing [Name] rests in your arms now, as we will someday rest forever.
Yet even as we mourn her/his passing, comfort us in our grief. Help us to take heart, knowing [Name] rests in your arms now, as we will someday rest forever.
Our hearts are heavy with the loss of a loved one—a friend or family member who was taken from us too soon. It is hard to believe that they are gone so suddenly and without warning; it seems like only yesterday that they were alive and well. But death is not the end of life; it is just another step along the way toward eternal rest in God’s presence. The funeral service gives us an opportunity to remember [Name] again and celebrate his or her life on earth with family members and friends who share our pain and loss but also hope for reunion with those who have gone before them into eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:18).
We commend him/her into your care just as he/she came from your presence; an infant born of your equal love for all your children.
We commend him/her into your care just as he/she came from your presence; an infant born of your equal love for all your children.
Born into this world, they were born into eternal life. We ask this in the name of [Name] and [Name], who are your children through the bond of marriage that comes with the creation of a child. Let us be joined together in their memory, as we give thanks for the gift of their lives and celebrate their journey with us.
We also remember our ancestors who have gone before us and passed on to a better place: our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents; those who have passed long ago but still live on in our hearts; those whose names we do not know but whose spirits have touched ours along the way. Let them know that we remember them today with honor and respect, rejoicing in knowing that even though they may be gone physically from this earth their presence will always be felt within our hearts.
Bring us together again in whatever beautiful ways you have planned for us beyond this life.
We don’t know what the afterlife is like, so we can only imagine. All we have to go on are our own experiences, which are mostly limited to this world. And from what we can tell, life here is beautiful in its own way. If there were such a thing as perfect beauty, it would look like the shining face of a newborn baby or the staggeringly gorgeous sight of an infinite summer sky dotted with stars on a clear night. But even if those glimpses are just brief moments in an immense span of existence—even if they’re all that we get—they will be worth every tear shed at this funeral and every moment spent wondering who our loved one was beyond their physical body and personality traits as they existed in this life.
Our hearts ache for them now because we miss them so much; but someday soon—let’s pray it happens soon—we will all meet again in some form or another and spend eternity together enjoying each other’s company for eternity again.
Thank you for the life that [Name] lived among us here on earth. Thank you for her/his gifts of love, compassion and peace that were shared so abundantly with others.
Thank you for the life that [Name] lived among us here on earth. Thank you for her/his gifts of love, compassion and peace that were shared so abundantly with others. Please welcome this person into your loving arms where they can be free from pain and suffering forever.
We are grateful for the gift of [Name]’s life among us here on earth in this world today. We are grateful for their presence in our lives; we will always remember them with love, compassion and peace as they passed through us all these years with open arms.”
