All praise to You, God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! You are our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. We will sing to You as long as we live. We will praise You to our last breath! Father, we give thanks to You and proclaim Your greatness. The whole world shall know what You have done. We will sing Your praises to You. We will tell everyone of Your wonderful deeds. We thank You, Father, for sending us Your Son, for in Him we have great hope.  Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Him will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Him and believes in Him will never die! We are so grateful that when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking on human form so that You can understand what we experience.  Thank You for leaving us with a gift – Your peace of mind and heart. We thank You, Father, for the life of our loved one(s) who has gone on to be with You. Thank You for their time on earth and the impact they had on our lives. We are thankful to You and we bless Your Name.

Merciful Father, so why are we discouraged? Why are our hearts so sad? We will put our hope in You, God! We will praise You again – our Savior and our God! Abba, Father, You saw Your one and only Son, whom You love, die on the cross. So You must understand why we mortals have such a difficult time overcoming the death of a loved one. Father, we
do trust Your Word. We proclaim that our family and friends who have experienced the death of a loved one will not be afraid, for You are with them; not be discouraged, for You are their God. Your Word says that You will strengthen them and help them. You will hold them up with Your victorious right hand. Your Name, Lord, is a strong fortress; the godly
run to You and are safe. We declare that it is by Your great mercy that we have been born again, because You raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. So we decree that bereavement will last only for a short time and joy will replace sorrow.

Holy Spirit, when we see our brother or sister mourning the loss of a loved one, help us to be compassionate but also to edify him or her with God’s Word of hope and peace. Bring to our remembrance Scriptures which will help to bring solace to help our brother or sister know what will happen to the believers who have died. As we do this, we trust that You will help them so they will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died.  Help us to encourage each other with these words. Remind us to care for the physical needs of families in mourning, with food, transportation, child care or any other material thing that may be needed. Help us to be patient and to not be insensitive to those in pain. Holy Spirit, when we are grieving as well, comfort us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.

Holy Spirit, help me to become more sensitive to the needs of those around me who are in mourning and show me how I can be an encouragement to them:
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Gracious Father, when death comes to those we love, we will not tear our clothing in our grief, but will tear our hearts instead. We will return to You, our God, for You are merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to relent and not punish. When we are grieving, Father, forgive us for concentrating on what we see with our eyes rather than what we believe in our hearts. When others are grieving, forgive us for being impatient as time goes on after a death. Forgive us when we utter unkind words, making light of someone else’s pain at the loss of a loved one. Holy Spirit, chasten us if we are not taking care of the physical or emotional needs of a person who has suffered loss. Father, forgive me for (list any sins that you have committed.) Holy Spirit, remind those who are overcoming the death of a loved one of those they need to forgive and help them to be quick to forgive. As for me, Holy Spirit, bring to my remembrance those I need to forgive. (Take a moment and ask the Holy Spirit to show you names or faces of people that you may need to forgive. As He shows you, say aloud, “I forgive name of person(s).” Now, trust the Lord to heal any wounds in your soul caused by unforgiveness.)

Holy Spirit, help us all not to yield to temptation; but deliver us from the evil one.

Almighty God, the heavens proclaim Your glory! The skies display Your craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night, they make You known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. You are awesome in Your sanctuary, Lord God.  We pray in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture References for the Written Text: II Corinthians 1:3, Psalm 104:33, Psalm 105:1-2, John 11:25-26, I Corinthians 15:54-55, Psalm 42:5, Isaiah 41:10, Proverbs 18:10, I Peter 1:3-4, I Thessalonians 4:13-14,18, II Corinthians 1:4, Joel 2:13, Matthew 6:13, Psalm 19:1-4