A Prayer for a Grieving Friend

Father, my friend is heartbroken, and I feel so helpless standing beside their pain. I cannot bring back what they lost or take away the weight they carry, and I am afraid of saying the wrong thing or saying nothing at all.

I watch them trying to get through the days, and my own heart aches for them. I wish I could absorb some of this sorrow, but I cannot. All I can do is show up and stay.

So I bring my friend to You, the One who can reach the places I cannot. Pour out on them the comfort I do not have enough of. Be near to them in the long nights when I am not there.

Make me a steady presence, quick to listen and slow to fix, willing to sit in the silence without rushing them through it. Show me the small, practical ways I can carry a little of their load.

You call us to mourn with those who mourn and to carry one another's burdens. Help me do exactly that, with patience and tenderness and no agenda but love.

I lift my grieving friend into Your arms tonight. Hold the one I love when I cannot. Amen.