Prayer During Grief (or Anytime)

Guidance and Support

I am not religious. However, I am spiritual and I am a Christ follower. I look to God for supernatural strength when my own is inadequate. I talk to God a lot on any given day about an array of subjects and I talk to Him even more on bad days. Prayer during my grief was essential to me. Prayer is just time spent talking to God. Whenever you pray, you can discuss whatever you wish with Him. Sometimes I praise Him and thank Him for all my blessings. Sometimes I seek answers or guidance. Sometimes I whine and complain. Sometimes I’m angry and confused about the things happening around me. Sometimes I’m hurt and broken and desperately searching for peace and comfort. No matter what I feel or what I talk about, I know God cares about it and I know He cares about me. He also cares about you. No matter what’s going on in your life, if it concerns you, it concerns God. You are His child and your tears, anger, fear, and hurts matter to Him; nothing is too big and nothing is too small. I personally like to talk to Him about all my concerns. I have been mocked because I’ve prayed about which dog to adopt or what car to buy. That’s okay. If I indeed think of God as my Father then I want His all-powerful Fatherly guidance and support. I also thinks He likes it when we care enough to want His opinion. It doesn’t make me weak to rely on my Father it actually makes me stronger. In the NIV Holy Bible, 2 Corinthians 12:9 (Jesus said) “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power, is made perfect in weakness.” I know His power has shown up in my life when I had none. This next scripture sums up my life…2 Corinthians 12:10 For when I am weak, then I am strong. That is how I persevered through unspeakable pain and grief. You are never alone. When there was no one else I could turn to, I relied on the strength of Jesus Christ and through my weakness His power and strength rose up to triumph.

Just Talk

Anyone can talk to God, anywhere, anytime. There is no special way to do it; there are no specific words to say and no particular way to say them. Call on God in the name of His son Jesus Christ whenever you need Him and just talk. You can reveal your innermost thoughts and feelings to Him; there are no secrets. Your honesty can be cleansing and is an excellent way to rid yourself of any guilt and shame. God doesn’t condemn those who ask for forgiveness; he convicts your heart but doesn’t condemn. Feel at ease in presence of someone who loves you so much; talk to your Heavenly Father with love and respect and speak to Him as if he were sitting next to you. He is closer than you might think. Tell God openly how you feel and what concerns you. Speak from your heart and your prayers will be heard. Sometimes we think that if our prayers aren’t answered as we see fit then the prayers were not heard or they were just ignored. Not true, your prayers and concerns are always heard. It is also good to give thanks for what you have and even pray for others.

How to Pray

There is a scripture in the Bible (1Thessalonians 5:17) that says to pray continually. That means you can just talk to God whenever you like and as often as you wish, that’s what I do. You don’t have to be in church to pray; you can talk with God anywhere throughout the day and night. You can talk with Him all day long because He never gets tired of hearing from you! Pray with someone, pray alone or write your prayers to God in your journal. If you are uncomfortable or not sure what to say, read the example of prayer Jesus gave us in the Bible. Matthew 6:9–13

“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Just remember when you pray you are having a conversation with God. As with any communication with someone you trust, you want to have an open heart and speak honestly about what is on your mind. God loves you and wants you to call on Him, for any reason.