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A Prayer about Honoring the Elderly

A Prayer about Honoring the Elderly

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old. Proverbs 20:29

Everlasting Father,

In a world that often marginalizes or mocks the elderly, 

transform us into people who honor and value the elderly.

Even as we age, may we see your holy purposes for aging—

some may no longer have the energy to tend to babies all night long, 

but they do wake up in the night, 

and they can pray for those who do.

Some may no longer have the physical agility 

to perform skilled labor, 

but they do have years of experience 

and can teach those who do.

Some may no longer have the responsibilities 

of running a business, 

but they do have the ability and wisdom 

to give good counsel to those who do.

Lord, may we see the opportunities aging affords, 

and may we embrace not only our own aging, 

but the aging of others. 

May we see that you call the elderly 

to continue giving you glory 

by learning and leading every day of their lives. 

In Jesus’ redeeming name. Amen.

Read Proverbs 20:29; Titus 2:2-5; 1 Timothy 5:1 . 

 

A Prayer about Understanding Sickness and Healing

A Prayer about Understanding Sickness and Healing

‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? John 9:2

Healing Lord, 

Thank you for the compassion 

you show the sick and those who need healing. 

Correct wrong assumptions about sickness and healing. 

Sadly, too many of us have been told 

that if we just had enough faith, 

or that if we got rid of the sin in our lives, 

we or our loved ones would be healed. 

You spoke directly to this harmful assumption, 

when you corrected your disciples,

 saying, “It was not that this man sinned, 

or his parents, 

but that the works of God 

might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). 

May we remember that you did not choose 

to heal all of the sick and lame 

on this earth, 

only some. 

In the case of the apostle Paul, 

he prayed three times 

that the thorn in his flesh would be removed, 

but you responded, 

“My grace is sufficient for you, 

for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

Lord, help us to trust you with our broken bodies, 

whether you choose to heal now, 

later, 

or in eternity. 

How we look forward to the day you return, 

for then you will truly heal and restore 

our broken bodies forever. 

Amen. 

Read John 9:1-41; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

A Prayer of Lament for Those Who Die Young

A Prayer of Lament for Those Who Die Young

He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’ Revelation 22:20

 Merciful God,

We believe you to be merciful; 

help our unbelief.

We admit, 

we struggle to understand 

why you would take young people home 

when it seems to us 

they have so many more days 

to bear fruit here on this earth. 

Why, Lord? 

Why do you take children, 

a little girl who just professed her faith in you, 

a young man who just shared his testimony to his entire football team, 

a young woman who sang her love for you 

to all who would listen? 

We can’t understand. 

We hurt with the loss of young ones 

precious to us, 

precious to their friends, 

precious to their parents. 

We know. 

We know we are but dust. 

We know we are frail and fragile 

from the day you bring us into this world. 

And at some level, we remember that we were made for more. 

We were made for a life that will never end. 

We were made for eternal glory, 

to live with you in a home 

where there will be 

no more death, 

no more pain, 

no more sorrow, 

no more mourning. 

We know this. 

In these hard days of grief, 

open our eyes to see the day which you, 

dear Lord Jesus, 

promise is coming soon. 

The day when we will be gathered together 

with all those we have lost, 

infants and children and young adults 

and the very very old. 

In that day, 

we will see. 

In that day, we may not know “why” 

you took our loved one before we were ready, 

but we will see your face, 

and we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt 

your goodness, 

your mercy, 

your love, 

your kindness, 

and most of all, 

your joy. 

Until that day comes, 

fill our hearts with this eternal hope, 

because of the death and resurrection 

of Christ your beloved Son. 

In his compassionate name we pray. Amen. 

Read Matthew 26:36-46; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 22:20-21.

A Prayer about Clearing the Caregiver Fog

A Prayer about Clearing the Caregiver Fog

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city…. Revelation 22:1

Creator God,

Today we lift up all the caregivers of hospital patients. 

You are with them, 

so you know the fog that sets in 

after days of caring for a patient 

in the hospital. 

It may feel like Pigpen’s cloud 

surrounding the brain, 

making clear thinking dusty

when it seems essential.

In the room dimly lit by fluorescents, 

the walls are two awful shades of beige, 

and before you know it, 

every thought and perspective is colored dingy beige.

Lord into this foggy space,

we ask you to send the radiating light of your Son, 

that the caregiver’s mind and heart 

might be transported 

to the glorious day to come. 

May she see the silvery river of the water of life 

glistening into this dim space. 

May she brighten at the brilliant greens 

and lemon yellows 

of the leaves of the tree 

for the healing of nations (and patients). 

May she imagine the better day, 

the eternal day 

when she and her loved one will taste of all twelve kinds of fruit, 

pomegranates and mangoes and juicy oranges and grapes 

bursting with the joy of it all.

Comfort the caregiver with this true hope, 

the hope of eternal glory.

In Jesus’ restoring name. Amen. 

Read Revelation 22:1-5.

A Prayer about the Day of No More Tears

A Prayer about the Day of No More Tears

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

Healing Lord,

Today we pray for all who have lost loved ones in the past year. 

We are camping out in the hope 

of the Day to come 

when there will be no more death, 

nor mourning, nor crying, 

nor pain. 

In these remarkable final chapters of your Word, 

you give us a glimpse of what that day will be like:

We will live in safety and our identity secure in you,

because you will dwell with us (Revelation 21:3).

We will see Jesus face to face, 

and his name will be engraved on our forehead (Revelation 22:4).

We will drink for free and we will drink freely 

from the river of the water of life. 

We will dine lavishly

 on the fruit of the tree of life (Revelation 21:6; 22:1).

We will marvel at your majesty, 

and we will long to serve you and no other (Revelation 22:3).

We will enjoy peaceful community 

of people from every tribe and tongue and nation (Revelation 21:4; 22:2).

There’s more, so much more, 

to that day 

which will last forever. 

We believe your promise, 

“Surely, I am coming soon,” 

and we cry in response, 

“Come, Lord Jesus.”

In your hope-giving name. Amen.

Read Revelation 21-22. 

6 Steps to Creating a Practical Legacy

6 Steps to Creating a Practical Legacy

“I told my neighbor I was taking this workshop, and she said, ‘I’m not doing a thing. They can figure it all out after I’m gone.’”

A member of my Organizing Your Life and Legacy workshop shared this comment with our group, and we all shook our heads sadly. The comment doesn’t surprise us—death has become a taboo subject in our culture, less open for discussion than politics and sex.

Reasons abound for death’s denial and distancing, including fear of death, denial of death, and removal of death from the home to the hospital. And yet, like it or not, we’re all dying.

How Scripture Prepares Us for Death

Christians have an advantage as we prepare for death—we can look to Scripture, which helps us understand why people die and offers us hope for life after death. Death resulted from Adam and Eve’s sin for God had warned them that in the day they ate of the tree, they would “surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Jesus died on a cross for our sins: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24). Because Jesus rose from the dead, those who trust in him for salvation need no longer fear death: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live…” (John 11:25). Armed with an understanding of death and the confidence of life everlasting, we can face our mortality and prepare for death.

Create a Practical Legacy

Psalm 90:12 exhorts us, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” One way to number our days is to plan for our death by gathering the essential information our loved ones will need if we are incapacitated or have died. To create what I call a “practical legacy,” divvy up the process into six actionable steps and then schedule times each week or each month to work on them.

  1. Prepare an advance directive.

Also known as a “living will,” an advance directive helps to guide medical care decisions in the case of incapacitation. It allows you to appoint a health care proxy or surrogate and to indicate what kind of treatment you would wish for or decline in medical crisis. My husband and I have used Five Wishes to prepare ours, but you can also find simple directives on most state or hospital websites. Two books that offer helpful biblical counsel on preparing advance directives are Dr. Bill Davis’ Departing in Peace: Biblical Decision-Making at the End of Life and Dr. Kathryn Butler’s Between Life and Death: A Gospel-Centered Guide to End of Life Medical Care. For more thoughts on medicalized dying, see this article. Considering our own incapacitation and imagining different scenarios at the end of life can be intimidating, but when we clarify and communicate our wishes, we bless our loved ones with an indispensable guide to making difficult decisions at a grievous time.

  1. Give one trusted person access to your important passwords.

In a day in which phones and other devices hold valuable confidential information, it’s essential to keep them secure with a password and to share that password with one trusted person. Additionally, gather all your essential passwords. While my eighty-three-year-old mother recorded hers in a basic Word document, and that sufficed, most of us will need to use a password keeper like Lastpass or 1Password to contain all of this information more securely.

  1. Appoint a Durable Power of Attorney. 

Appoint someone who will have the legal power to act on your behalf if you are incapacitated or have died. My mother had appointed me as her power of attorney and put my name on her checking account before she died. Thanks to her foresight, paying her bills after her death did not involve jumping through legal hoops. It can help to make your durable power of attorney and health care surrogate the same person.

  1. Make a will and appoint an executor. 

Make a will and appoint someone to oversee handling your affairs after your death. An estate lawyer I spoke with suggests that we visit a lawyer to prepare our wills, noting that online documents do not usually suffice except in the case of very simple estates with few assets.

  1. Gather essential information. 

Not only will your family benefit if you gather all of the details of your life into one place, but you also benefit. Can you imagine the peace of knowing exactly where to locate details about your medical history, personal history, insurance information, titles and deeds, credit cards, bills, and methods of payment, etc.? Although it is not written by a Christian, the book Get It Together: Organize Your Records So Your Family Won’t Have To offers a comprehensive guide to help you in this process.

  1. Make decisions about burial or cremation and end of life services.

Considering what will happen to our body after we die may be hard for us, but imagine the peace we can give to our loved ones by doing so. One of our workshop participants shared an inspiring story of her twenty-five-year-old niece: her father had died when she was twenty-two, and he had left a practical legacy. She was inspired to write out her own wishes for the end of her life. When she died three years later in a tragic accident, this legacy provided great comfort to her mother in her distress.

While it is daunting to consider the end of our lives, as Christians, we face death with hope, the hope of resurrection. Given that hope, we can enter hard decisions now to prepare a practical legacy that will guide and comfort our loved ones in their season of grief. Call a friend today and encourage and assist one another in the process of preparing a practical legacy. In addition to preparing our practical legacy, we will also want to leave a spiritual legacy, passing on the wisdom we have gained to the next generation. We’ll discuss how to create a spiritual legacy in part two of this series.