A Prayer about Remembering Death

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. Psalm 39:4

Everlasting God,

How we hate to think about or talk about the fact 

that we’re all going to die one day. 

And yet, when we read your Word, 

we see that it frequently speaks of death. 

It reminds us that we are mortal, 

and that our lives, 

in comparison to eternity, 

are short. 

Lord, we pray that you would give us a proper perspective on death—

we don’t “commend” it, 

for you did not design us to die. 

Death was the just punishment for sin. 

And yet, we do recognize its reality, 

and we prepare for it, 

because you tell us to remember that our days are numbered (Ps. 90:12). 

We prepare for it with the hope of immortality, 

knowing that Jesus defeated death on the cross, 

and that all who trust in him 

will live in your eternal glory. 

Because of this great hope, 

we have been freed from slavery to the fear of death (Heb. 2:15). 

And because of this great hope, 

we can prepare for death 

by getting our advance directives and wills and all the other things in order, 

by writing and sharing legacies with our loved ones, 

by visiting the dying, 

by going to funerals, 

and by comforting the grieving. 

Help us today to pray about dying well 

that we may live well. 

In Jesus’ resurrected name. Amen.

Read Psalm 39:4-5; Psalm 90.