A Prayer about Comfort for Caregivers
In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Matthew 26:12
Precious Jesus,
Thank you for this affirmation
of Mary’s tender caregiving actions.
May we remember
that while she cared for you before you died,
she could not save you.
May we see that she, unlike the disciples,
seemed to believe you
when you said you would die,
and that she came alongside you
to help you die well.
We pray today for all caregivers
who are watching their loved ones die.
Fill them with your surpassing peace
in the midst of anxious moments bedside.
As beepers blare or breathing becomes shallow,
remind them that it is neither in their job description
nor in their power
to prevent their loved one’s death.
Free them from any guilt or sense of failure
about the care they have given.
Give them the hope of resurrection,
the hope that their loved one will soon be well
in a way they never can be on this earth.
And send us, Lord, to comfort the caregiver,
to sit with her,
to listen to her,
to cry with her,
to feed her,
to care for her
in her grief and sorrow.
Give us the wisdom and insight only your Holy Spirit can give
about how to care for the caregiver
in these agonizing moments.
In your caregiving name. Amen.
Read Matthew 26:6-13, 25:31-46.
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage
author, life and legacy coach, speaker
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage is the author of Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions on Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven.
(affiliate link)
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17
Lord,
We believe; help our unbelief.
We believe you have already come into our midst
in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
We believe you are a mighty one
who has already saved us from our sins
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
But in the next line of this magnificent verse,
we stutter and stumble.
We think that maybe you will rejoice in us
some day in the future
when we are more holy,
that you will love us
some day in the future
when we never sin again,
that you will exult in us with loud singing
some day in the future
when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.
But that’s not what Scripture tells us.
The gospel good news
for all who trust in Jesus
is that right this minute,
you are rejoicing over us,
right this minute
you are quieting us with your love,
right this minute
and you are exulting over us with loud singing.
You saved us.
You love us.
You delight in us.
You sing extra-loud over us,
like the five-year-old who loves to sing
at the top of his lungs
because he’s so happy.
Help us today to sit quietly
and listen for the sound
of your delight in us,
and may that delight
change the way we live and love
today and every day.
In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.
Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage
author, life and legacy coach, speaker
Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage is the author of Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions on Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven.
(affiliate link)