A Prayer about the Reality of Hell

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night. Revelation 14:11

Holy God,

Forgive us for our reluctance to talk about hell. 

When we refuse to consider its reality, 

we fail to understand the great goodness of the gospel, 

the hope of salvation to those who believe. 

We also fail to be like Jesus, 

who talked about hell 

more than anyone else in the entire Bible. 

He described it as “Gehenna” (Mark 9:43) 

a place out side Jerusalem 

where corpses and garbage 

rotted and burned. 

He said it was a place 

where the soul and body are destroyed  (Matt. 10:28) 

and the “fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:47). 

Yes, we must see hell rightly 

as the place of just punishment for all of our sins, 

and we must see you rightly, 

as a holy, good, and patient God, 

“slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, 

forgiving iniquity and transgression” (Numbers 14:18). 

We must see you as the righteous God 

who allowed your Son 

to suffer the torment of hell on the cross for us, 

that in him, we might never suffer its horror. 

And yes, Lord, we must share the good news 

of our hope in Jesus Christ, 

that others may turn from their sins 

and receive your gift of eternal life 

in everlasting glory.

Help us we pray, Lord, 

to believe your Word and to share its hope urgently.

In Jesus’s name. Amen. 

Read Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-311; Rev. 14:11. 

(This prayer based on an excerpt from my book, Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions about Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven. (Affiliate link).