24 Good Prayers for the Recently Deceased

Many people pray for their family and relatives, but what about praying for the dead? Believers who have died now live in the kingdom of Christ. Here are some good prayers for the recently deceased that may help encourage you to pray for them.

Rejoice in Your Kingdom Prayer
Almighty and Everlasting God, losing someone you love so much suddenly is very hard. As we go through this season of mourning heavenly Father, we ask you to give us the peace that surpasses all understanding. Father, we rest knowing that your faithful servant is rejoicing in your kingdom. We thank you and magnify your name for loving them so much that you saw it fit to take them back home where we truly belong. In Jesus’ holy name, I pray. Amen.

Eternal Rest Prayer
Compassionate and Gracious God, we come to you today to thank you for giving us a chance to live with our loved ones who recently left this world to come into your presence. Lord God Almighty, we know that they were not perfect, but they did love you with all their heart and truly repented for their sins. May they find love and peace in your presence. Do not let our loved one to be parted from you, let your faithful servant enjoy your glory forever. In Jesus’ powerful name, I believe and pray. Amen.

The Joy of Seeing Them Again Prayer
Heavenly Father, we are going through a very rough time as a family. The sudden demise of our beloved relative has left us in shock and pain. But Father, you tell us in the word that we should not mourn like unbelievers. Lord, our beloved has been your faithful servant, and because of that, our hearts are full of hope and joy because we know that we shall be reunited with them when Jesus comes or when we come home. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Close to You Prayer
Father of Enduring Faithfulness, as a believer in Christ, to be away from the body is to be with you. I know that my loved one is with you right now in heaven, enjoying your closeness. Lord though it is difficult to accept that they are gone, I know that you love them so much and that is why you took them. Jesus may they bask in your glory as we all wait for you to come back and take us all into your presence where there is no mourning and sorrow. I pray this, trusting and believing. Amen.

Fill the Gap Prayer
Jesus, my Savior, times and seasons are in your able hand. You know when we will be born and when we will leave this earth and come back home. You knew that our loved one would not be with us today. We want to praise you for the time we had with them. As we go through this mourning season, Lord, we pray that you give us a deep sense of peace. We know that no one can ever take the place of our loved one, that is why we are asking you to fill the gap that our loved one has left in our lives with your love. May we find comfort in you alone. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

Understanding Prayer
Lord, my Creator and Sustainer, why did it have to happen like this? Why did it have to be our beloved one? I am so empty on the inside, Lord. I don’t know how to face each day, dear God. Please, Father, remove this hurt that is growing in my heart. Replace it with your unconditional love. Help my family and me to understand that it is because of the deep love you have for our beloved that you have ushered them into your presence. It is in Jesus’ name, I believe and pray. Amen.

The Battle Is Not Lost Prayer
Our Lord of victory, we ask that our loved one who has left us will rest in peace. We thank you that she did not lose this battle, for she is with you in Paradise. Her heart was prepared for eternity with you. Death has been swallowed up in victory. We thank you, our God, for you give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. As we cherish this confident hope, we are steadfast and immovable, knowing our work is not in vain. Amen.

Commend Their Soul Prayer
Righteous Savior, I commend the soul of my relative who left us a few days ago to come into your hands. I want to thank you for placing them in our life here on earth. I glorify your name for giving us such a wonderful person, they have been a blessing to us.  We are grateful that you saw it fit to take away the pain they have been going through by welcoming them into paradise where there is no weeping and sorrow. We rest knowing that their soul is now with you, Lord Jesus. We pray this, trusting and believing. Amen.

Abide with You Prayer
Father, Lover of our souls, although we grieve losing our loved one, we are grateful that he slipped out of this world peacefully. Now we ask you to receive him into your presence to abide with you forever. Raise him up on that last day, for his hope was in your name. He did not believe in vain. We thank you that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Amen.

Compassion Prayer
God of Immeasurable Mercies, we stand before you today in confidence because we know that death has nothing on us who believe in you. Have compassion for our relatives who have departed this world recently. Show them tender mercies for they sinned in one way or another before their sudden demise. We may have questioned and said things that are not pleasing to you. Lord, show us compassion and help us to accept what has happened so that we can heal. In Jesus’ holy name, we pray. Amen.

The Anointing of Comfort Prayer
Precious Savior, may our loved one who has passed be received into your glory. We thank you for the anointing of comfort you give us, for, with you, there is forgiveness of sins and hope for eternity. With you, there is lovingkindness and redemption in abundance. We are comforted in knowing that she was at peace with you. We thank you that in Christ, all will be made alive. We thank you, Jesus, that you will put the enemy of death under your feet. Amen.

Strength Prayer
God of Heaven’s Armies, we are in shock and pain. We do not know how we will pull through this Lord. Our loved one has left us in the most unexpected way Lord. While we know that we are only here for a season, Lord, it is hard to come to terms with what has happened. Lord, we need divine strength in this family. Fill our hearts with courage and help us to accept that our dear one is now with you. Let this knowledge of them joining you in paradise be our source of comfort and strength. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

The Hope Set Before Us Prayer
God of compassion, we are blessed and infused with hope, even though we are in deep sorrow at losing our loved one. We praise you that there is no condemnation for those who place their hope in Christ Jesus. Even though his physical body is dead, his spirit is alive. May he enjoy rest in your presence. Thank you for the righteousness your son, Jesus, purchased on the cross. We are blessed to have this hope set before us. Amen.

Thankful for Their Life Prayer
Heavenly Father, I come to you with a grateful heart even as I mourn the loss of my loved one. It may be a loss for us, but it is gain for your kingdom. Lord, I thank you for the times that you gave us to spend with our relatives. Thank you for making them belong to this family. I bless you for honoring us with such an influential person that loved us with the love of Christ and was light in the world. May your name be praised forever even as our loved one stands in your presence today. In Jesus’ name, we believe and pray. Amen.

Live Forever with You Prayer
Lord of endless mercy, receive our loved one into the eternal life that is the destiny of your children. She believed with her heart and confessed with her mouth your death and resurrection. She turned to you with confident expectation for the forgiveness of her sins. May she live forever with you now. We thank you that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. We thank you that even though she has left this perishable body, she will be raised imperishable. Amen.

Mercy Triumphs Prayer
O Jesus, our Kinsmen Redeemer, grant mercy to our loved one who has just left his body. We believe his heart was prepared to meet you. We thank you that your mercy triumphs over judgment when we put our trust in Christ. Keep our loved under the loving shelter of your wing until it is time for that final day when you return in the clouds. We anticipate the day that the dead in Christ are raised with incorruptible bodies for eternity in Christ’s presence. Amen.

Confidence in Jesus Prayer
Eternal Father, strong to save, we commit this dear one into your presence. Console her family as they reminisce over sweet memories of their life with her. We thank you that she put her confidence in Jesus, who is able to keep us from falling away. Now may your angels usher her with great joy into your glorious presence. May she stand before you spotless, washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. May she hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.

Face to Face Prayer
Lord of consolation, we thank you for the comfort of knowing our departed loved one is face to face with you. Although our hearts long for him to be with us, we know he is experiencing unspeakable joy in your glorious presence. We know that the one who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also raise us – holy, unblemished, and blameless. We thank you for releasing our loved one from the clutches of death into eternal life because he trusted in you. Amen.

Your Life-giving Light Prayer
Blessed Lord, we come to you in intercession for our dear departed one. Have mercy on her soul. Through our grief, we rejoice that she believed in your name and confessed you as Savior. We are thankful that those who die in the Lord will live. Their bodies will rise again. Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy. For your life-giving light will fall like dew on your people in the place of the dead. Amen.

Surrounded by Your Angels Prayer
Ever-faithful Father, we plead for our beloved, whose final illness has now ended. We cry out for mercy, that he would pass from this world into the next, surrounded by your angels. Wipe away all tears from his face, and enfold him in your embrace, we pray. May he awake to everlasting life. Surely you have ransomed him from the power of the grave, and you have redeemed him from death. We praise you, for you are the resurrection and the life. Amen.

Through the Valley of the Shadow Prayer
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we pray for our dear friend who has now passed through the valley of the shadow of death. Receive her into your bosom, and may she rest in peace. We are thankful, precious Jesus, that you are the way, the truth, and the life. You will lose none of those whom the Father has given you, but will raise them up on the last day, for this is the will of the Father who sent you. Amen.

Hidden with Christ Prayer
O Lord of life, we commend to you the spirit of our dear departed one. For he has died, and his life is now hidden with Christ in God. We thank you that he has been raised in Christ, who is seated at your right hand in the heavenly realms. We are thankful that when Christ appears, that our loved one will appear with him in glory. Even so, we weep for our loved one and wish he were here with us. May your peace rule in our hearts in our sorrow. Amen.

Sorrow Eclipsed by Joy Prayer
O God of endless comfort, our beloved one has left this world – receive her soul and may she rest in peace. Cloth her mortality with immortality, according to your solemn promise. We are comforted by the knowledge that she died in Christ. We will meet again, in our glorified bodies, to reign with you in glory. Our sorrow is eclipsed by joy at the bright future that awaits us as your children and your inheritance. We look forward to our eternal home in heaven. Amen.

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Author Bio
Natalie Regoli is a child of God, devoted wife, and mother of two boys. She has a Master's Degree in Law from The University of Texas. Natalie has been published in several national journals and has been practicing law for 18 years.