Job’s friends heard about his loss and came to sit with him. For seven days and seven nights, Scripture says, none of them said a word, because they saw how great his suffering was. Before anyone tried to explain or fix anything, they simply stayed.
These thirty verses are for the days and weeks after a funeral, when everyone else has gone back to their lives and the actual grief is just beginning to settle in. If you’re still in the days surrounding the service itself, a prayer for funeral covers that specific moment.
Pray these slowly, and let yourself grieve honestly rather than rushing toward feeling better.
Prayer for the Bereaved
1. Isaiah 61:1-3 (KJV)
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”
Prayer: You came to comfort all who mourn, to give a crown of beauty instead of ashes.
Let this exchange be real, even if it takes time to feel it.
2. Matthew 5:4 (KJV)
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
Prayer: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Let that promise be true for me now.
Let mourning not be something I have to rush or hide.
3. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (KJV)
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”
Prayer: You are the God of all comfort, who comforts me in this grief.
Let comfort actually reach me, not just circle around me.
4. Psalms 34:18 (KJV)
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
Prayer: You are close to the brokenhearted, and You save those crushed in spirit.
Let nearness be real right now, not just a comforting idea.
5. Psalms 147:3 (KJV)
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
Prayer: You heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.
Let this binding up be thorough, reaching this specific loss.
6. John 11:35 (KJV)
“Jesus wept.”
Prayer: You wept, even knowing resurrection was coming. Let my grief be just as valid.
Let me not feel I need hope to cancel out my sorrow.
7. Revelation 21:4 (KJV)
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Prayer: One day You will wipe every tear from my eyes, no more death or mourning.
Let this future hope reach me even in today’s real sorrow.
8. Psalms 30:5 (KJV)
“For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
Prayer: Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Let this morning bring even a little of that joy back.
9. Psalms 116:15 (KJV)
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”
Prayer: Precious in Your sight is the death of Your faithful ones.
Let this life be precious to You, the way this verse says.
10. Romans 12:15 (KJV)
“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”
Prayer: Let those around me mourn with me, not rush me toward feeling better.
Let me have people willing to sit in this with me, not just fix it.
11. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (KJV)
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
Prayer: Let me not grieve like those with no hope, even while grieving honestly.
Let hope and grief hold together, not cancel each other out.
12. Ecclesiastes 3:4 (KJV)
“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”
Prayer: There is a time to weep and a time to mourn. Let this be that time, without apology.
Let me not rush past this season before it’s finished doing its work.
13. Psalms 6:6-7 (KJV)
“I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.”
Prayer: I am worn out from groaning, my bed is wet with tears. Let You meet me in this exhaustion.
Let this exhaustion be brought to You, not hidden away.
14. Lamentations 3:19-23 (KJV)
“Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
Prayer: I remember this affliction, yet Your mercies are new every morning.
Let mercy be present even inside this very hard grief.
15. Psalms 56:8 (KJV)
“Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?”
Prayer: Record my lament, list my tears in Your scroll.
Let me trust that nothing about this grief goes unnoticed by You.
16. Psalms 73:26 (KJV)
“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
Prayer: My flesh and my heart may fail, but You are the strength of my heart forever.
Let Your strength stand in exactly where mine runs out.
17. Isaiah 40:1 (KJV)
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”
Prayer: Comfort, comfort me, this is what You say.
Let this be spoken over me plainly, not just implied.
18. Isaiah 66:13 (KJV)
“As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
Prayer: As a mother comforts her child, so You comfort me.
Let this comfort feel as tender and personal as that.
19. Psalms 71:20-21 (KJV)
“Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.”
Prayer: Though You’ve let me see this trouble, restore my life again and comfort me once more.
Let comfort follow this loss the way it always has before.
20. Job 2:11-13 (KJV)
“Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”
Prayer: Let me have people who will simply sit with me, the way Job’s friends first did, without rushing to fix anything.
Let presence, not explanations, be what I actually need right now.
21. John 14:1-3 (KJV)
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
Prayer: Don’t let my heart be troubled, You have gone to prepare a place.
Let this hope be real, even while grief stays honest too.
22. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (KJV)
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
Prayer: Christ has been raised, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Let this resurrection be what I’m actually trusting in, not just words.
23. Philippians 1:21 (KJV)
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Prayer: To live is Christ, and to die is gain. Let this truth hold, even in this loss.
Let this be genuinely believed, not just recited to feel better.
24. Romans 8:38-39 (KJV)
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Prayer: Let nothing, not even this death, separate them or me from Your love.
Let this certainty hold even through the worst of this grief.
25. Psalms 23:4 (KJV)
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Prayer: Even walking through this valley, let me fear no evil, for You are with me.
Let Your presence be as real in this valley as anywhere else.
26. Psalms 116:8-9 (KJV)
“For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”
Prayer: You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
Let this promise carry me through the days still ahead.
27. Psalms 121:1-2 (KJV)
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”
Prayer: I lift my eyes to the hills, my help comes from You, Maker of heaven and earth.
Let my eyes stay lifted, even while carrying this grief.
28. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (KJV)
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Prayer: Let me not lose heart, for this light and momentary trouble is achieving something far greater.
Let perspective, not denial, be what carries me through this.
29. Galatians 6:2 (KJV)
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
Prayer: Let others carry this burden with me, fulfilling Your law of love.
Let me not feel I have to carry this entirely alone.
30. Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
Prayer: Bless me and keep me, make Your face shine on me, and give me peace in this grief.
Let this old blessing carry me through the days ahead.
Conclusion
The most helpful thing Job’s friends did was also the simplest, seven days of just sitting there, saying nothing. It was only when they started trying to explain his suffering that things went badly. Sometimes the kindest thing anyone can offer grief is presence, not answers.
If you’re grieving, let yourself receive that same kind of presence from others, rather than insisting you’re fine.
For comfort more broadly in this season, a prayer for comfort is worth praying alongside this one.