The loss of a loved one can be the hardest thing we experience on earth, but our hope is restored when we know that our loved ones have eternal life in Heaven. Use these prayers for the dead to pray for your loved one’s eternal rest.
Prayer from death to eternal life
Lord God of mortals and immortals, we humbly ask you to grant your mercy to our brother/sister, [name], to enter the company of all your saints. Lord Jesus, thank you that whoever listens to your word and believes in the Father who sent you has eternal life, and he will not be condemned but will pass from death to eternal life. All the glory is yours, forever. Amen.
Prayer for peace and forgiveness
God of infinite grace, we implore your mercy for those souls who have left this world with faith, but who have not had time to demonstrate with their way of life that they have repented of their sins and have turned to You. Gracefully grant them peace and forgiveness. Thank you, Jesus, because you are the resurrection and the life, and we have the hope of eternal life for our loved ones. Amen.
Prayer for peace and endless joy
Dear God, full of mercy, we entrust our dear [name] to you. Welcome him to share endless peace and joy in your presence and that of your holy angels. We thank you that whoever has believed in you has life, even though his mortal body has died. Truly, our hope is only in You. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and through the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer for rest in heaven
Lord God Almighty, I come to You with tears, knowing the danger of every soul that passes from this life. I cling to Your promise that whoever lives and believes in You will never die. I claim it for [name], whose life has honored Your name with his faith and his good deeds. Grant him rest in Paradise, through the mediation of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer for a joyful resurrection
Merciful Father, I beg You to have mercy on the soul of [name] who has died in faith and fear of You. May he/she, together with all who have died in faith, enjoy that joyous resurrection, which was won by the atoning death and glorious resurrection of Your Son, Christ our Lord. All glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer to the judge of the living and the dead
O, Christ Jesus, You judge the living and the dead. We pray for [name], who has left this mortal life to clothe himself in immortality. Jesus, we thank you that you have defeated our great enemy Satan so that when he rises to accuse our loved one, you rise to remind him that with your death you have destroyed his power over death. We thank you that by [name]’s faith in you, he may rest in peace until the great day of the Lord’s return. Amen.
Prayer to Clothe the imperishable Body
Dear Lord Jesus, You are the First of a great harvest of all those who have died. Just as you have risen and ascended to heaven, we have this same hope through faith in you. We thank you that our dear departed [name] has left this perishable body to put on the imperishable. May peace be with him/her and may they rest in Your protection and love for the trust they placed in Your redemption and a life lived to extend Your love to others. Amen.
Our Redeemer Lives Prayer
God, King of all kings, by your infinite mercies make our dear [name], who died in faith in you, rejoice before you. We know that Jesus, our Redeemer, lives and intercedes for us, and we remain confident in the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life. We ask you to grant him your mercy and eternal peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
Prayer to Jesus for the first fruit of those who sleep
Lord, receive the soul of [name], which was lived in You and lived a life of mercy towards others and devotion to You before being released from this mortal body. Thank you, dear Savior, for having risen from the dead as the first fruit of those who sleep. May [name] rest in peace until you raise your own again. To the glory of your holy name, amen.
Prayer for victory over death
Heavenly Father, we commend [name] to your constant mercy and remind you of his good deeds done in your name, which have blessed many. We thank you, O God because you give us victory over death through our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant our beloved [name] rest in your Kingdom, to the glory of Jesus Christ, our Advocate, and Mediator. Amen.
The shadow of your wings Prayer
Dear God, we humbly intercede for our beloved [name], who died with true faith in You, after living a life of humility and service to You. We know that not even his good deeds would save him from harm if Your mercy were set aside. Give [name] rest from his labors and shelter his soul in the shadow of Your wings. We thank you that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Prayer to bind their souls
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life, we ask that you cherish the soul of [name] among the living, that he may rest in peace. Forgive the sins of this dear one who has left this earthly tent to be at home with you, for he has always made sure to forgive others from the bottom of his heart, and not hold a grudge against them. In the holy name of Jesus, our just Redeemer. Amen.
Prayer of our High Priest
O God, creator and preserver of all, we come to you in reverence, asking you to give [name] rest in Abraham’s bosom, for blessed are those who die in the Lord. We beg you to hasten the cleansing of all unconfessed sin before his death, so that he may be clothed with the sanctification required to enter your most holy and righteous Presence. In the name of Jesus, our High Priest, Amen.
Prayer of our Father-Recoverer
Father of all mercies, we ask you to shine the light of your face on [name] and cleanse it with your cleansing fire. Deliver him from darkness into the glorious light of your presence. We know that we all must come before Christ to be judged, but we thank you, merciful Father, that the judgment is based on your mercy. In the name of Jesus, our redeeming father, we ask this, amen.
Prayer for the place that God has prepared
Almighty God, we ask you for [name], whom we love very much, to grant him a peaceful rest in heaven. Refine him as silver is refined from all its impurities by Your goodness and mercy and find it worthy to enter the place You have prepared. We thank You that when we leave this earthly body we have an eternal body that You have made for us. Amen.
Prayer of the Incorruptible Risen One
God of immeasurable mercies, let our dear [name], who has departed from this life, rest in You until the last trumpet sounds when the dead rise incorruptible, and we are changed. We bless you, Lord, because you have not abandoned your kindness to the living and the dead. Thank You for Your atoning blood that appeases the wrath of God on all confessed sin. Amen.
The prayer on the way to immortality
Eternal God, we implore the forgiveness of all sins not confessed before the death of our loved one, [name]. Remember, Great Judge, the faith that [name] professed and clung to; faith in your Son, Christ Jesus, who broke the power of death and lit the way to immortality. Having purified our beloved from Your living flame of love, may he soon join the company of saints in eternity. All glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer for the establishment of your soul
Loving and gracious God, we lift up our beloved departed [name], asking you to place his soul in the place you have prepared for him in your home. We thank you that your Son Jesus, by your grace, tasted death for all of us. Since Jesus, our Lord, went through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are tested, especially when we leave this life. Thank you, Jesus, for freeing us from the fear of death. Amen.
Prayer for a peaceful exit
Just and upright God, we entrust to your mercy your servant [name], who has departed from this life, who has lived firmly in faith and with many years of mercy and kindness towards all. May Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word, which says that You will give eternal life to those who seek immortality through perseverance in good. In the name of Jesus, who made atonement for the sins of the people, we pray. Amen.
Prayer to Jesus our Intercessor
Lord Jesus, our merciful and faithful High Priest, we thank you that you hung on the cross for us, paying the price for our sins, and now sit at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. And now we lift up our dear departed [name], who has placed his faith in the sacrament of our redemption. We ask that you welcome him into your heavenly kingdom of light and joy. All glory to you, through all time, Amen.
The prayer of death swallowed by victory
Dear Lord, we mourn the loss of our loved one, but we know that while we live in these bodies, we are not at home with the Lord. He receives [name] and grants him eternal rest, for you grant mercy to the merciful. May he/she be found acceptable in your eyes. We thank you, Jesus, because, by your great sacrifice, death has been swallowed up in victory. Amen.
Prayer to the Lover of our souls
Jesus, the Lover of our souls, we take refuge in You in the name of [name], who has departed from this life. We know that we will receive what You judge we deserve for the good and evil that we have done in our earthly bodies. Remember the faith and purity of [name], and may I pass swiftly through the refining fire and into Your loving presence, where You wipe away all tears. Amen.
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Prayer to erase all sorrows
O God, have mercy on [name], who has left this life. We praise you for what you have promised, and because he [name] has trusted you, he has nothing to fear. You have saved his soul from the depths of hell. I thank you for taking their sorrows and tears and wiping them away forever. May I walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light. Amen.
Prayer for Imputed Justice
Jesus, our great Redeemer, we beseech you to intercede for our deceased brother, [name], and cause perpetual light to shine upon him, because of the righteousness imputed to him by your great atonement. I thank You that You have spared [name] from the sentence of eternal death, for he has put his trust in You, O God, who raises the dead. In you alone we place our hope that you will deliver and resurrect our brother from death to life as we pray for him. Amen.
Prayer to our living bread
Jesus, our living bread from heaven, brings our sister, [name], from death to eternal life. You said that whoever eats your meat will live forever. Our sister has put her faith in You and has walked in the Spirit. We know that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We thank you that your life-giving Spirit has freed our sister from the power of sin that leads to eternal death. May she now be blessed with glorious freedom from death and decay. In your precious name, amen.
