Prayer of empathy for the heartbroken

No matter what moment of history the hands of time reveal, there are always human beings in the desperate state of heartbreak. It happens when relationships end, when loss occurs, when there’s betrayal, and when there’s a lack of capacity to bear one’s reality. There’s a ‘when’ for every single one of us at various points in our lives.

So, this is a perennial prayer.

Covenant God,

Promise giver and promise keeper, it is so hard to remember Your goodness when we suffer heartbreak. We know that You never change, but we just cannot work out how what we experience is for our good, and that very thought leaves us estranged to the trust we need at all times, which is good for us. You understand this challenge that we face day-in, day-out throughout those days of pain where we just cannot get away from ourselves, our thoughts that dog us, and those irrepressible feelings that just will not dim.

You know, our Lord, what heartbreak feels like, within Your nature and through the direct experience of Your Son. Help us to know that You know. Help us to draw closer and feel Your presence with us when we experience the heartache that tears all hope away.

Draw us toward You, God of life, that we would not only know You more and experience Your love deeper in our being during our heartbreak, but that You would also woo us to comfort those who also are heartbroken. Give us a special portion of discernment for the one who is beside themselves in a felt experience of life that overwhelms them in anxious sorrow; an anguish that redefines the term ‘pain’.

As we have been comforted, as we have found You in our lament, help us comfort the one in pain today by a comfort that comes from You, Lord. More than that, my God, make us one with Your Holy Spirit that we would so faithfully rely on You when we provide Your care that the person being cared for feels they’ve had an encounter with You. Show us how to get out of Your way, Lord.

In our heartbreak, gracious God, give us the faith that believes that “this, too, shall pass.” Help us genuinely believe that good times will come again, and yet help us be patient in the present bewildering circumstance. Grace us with a sense of Your presence that shows us something we never knew before, and not just the pain of it, but something additional, perhaps of hope beyond the pain and the depths of Your love in spite of our struggle and striving for comfort.

Make it, Lord, that our past experiences of bearing and wearing pain would somehow be a help to the person who is in torment in their present. Our desire is to provide Your comfort, God.

In Jesus’ name we pray,

AMEN.

Photo by Rohit Guntur on Unsplash