Pray for widows & widowers

 

The number of people at our church who have lost loved ones this year is just overwhelming. I can't help but think and empathize with what they're going through right now, spending their first Christmas without a spouse, parent, sibling, friend.
     Please remember them this holiday season. Even though we can't necessarily visit in person, there are so many ways in which we can reach out and let them know they are loved. Be creative if you can. If you can't, that's fine, too. A phone call, card, text, IM, email, would go a long way in making a difference this year.
     Also, be in prayer for the countless families dealing with loved ones who are sick or hospitalized right now. And for those people who can't get together this year because of Covid.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3 ESV

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows* in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 1:27 ESV

She who is truly a widow* left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day,

1 Timothy 5:5 ESV

*I would add, widowers as well

*********

Please join me this week in praying for families and for healing between family members. Pray that relationships will be mended this holiday season and that families will be united.  Pray for comfort and peace for those families who have lost loved ones this year.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #family #relationship #alone #widow #love #widower #death

A voice from Heaven

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, 

“Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” 

“Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, 

“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Revelation 14:13 ESV

I found an old post I had written after my husband passed away "Letting go and moving forward" if you're interested.

You're always on my mind

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

Philippians 1:3 ESV

Comfort for those who mourn

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4 NIV

Grieve as one with hope

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

God heals all wounds

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18 NIV

When grieving

   After my husband passed away, people would make reference to finding my "new normal" insinuating that my life would go on and I would work through the pain. I tried to rush that part of the process; I wanted life to be and feel normal again; not to diminish my husband's passing, but to quit feeling so empty inside. It turns out that you can't rush the process. I had a loving, supportive family who wanted to be with me and help me through, but there were a lot of times that I just wanted to be alone to work through things and to pray. I did a lot of praying. I also started journaling and reading my Bible. All of that helped, but what made the biggest difference to me was that when I finished praying, I sat quietly and tried to listen for the answers. We often ask God "why?" when we're suffering, but then we don't give Him a chance to answer. Try it. Be still.

Be still before the Lord

    and wait patiently for him;

Psalm 37:7 NIV

Please join our prayer group as we spend the week praying for widows and widowers. Please ask God for guidance as to how to make a difference in the lives of those who are grieving. Listen for God's direction. He answers all prayers.

I'll post a daily reminder to pray on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Pray for a widow or widower

  I am a widow who married a widower. I understand the pain that comes from losing your soulmate; it's like losing a part of yourself. The emptiness it leaves in your heart is like a giant hole that can never be filled. When you spend so much time with someone and invest so much of yourself into a relationship through good times and bad it's difficult to imagine how you'll be able to live your life without that person. Family and friends will try to comfort you, and you may even feel like you're taking it really well; especially at first when there's so much to take care of and deal with, but the moment will come when it hits and you'll feel like...well...it's indescribable.
   Well-meaning people will tell you that "time heals all wounds" and that he/she's "in a better place" and/or "no longer suffering." Well-meaning people don't know what to say but feel compelled to speak anyway. The truth is, what they say is true but first you'll have to fight through many different emotions: anger, guilt, peace, love, hate, sorrow, and not in any order and sometimes several emotions all at once. You'll grieve until you're ready to stop grieving, and then you'll grieve some more. But, over time, you will heal, and, by God's grace, you will see your soulmate again. I hope this week's Bible verses give you encouragement and comfort.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. 

Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

John 11:25 ESV


Please join our prayer group as we spend the week praying for widows and widowers. Please ask God for guidance as to how to make a difference in the lives of those who are grieving. Listen for God's direction. He answers all prayers.

I'll post a daily reminder to pray on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power