Funeral Prayers
Outloud or Internal?
Funeral prayers can sometimes be the most emotional prayers ever spoken of. Dealing with the death of somebody close to you is often devastating! At the time of writing this, I have only been to one funeral, so I will tell you right off the bat that I don't completely understand how they are structured. There is one extremely important thing to remember though: everybody you know will someday pass away. The only factor that decides whether or not they go to heaven to be with God Almighty is this: Have they entered into a trust relationship with Jesus Christ, the only gate between us and the father? I hope I can convince you to make it a goal to bring this topic to the forefront of the funeral.
Funeral Prayers
An Internal Prayer
 Maybe God has not built enough faith in you to be bold enough to pray out loud. I know faith is something I need to believe on more myself, but assuming you wont be praying out loud, let's explore your motives when you pray. A funeral is a time for grieving for the individual that passed away, but the more important focus is those who will be facing death in the near future. When you pray, are you praying that God will open up the hearts and minds of those who have ignored Him? Do you have many family members who claim to be Christians, all having good moral standards, but may just be claiming their faith so they "fit in" with the rest of the crowd? Most unsaved people don't really think much about God at all! I know I didn't before I got saved, but a funeral is a great reminder that we will face death at some point. Please pray for those around you, or for someone specific that God will break apart all the worldly Gods they honor (example: money, cars, self worth, etc), and fall down and worship Him. When you say your funeral prayers, you can say something like this. Dear God, I'm finding it seemingly difficult dealing with the loss of ( ), but based upon the teachings of Matthew 7:13-23, I understand that there are many, even those who profess to be Christians that are not truly saved. I'm constantly in contact with them on a daily basis. Lord, please, for your own glory, open up the minds and hearts of some of the people here today to biblical truth. Even though today is a terrible tragedy, please use this tragedy as a shocking reminder to some of the people here today that all things in this world are passing away, and only you are eternal. And please give me the courage to stand firm on your word and introduce the gospel to somebody here today. In Jesus' name, Amen
Funeral Prayers
An External Prayer
 Maybe God has built up enough faith in you to pray your funeral prayers out loud during the funeral. What I'm about to tell you is going to sound hard, but you need to tell biblical truth. I can't even tell you how often I used to slip into a mindset that prayer was no longer reaching the very throne-room of God, but was more like something traditional you do as a set of good morals. Please introduce the gospel during your public prayer. Many know about a place called heaven, thinking "everyone" goes there when they die because the lead a good life. YOU DON'T GET TO HEAVEN BY BEING A GOOD PERSON! You get there because when Jesus Christ died on the cross, he paid the penalty for your sins. If anyone tells you your "grandfather" is in heaven because he was a great father and a hard worker, you correct them. Tell them that if he is in heaven, it's because of Jesus Christ saving a wicked soul like him. Dear God, We're all gathered here today because of the death of ( ). Death is such an emotionally devastating thing to experience somebody go through, and we pray that you will pour out your support for ( 's) family. Today is a shocking reminder of how powerful your kingdom really is, and should ignite fear in the hearts of those who may not know you lord. We all would like to believe that ( ) is in heaven with you right now, but we know that the only way that could be a reality is if ( ) rested upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, the one who paid the penalty for our sins. God, there may be people standing right here, witnessing the same tragedy, and feeling the same pain as I feel right now, that may have never come to know you Lord. Their default destination could be Hell and that may not even be a reality to them right now. Please introduce Jesus into their lives, the only hero any of us will ever need when we all face the very same tragedy. In Jesus' name, Amen. When you say your funeral prayers, please remember that God favors to those with persistence. If you want the unsaved to become saved, pray for that tomorrow, and the next day, and so on. Pray until something happens!
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