At a time when many of us feel overwhelmed and unsure how to respond to the sad news of the Queen’s death, spiritual director and the author of 7 Ways to Pray Amy Boucher Pye, shares some prayers that may bring us and her family some comfort.
The Queen has been a person most of us have respected and loved our whole lives. Hearing that she has died feels shocking and sad. And yet we might wonder why – if we’ve never met her – we feel so much grief.
How can we pray at a time like this? One way is to go to the Church of England website where you can sign the electronic memorial book and light an online candle for Her Majesty. I also commend to you the prayer that the Church of England has released:
Gracious God,
we give thanks for the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth
for her faith and her dedication to duty.
Bless our nation as we mourn her death
and may her example continue to inspire us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
We can also give thanks for her amazingly deep Christian faith – which was the bedrock of her life – along with her sense of humour, her profound service and her execution of duty. As the longest-reigning monarch and a woman of deep character, it’s hard to believe that we’ll see the equivalent of her again.
And how can we pray for the Royal Family? Here’s a prayer that I’ve adapted from the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer:
Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,
we ask that you bless all of the Royal Family
as they grieve the death of Her Majesty the Queen.
Bestow on them your Holy Spirit;
enrich them with your heavenly grace;
endue them with all happiness;
and bring them into your everlasting kingdom,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
We can pray for the Queen’s family as we would any family in grief, asking our loving Father to bring them peace amid their sadness and to remind them of his grace and love. We can also seek the help of our Heavenly King to help the Royal Family with the particular tensions they face as they experience their own personal grief while living in the public eye. And we can ask especially that God guides King Charles as he leads the nation into a new era as we all mourn his remarkable mother. That God would strengthen him and give him wisdom during this landmark moment as one era comes to an end and a new one begins.
As we mourn the death of the Queen, let us rejoice that through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ she is safe in the Lord’s presence and enjoying the blessings of his peace.
