A Gentle Prayer After Miscarriage

God of all comfort, I hardly know how to pray this. I was carrying a life, and now I am carrying a loss, and both were real.

I loved this baby. I had already made room — in my body, in my plans, in my heart. That room is still there, Lord, and it aches.

I am not going to pretend I understand. I only ask You to stay close, because You have promised to be near to the broken in heart, and mine is broken.

Hold the little one I never got to hold. I trust that a life You made is never lost to You.

And hold me, too, on the hard days — the due date that will come anyway, the question I don't know how to answer, the moments grief arrives without warning. Be gentle with me, Father, and help me be gentle with myself.

I am not asking to feel better by morning. I am only asking You not to let go of me. And I know that You won't.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this whenever the grief surfaces — today, next month, or years from now. There is no deadline on mourning a baby, and needing time is not a lack of faith. Many parents also find real help in talking with a counselor, a pastor, or a pregnancy-loss support group; reaching for that help is its own kind of prayer.

A Verse to Hold On To

"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." — Psalm 34:18 (KJV)