Praying Through Loss (2 Samuel 12:22–23)

He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
—2 Samuel 12:22–23

These verses are really heavy. The reason I want to pray according to them is that they address a sober reality in this fallen world: children dying far too soon. There are likely some listening to this podcast right now who have lost a child in a number of different ways—either before birth, soon after birth, or at far too young an age.

I think about sitting with families in hospital rooms as a child hangs on for his or her life, just days old, or later at a young age due to all sorts of circumstances. Few things are heavier than walking with a family through a situation like this. I do not presume to know the depth of emotion that comes with that journey, but this is one of the things I love about the Bible: it does not shy away from the depth of grief we experience in this world.

2 Samuel 12:22–23 shows the confidence of eternal hope.

There is a lot we could say based on these two verses, including the hope that the Bible expresses here and teaches elsewhere: children and others with special needs who die without the capacity to know, understand, and believe the gospel are safe with God in heaven when they die. As David says, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

I want to lead us to pray specifically for those who have experienced this pain in this world, or perhaps those who are walking through it right now.

God, we praise you for your presence and your Word to us in the middle of this fallen world. We shudder to think where we would be without the comfort that comes from your Word, the revelation of yourself, and your truth to hold on to—a rock to stand on when the storms of this world rage.

2 Samuel 12:22–23 explains how faith endures through grief.

Specifically, O God, in circumstances like these, I think about children and families who might be in the situation David was in: praying, fasting, and pleading for you to save a child’s life. God, we join together in praying for that right now. We pray for children who are currently in danger of losing their lives under all kinds of circumstances. Lord, we pray for your provision, your intervention, and your help. We pray for your power to be shown on behalf of those children. Lord, we pray with faith, trusting you, your power, and your wisdom, even as we see them on display in this chapter. We pray for their healing and their lives. We pray for your sufficient grace, regardless of how their stories play out.

God, we praise you that this world is not the end. We praise you that these children are safe in your presence forever, and we praise you for the promise of a world to come where there is no more sin, sorrow, suffering, or death. We praise you that we will be reunited with these children and with all who have trusted in you, Jesus.

Jesus, we praise you for conquering sin and death, and for the promise that one day we will see your face and you will wipe every tear from our eyes. So we pray specifically right now, based on 2 Samuel 12, over every man, woman, parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend who has experienced the kind of grief we see in this passage.

Even as we praise you for your grace and the gospel in our grief, we pray for those experiencing this kind of loss who do not yet know the grace, hope, and eternal peace found in Jesus.

A Prayer for the Kikim People

God, we also pray for the Kikim people of Indonesia. Please cause the good news of your grace to spread to them in Indonesia. That when they walk through dark days, they might know the hope and light found in you, Jesus—found in your Word, your presence, and your Spirit. We pray for the spread of the gospel to all the people groups of the world, and specifically for the Kikim of Indonesia today.

We pray all of this in the name of Jesus, who has conquered sin, death, and suffering, and who makes our resurrection hope sure. In his name we pray. Amen.