Please find below a selection of popular funeral prayers.
When choosing prayers you may like to consider:
• Whether the words are suitable and appropriate
• How many people in the congregation are likely to know them
• The faith of the deceased and those attending the funeral
Please be advised that there are often variations in the wording of some prayers, so please check that these are the 'right' version for the prayer you were looking for. If in any doubt then please check with your funeral director, minister or celebrant.
If you click on the title of the prayer you will be able to see the full wording.
-
23rd Psalm Funeral Prayer
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. -
A Prayer of Peace
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
Where there is injury, your pardon;
And where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;
O divine master, grant that we may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love,
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen -
Almighty God, In Your Great Love
Almighty God, in your great love
you crafted us by your hand
and breathed life into us by your Spirit.
Although we became a rebellious people,
you did not abandon us to our sin.
In your tender mercy
you sent your Son
to restore in us your image.
In obedience to your will
he gave up his life for us,
bearing in his body our sins on the cross.
By your mighty power
you raised him from the grave
and exalted him to the throne of glory.
Rejoicing in his victory
and trusting in your promise
to make alive all who turn to Christ,
we commend N to your mercy
and we join with all your faithful people
and the whole company of heaven
in the one unending song of praise:
glory and wisdom and honour
be to our God for ever and ever.Amen.
-
Catholic Funeral Prayer
God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.Amen.
-
Catholic Prayer For A Woman
We beseech Thee, O Lord,
in Thy mercy,
to have pity on the soul of Thy handmaid;
do Thou, Who hast freed her
from the perils of this mortal life,
restore to her the portion of everlasting salvation.
Through Christ our Lord,Amen.
-
Catholic Prayer For The Dead
God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.Amen.
-
Catholic Prayer For The Deceased
Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace.Amen.
-
Christ be with me
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.Amen
-
Christian Funeral Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, refresh me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Let me never be separated from you.
From the power of darkness defend me.
In the hour of my death, call me
and bid me come to you,
that with your saints I may praise you
for ever and ever.Amen.
-
Day by Day
Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you
for all the benefits you have won for us,
for all the pains and insults you have borne for us.
Most merciful redeemer,
friend and brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day.Amen.
-
Eternal God And Father
Eternal God and Father,
we praise you that you have made people
to share life together
and to reflect your glory in the world.
We thank you now for [Name],
for all that we saw of your goodness and love in his/her life
and for all that he/she means to each one of us.
As we too journey towards death
may we do so in the company of Jesus,
who came to share our life
that we might share the life of eternity.
To him be glory with you and the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever.Amen.
-
Father In Heaven
Father in heaven, we praise your name
for all who have finished this life loving and trusting you,
for the example of their lives,
the life and grace you gave them,
and the peace in which they rest.
We praise you today for your servant [Name]
and for all that you did through him/her.
Meet us in our sadness
and fill our hearts with praise and thanksgiving,
for the sake of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.Amen.
-
Funeral Prayer
Almighty God,
you love everything you have made
and judge us with infinite mercy and justice.
We rejoice in your promises of pardon, joy and peace
to all those who love you.
In your mercy turn the darkness of death into the dawn of new life,
and the sorrow of parting into the joy of heaven;
through our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who died, rose again, and lives for evermore.Amen.
-
Funeral Prayer for a Child
God of all mystery, whose ways are beyond understanding,
lead us, who grieve at this untimely death,
to a new and deeper faith in your love,
which brought your only Son Jesus
through death into resurrection life.
We make our prayer in Jesus’ name.Amen.
-
Funeral Prayer For The Family
O God, you do not willingly grieve or afflict your children.
Look with pity on the suffering of this family in their loss.
Sustain them in their anguish;
and into the darkness of their grief
bring the light of your love;
through Jesus we pray.Amen.
-
Funeral Service Prayer
Heavenly Father,
you have not made us for darkness and death,
but for life with you for ever.
Without you we have nothing to hope for;
with you we have nothing to fear.
Speak to us now your words of eternal life.
Lift us from anxiety and guilt
to the light and peace of your presence,
and set the glory of your love before us;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
-
God Be In My Head
God be in my head,
and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes,
and in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
and in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
and in my thinking;
God be at my end,
and at my departing.Amen.
-
God Our Refuge And Strength
God our refuge and strength,
close at hand in our distress;
meet us in our sorrow and lift our eyes
to the peace and light of your constant care.
Help us so to hear your word of grace
that our fear will be dispelled by your love,
our loneliness eased by your presence
and our hope renewed by your promises
in Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
-
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed
is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
Holy Mary, mother of God
Pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death
Amen -
Living God, You Have Lit The Day With The Sun’s Light
Living God, you have lit the day with the sun’s light
and the midnight with shining stars.
Lighten our hearts with the bright beams
of the Sun of Righteousness
risen with healing in his wings,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
And so preserve us in the doing of your will,
that at the last we may shine
as the stars for ever;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
-
Lord God, Creator Of All
Lord God, creator of all,
you have made us creatures of this earth
but have also promised us a share in life eternal:
receive our thanks and praise
that, through the passion and death of Christ,
your child [Name] , our brother/sister,
whom we commend into your hands today,
shares with your saints in the joy of heaven,
where there is neither sorrow nor pain
but life everlasting. Alleluia.Amen.
-
Lord, In Weakness Or In Strength
Lord, in weakness or in strength
we bear your image.
We pray for those we love
who now live in a land of shadows,
where the light of memory is dimmed,
where the familiar lies unknown,
where the beloved become as strangers.
Hold them in your everlasting arms,
and grant to those who care
a strength to serve,
a patience to persevere,
a love to last
and a peace that passes human understanding.
Hold us in your everlasting arms,
today and for all eternity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
-
Lord Jesus, Our Redeemer
Lord Jesus, our redeemer,
you willingly gave yourself up to death,
so that all might be saved and pass from death to life.
By dying you unlocked the gates of life
for all those who believe in you.
So we commend [Name] into your arms of mercy,
believing that, with sins forgiven,
he/she will share a place of happiness, light and peace
in the kingdom of your glory for ever.Amen.
-
Prayer For Funerals
God our Father,
we thank you that you have made each of us
in your own image,
and given us gifts and talents with which to serve you.
We thank you for [Name],
the years we shared with him/her,
the good we saw in him/her,
the love we received from him/her.
Now give us strength and courage
to leave him/her in your care,
confident in your promise of eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
-
Prayers For Mourners
Father of all mercies and God of all consolation,
you pursue us with untiring love
and dispel the shadow of death
with the bright dawn of life.
Give courage to this family in their loss and sorrow.
Be their refuge and strength, O Lord,
reassure them of your continuing love
and lift them from the depths of grief
into the peace and light of your presence.
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
by dying has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Your Holy Spirit, our comforter,
speaks for us in groans too deep for words.
Come alongside your people,
remind them of your eternal presence
and give them your comfort and strength.Amen.
-
Prayer Of Saint Francis Of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.Amen.
-
Sudden Death Prayer
God of hope,
we come to you in shock and grief and confusion of heart.
Help us to find peace in the knowledge
of your loving mercy to all your children,
and give us light to guide us out of our darkness
into the assurance of your love,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
-
Thanksgiving For The Life Of The Deceased
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us all with the gift of this earthly life
and has given to our brother/sister [Name]
his/her span of years and gifts of character.
God our Father, we thank you now for all his/her life,
for every memory of love and joy,
for every good deed done by him/her
and every sorrow shared with us.
We thank you for his/her life and for his/her death,
we thank you for the rest in Christ he/she now enjoys,
we thank you for giving him/her to us,
we thank you for the glory we shall share together.
Hear our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.
-
The Death Of Someone We Love – A Prayer
The death of someone we love and care about is like the death of part of us.
No one else will ever call out from within us quite the same responses, the same feelings or actions or ideas.Their death is an ending of one part of a story.
Lord as we look back over ‘Rose's’ life, we ask what we have received, what we can appropriate
and continue on in our own lives and what must be laid to rest.
Our love for his/her reminds us that our sharing in one another's lives brings both support and pain.
Our being parted from him/her reminds us of our own mortality and that your love is enduring.We thank you that our love for ‘Rose’ draws us together and gives us a new appreciation of one another
and of the beauty and fragility of relationships which mirror your grace and goodness to us. -
The Lord Is Here
The Lord is here,
his Spirit is with us.
We need not fear,
his Spirit is with us.
We are surrounded by love,
his Spirit is with us.
We are immersed in peace,
his Spirit is with us.
We rejoice in hope,
his Spirit is with us.
We travel in faith,
his Spirit is with us. -
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, which art in heaven;
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil;
for thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen. -
The Resurrection Prayer
I am the resurrection and the Life,
Saith the Lord: He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
and though his body be destroyed, yet shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.
We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. -
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with
Him forever in the next.Amen.