In thinking about the passing of Pastor Loel Haak, I remembered this prayer of Donald Deffner's:
O God I know
Yours was the first tear to fall
when my friend died
Because of our sinful state
death reigns in this world
So comfort us Lord
with the certain hope
of life to come
Turn our mourning
into dancing
and weeping into joy
knowing the resurrection
is near
And teach us so
to number our days
that we are always ready
And not just now
as the family nods
in stunned grief
but in the weeks to come
move me Lord
in true compassion
to aid the bereaved
with a ministry of presence
and the assurance
of Your sacred promise
that our loved one is forever
"with the Lord!"
From "Prayers For People Under Pressure" page 39
Bible texts used as inspiration: Psalm 116:15; Romans 5:12; Psalm 30:5 b, 11, 12; 126:9; 90:12; 39:4-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:17
