23 Prayers to Send Love and Healing to a Friend Going Through a Hard Time
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In times of great need, it can be difficult to know how to best support a friend. Whether they are grieving the loss of a loved one, going through a difficult separation, dealing with depression, or experiencing another tough situation, a prayer for a friend is always worth saying. Even if they don’t believe in a higher power, it’s worth sending positive thoughts their way.
We’ve collected 23 of the best prayers for a friend to say the next time someone close to you is struggling. Add one or more of them to your daily prayer routine, or share them the next time you meet up with your friend for a chat. Write down these prayers or save them on your phone so they are always nearby — you never know when you might need one.
You can use the prayers as inspiration for your own personal message or read them verbatim during your next heart-to-heart with God. We’ve covered the gamut with prayers for a friend’s happiness, prayers for protection, guidance, and more, so you have an idea of where to begin. The prayers also make great additions to birthday cards, sympathy gifts, or social media captions, if you struggle to think of the right thing to say at times.
A Blessing for Friendship
May you be blessed with good friends. May you learn to be a good friend to yourself. May you be able to journey to that place in your soul where there is great love, warmth, feeling, and forgiveness. May this change you. May it transfigure that which is negative, distant, or cold in you. May you be brought into the real passion, kinship, and affinity of belonging. May you treasure your friends. May you be good to them, and may you be there for them; may they bring you all the blessings, challenges, truth, and light that you need for your journey. May you never be isolated. May you always be in the gentle nest of belonging with your anam ċara.
— John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book Of Celtic Wisdom
Healing Prayer for a Sick Friend
Lord,
I'm grateful to be alive! Today, I will not ask for anything for myself. I just want to pray for my friend who is sick. May Your comfort be upon my friend's sick bed. May You ease my friend's suffering. Lord, You are the ultimate source of health and healing.
Amen.
A Prayer for Peace and Protection
Merciful Father,
Thank you for the friends I have experienced in my life. I pray for your grace and favor upon them. I pray that you protect their children. I pray that you protect their marriages. Protect them from the eyes of their enemies. Help them deal with their grief. Bless them, and protect them from temptation. Help them be successful at what they do. Thank you for answering my prayer.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
A Prayer for Success
Loving Father,
You are the giver of success; without You, our hustles are in vain. Grant my friend success in his endeavors. May he excel in all that his hands find to do, according to Your perfect will.
Amen.
Short Prayer for a Friend
God,
I pray for healing and comfort for anyone dealing with heartache. I pray that they find refuge in You in the midst of their pain. May You continue to give them the strength to keep going — to push through these dark moments and know You are with them every step of the way.
A Healing Prayer for a Friend
Dear Lord,
I pray for my friend right now. I pray that you will help them with the struggles they are going through in this season. For you know exactly what they need in this moment. Draw near to them, and let them feel your presence. Open their eyes, ears, and hearts to you.
A Loving Prayer for Happiness
Father God,
Thank you for my best friend, Lord. They have been there for me when I have needed it. Today, I ask that you would pour out your spirit on them. That they would feel your presence and be filled with hope and joy.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
A Prayer to Protect a Friend
Dear Father,
I treasure my wonderful friends so much. Thank you for their presence in my life. I ask that you would watch over them and lead them into hope and blessing. I trust that you will protect and hold them when life is hard. Lord, help me to be a good friend to them.
Amen.
— Unknown
A Prayer for Friendship
I give thanks for my friends, for connection and laughter, for comfort and strength, for encouragement and unity, for forgiveness and grace, for celebration and joy. They are so many things to me, such a rich tapestry of blessings, woven through my life. Thank you.
Amen.
— Unknown
A Prayer for Difficult Times
My prayer for you, dear friend, is that the Lord will turn your weeping into dancing. He will give you a reason to not just smile but laugh again. The Lord will see you through this difficult situation and comfort you on all sides.
Amen.
— Unknown
A Prayer for Guidance
May the Lord be your solid rock. May He be your refreshing fountain. May the Lord be with you always. May you rise and soar on an eagle’s wings.
Amen.
— Unknown
A Prayer for Eternal Love
Almighty God,
We entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
— Grace Episcopal Church Honesdale
Words of Blessing for a Friend
Lord,
Please give my treasured friend love and blessings without end. Bring contentment in her life, comfort her in times of strife, always keep her safe, secure, let her path to You be sure. Lord, I pray my friend will be close to you, eternally.
Amen.
A Prayer for Protection
Dear God,
Please keep my family, friends, and loved ones safe. Please watch over them always, and let good health, happiness, and good fortune befall them.
Amen.
— Unknown
A Prayer for Someone Going Through a Hard Time
Heavenly Father,
It is so hard to watch _________ suffer. It doesn’t seem fair for her to have to endure so much pain. Even though I am powerless, I believe that you are powerful and capable of stepping into this situation and completely altering the outcome. In faith, I am responding to the promises in your word that you listen to our prayers, and those prayers can make her well. So, I am bringing my friend before you to ask for your healing touch in her life. Thank you for the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal healing, but I am asking you to provide healing for her on this side of heaven.
Amen.
— Lisa Samra
A Prayer for a Friend Losing Faith
Merciful Lord and Savior,
We thank You that You never loosen Your hold on us, no matter what we are going through, for You are always faithful, even when we are not.
As You know Lord, my friend has decided that she doesn’t want to walk with You anymore. I pray that this change of heart is temporary, and that like the prodigal son, she will make her way back home to You, where You will welcome her back with open arms.
We thank You that with You we will always find grace. And, that we will always belong to You, and You to us.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
— Madaline Twooney
A Miracle Prayer for a Friend
Lord,
Today, I come to you hurting. This wound from a friend is almost more than I can bear. I feel brokenhearted, and I want justice. Lord, I know that justice is not mine to give, so I come to you open-handed. Here is the friendship that has wounded me so much, Lord — take this hurt from me, help me feel your peace and your love toward me now.
I don’t want to extend grace. But, I know you have been so gracious toward me — all my life you have lavished grace on me as I’ve sinned against you. Help me be humble. Help me see my part to play. Help me give grace and love toward my friend.
Soften my friend’s heart toward me now — let them return grace to me too.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
— Anne Dahlhauser
A Prayer for a Friend in Emotional Pain
Lord,
Satan is trying with all his might to divide your house and your people. We pray, Lord, with all our might that we would not let that happen. That we would remember that a house divided cannot stand. Help us to be the peacemaker in our relationships, friendships, and families, without bending or compromising on the truth. And Lord, if it must be that there are those who choose to no longer be our friends or in relationship with us, guard us against a bitter heart, and remind us to pray for a softening of their heart. In Jesus name, we pray.
Amen.
— Janet Thompson
A Blessing for God's Will
Thank you for your great love and blessing over our lives. Thank you that your favor has no end, but it lasts for our entire lifetime. Forgive us for sometimes forgetting that you are intimately acquainted with all of our ways, that you know what concerns us, and you cover us, as with a shield. We ask for your guidance so that we might walk fully in your blessing and goodness today. We ask that your face would shine on us. That you would open the right doors for our lives and for our loved ones, that you would close the wrong doors, and protect us from those we need to walk away from. Establish the work of our hands, and bring to fulfillment all that you have given us to do in these days. We pray that you would make our way purposeful and our footsteps firm out of your goodness and love. Give us a heart of wisdom to hear your voice, and make us strong by your huge favor and grace.
—Debbie McDaniel
A Prayer for Loving Your Friends
O fountain of love, love our friends and teach them to love you with all their hearts. That they may think and speak and do only what is pleasing to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
— St. Anselm, Eleventh Century
A Prayer for a Friend in Need
God of all creation,
Although You had the power, You did not see it fit to grasp Your eternal glory. Instead, You set it aside to come down to us. Lord, I beg You to come again, to carry my friend who is in need. Bless them, Lord, as You have blessed all of Your children. Give them the strength that comes only from You and the willingness to endure through this time of trial.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Prayer for Peace
Most merciful Jesus,
There are times in our lives where we seek peace we are unable to obtain. Alas, someone I love is grieving a loss. He/she is burdened under many pressures. Confusion has made understanding difficult for him/her, and he/she is physically worn down. Lord, we know that You provide the peace that surpasses all understanding. Wash over him/her with Your spirit. Comfort him/her as he/she seeks understanding. For You alone can bring this peace.
Amen.
Prayer for Loving Your Friends
Lord God,
You teach us that there is no greater love than he who lays down his life for a friend. Lord, I want to be this kind of friend. I want to reflect on the type of love that You have for us in my relationships here on Earth. Father, help me to adopt a heart like Yours. Help me to carry my cross and to bear the burdens of those around me. Help me to be a loving friend.
Amen.
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