During this Lent, I consoled several grieving people. Among the deceased, some have decided to put their faith in the Lord but have not yet been baptized; others have accepted the Lord and baptism with gratitude before returning to Him.
A friend, Brother Liu, invited dozens of believers to join a temporary "urgent prayer group" to pray earnestly for the relief of his uncle Cui's and his family's agony as he was dying of disease. Mr. Cui had decided to believe in the Lord but had yet to be baptized. His daughter, Liu's cousin, rushed home from school outside of town in the early morning and held her father in her arms while reading prayers and asking for God's mercy, even though she was still a non-believer. The next day, Brother Cui returned to the Lord, leaving believers convinced that he had gone to a more beautiful heavenly home.
On behalf of his family, Mr. Liu extended gratitude to all Christians for their ongoing prayers and thanked everyone for accepting a child in the kingdom of heaven like Brother Cui in the name of the Lord.
Liu is quite concerned for his cousin. A Christian woman remarked, "God has been working in your sister's heart. Through experiencing life and death, she will reflect on the meaning of life! Let us pray more for her, inviting the Lord to have her and comfort her."
Every day, Liu's cousin was eager to pray for her father before going to bed, hoping that he would live a better life in heaven. She wanted to know what to say to God. She felt compelled to kneel, close her eyes, clasp her hands, and say, "King of kings, Lord of lords, merciful and loving Heavenly Father, my father has left us and gone to heaven. May he stop worrying about his family and find happiness and comfort in heaven, free of illness and trouble. The above prayer is offered in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen!"
Regarding this, a Christian man commented, “In fact, people should not pray for those who have been taken away by God, but for the living. Congregants in the prayer group can pray for the grieving family, asking God to comfort them, because the Bible affirms that those who believe in Jesus do not die but rather fall asleep in him. Living on Earth is simply the beginning of eternity, which you can only enter upon falling asleep."
Some women in the Lord also consoled Brother Liu, stating that God has magnificent provisions that go beyond our prayers and imagination.
A longtime best friend of another Christian elder was also dying of disease. The elder earnestly sought prayers from fellow believers for the pastor to go to the hospital and baptize his best friend, who had chosen to accept the Lord. Despite his tight schedule, the pastor made time to visit her in the hospital, and miraculously, the patient regained consciousness and received baptism. After the elder's best friend passed, congregants extended condolences to her.
- Translated by Poppy Chan
这个四旬期，我安慰了几位丧失亲友的人。其中，有的亲友决志信主了，但还没有受洗；还有的亲友信主了并在离世之前感恩受洗了。
有一位友人刘弟兄，邀请几十位信徒加入一个临时组建的“迫切祷告群”，为减轻他舅舅崔弟兄在病痛弥留之际的痛苦及他的家人而恳切代祷。崔弟兄已决志信主，只是还没有参加受洗仪式。虽然没有信主，他的女儿，也就是刘的表妹，凌晨从外地学校赶回来，也抱着父亲一直读祷告词，求神的怜悯。次日，崔弟兄归主怀抱。各信徒留言，确信他去了一个更美的天家。
刘弟兄代表家人们对众弟兄姊妹的持续祷告表示了特别感谢，感谢大家为主的名在爱里接待了一个像崔弟兄这样的天国里的小孩子。
刘弟兄非常关心他的表妹，有信徒妹留言说，“神已经在你妹妹的心中做工，在经历过生死离别后，她对人生的意义会有思索！我们多为她祈祷，求主得着她并安慰她。”
表妹很想每天睡前为爸爸做祷告，让他在天堂那边过得好一点。她很想知道向神说什么内容。她自己觉得应该跪着，闭上眼睛双手合十，说：“万王之王，万主之主，慈悲仁爱的天父，我伟大的父亲离开了我们的身边，去到了天堂。愿他可以放下对家人的担忧，在天堂快乐自在，无灾无难。以上祷告奉我主基督耶稣之名祈求！阿们！”
对此，一位弟兄留言：“其实人被神接走不需要祷告，只要给活着的人祷告就够了。群里的家人们可以为他的家人祷告，让神安慰他们的心，因为经上说信的人是睡了，而不是死了，人活在世上只是进入永恒的一个开始，睡了才能进入永恒。”
也有的姊妹安慰刘弟兄说，神有奇妙的预备，超过我们所求所想。
再有一位基督徒长辈的多年闺蜜病痛弥留，长辈恳切寻求大家的代祷，能多方联系牧者到医院为这位已经决志信主的闺蜜施洗。当百忙之中抽出时间的牧师去了医院时，病者苏醒并顺利接受洗礼。在这位长者的闺蜜去世之后，大家也发信息去安慰了她。
在这个四旬期安慰丧失亲友者
During this Lent, I consoled several grieving people. Among the deceased, some have decided to put their faith in the Lord but have not yet been baptized; others have accepted the Lord and baptism with gratitude before returning to Him.
A friend, Brother Liu, invited dozens of believers to join a temporary "urgent prayer group" to pray earnestly for the relief of his uncle Cui's and his family's agony as he was dying of disease. Mr. Cui had decided to believe in the Lord but had yet to be baptized. His daughter, Liu's cousin, rushed home from school outside of town in the early morning and held her father in her arms while reading prayers and asking for God's mercy, even though she was still a non-believer. The next day, Brother Cui returned to the Lord, leaving believers convinced that he had gone to a more beautiful heavenly home.
On behalf of his family, Mr. Liu extended gratitude to all Christians for their ongoing prayers and thanked everyone for accepting a child in the kingdom of heaven like Brother Cui in the name of the Lord.
Liu is quite concerned for his cousin. A Christian woman remarked, "God has been working in your sister's heart. Through experiencing life and death, she will reflect on the meaning of life! Let us pray more for her, inviting the Lord to have her and comfort her."
Every day, Liu's cousin was eager to pray for her father before going to bed, hoping that he would live a better life in heaven. She wanted to know what to say to God. She felt compelled to kneel, close her eyes, clasp her hands, and say, "King of kings, Lord of lords, merciful and loving Heavenly Father, my father has left us and gone to heaven. May he stop worrying about his family and find happiness and comfort in heaven, free of illness and trouble. The above prayer is offered in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Amen!"
Regarding this, a Christian man commented, “In fact, people should not pray for those who have been taken away by God, but for the living. Congregants in the prayer group can pray for the grieving family, asking God to comfort them, because the Bible affirms that those who believe in Jesus do not die but rather fall asleep in him. Living on Earth is simply the beginning of eternity, which you can only enter upon falling asleep."
Some women in the Lord also consoled Brother Liu, stating that God has magnificent provisions that go beyond our prayers and imagination.
A longtime best friend of another Christian elder was also dying of disease. The elder earnestly sought prayers from fellow believers for the pastor to go to the hospital and baptize his best friend, who had chosen to accept the Lord. Despite his tight schedule, the pastor made time to visit her in the hospital, and miraculously, the patient regained consciousness and received baptism. After the elder's best friend passed, congregants extended condolences to her.
- Translated by Poppy Chan
Lenten Condolences for the Bereaved
