A Prayer for the One Who Desperately Needs Hope This Easter Sunday
By Alisha Headley
Bible Reading:
“Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” - Psalm 30:5
Read or Listen Below:
Before the beautiful resurrection on Easter Sunday, there was an empty tomb. And before there was an empty tomb, there was a Savior in pain and loved ones with broken hearts. Before the pain of the cross, Jesus was being brutally beaten, and before the beating, Jesus was crying out to God in the Garden of Gethsemane to take away his circumstances because it seemed like too much to bear. There were a lot of painful before that led to the beautiful Easter Sunday full of hope and life that we know Easter to be today. For a moment, the cross looked like the end. The pain, the loss, the silence of Saturday after the Savior of the world took His last breath—it all felt so final. It felt hopeless. Death had spoken, and it sounded like a period at the end of the story, the story ending with a grave.
I’ve faced my graves, and the season I’ve been walking in feels like the longest Saturday of my life. For the past 3 years, I’ve faced graves of loss, dreams delayed, and long moments of aching silence where I begged God for life to get pregnant. I’ve experienced loss after loss after loss. I’ve lost pregnancies, lost hope, lost expectations, and lost the version of life I thought I’d be living by now. And yet…Easter Sunday whispers again and again…This is not the end.
Today’s verse reminds us that weeping may stay for the night, but joy is always on the way. Saturday must have felt like life was over for all those weeping at the cross with the devastating loss of their Savior—completely hopeless. Saturday probably felt long, and the night was restless… but it didn’t last forever. The grave could not hold Jesus, and it can’t hold the places in your life that feel lifeless, hopeless, or beyond repair. Some of us are living in a long Saturday season right now. Maybe you’re waiting for healing, grieving a loss, or praying for something that seems like it’s never going to happen. Perhaps the silence leaves you feeling hopeless, and your heart is aching from the waiting.
But Easter tells a better story: God does His most miraculous work in the waiting. Easter doesn’t mean life always looks perfect or pain suddenly disappears. It simply means the worst is never the last thing. The disciples and those who loved Jesus experienced the worst thing in their lives that day on Calvary, watching their Savior, Jesus, take his last breath. Their Savior, who was their everything—their comfort, their guide, their security and safety—was gone. But then Easter…
The grave of Jesus and the graves in our lives don’t get the final word. No situation, season, or soul is too far gone for Jesus's power to breathe life into again. God is still in the business of breathing life into graves. The same God who rolled the stone away is still rolling stones today. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead is still breathing life into hearts, dreams, and situations that feel buried. He’s still turning mourning into dancing; He’s still turning beauty from ashes and despair into joy. Again, it doesn’t mean the pain isn’t real—it just means it’s not permanent and doesn’t have the final say. I know how a dark Saturday can feel, as I feel like it’s been a Saturday in my life for a very long season. But remember, Sunday is coming—weeping may last for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father, Thank you so much for the Cross. Thank you so much for loving us so much that you sent your only Son to die for us so that we can have eternal life. Thank you for Scripture like today’s verse. Lord, we are in a season where it feels like Saturday. We are hurting, and we feel hopeless. You know every loss and disappointment we have carried, every question we’ve whispered, and every tear we have cried. During this season, when the night feels long, and the pain feels heavy, remind us that You have conquered the grave. Remember that our weeping is not wasted and won’t last forever, as joy is coming. Because you are faithful and never break your promises, it’s not a matter of if the joy is coming; it’s a matter of when. Thank you for that. You are a loving God who brings beauty from ashes, speaks life into dry bones, and rolls away every stone.
Forgive us for our unbelief and for becoming hopeless in this long-suffering season. Help us to trust you in the waiting, to cling to you, and to believe in you even when we can’t see what you are doing. We ask that you breathe new life into those places in our hearts that feel dead or buried. Resurrect our hope. Renew our strength. And restore our joy. Thank you. Because you moved the tomb and rose Jesus to life again, we know that resurrection is possible in our lives, too. Please help us live like someone who knows that morning is coming and joy is coming. Let Easter’s promise ignite hope in us today. In your mighty name, we pray, Jesus. Amen
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Bruno van der Kraan
Alisha Headley is a writer + speaker who has a desire to meet the everyday woman in her everyday life with biblical truth. Stepping into her true calling, she left the corporate world behind as a former-financial VP to love on her family as a stay-at-home wifey + dog mama, while also being able to pursue her passion as a writer. Healing from a chapter of life consumed with lies she once believed about herself, she is inspired to point women to Christ to experience the freedom + power to overcome those lies with the truth written in God’s word. In her free time, Alisha enjoys road trips around the country, working out so she can eat her favorite foods, and creatively styling her outfits with a craft for fashion. Alisha is a proud wifey and dog mama living in Scottsdale, Arizona.
You can follow her blog by visiting her website alishaheadley.com or connect with her on facebook + instagram.
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