6 Prayers for Good Friday
Engage with these prayers for Good Friday to find spiritual enrichment and contemplation in the days preceding Easter’s celebration.
We would not have an Easter Sunday without a Good Friday.
Though the days may seem to contrast darkness from light, death from life, and defeat from victory. There is not a single moment that was out of God’s plan and sovereignty.
As we reflect on the sacrifice of Christ, and all He endured up to the cross, we can lift up our voices in thanks and offer God prayers for Good Friday.
You can use these Good Friday prayers to reflect on the events leading up to the cross and give God thanks for the finished work of Jesus.
6 Prayers for Good Friday
A Prayer For Good Friday
Lord,
I am thankful for this day where I am reminded of the selfless sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The one to least deserve death, died for us. The one without a stain of sin, carrying the sin of the world upon Himself. How can I thank You enough for what You have done?
I am humbled by the great love which You have shown by sending Your Son into the world. We did nothing to deserve it, yet Christ willingly laid down His life for us. And what greater love is there than that? He did not simply lay down His life for His friends, but for His enemies. And now we can have peace with You through Christ.
Thank You for Your plan of redemption that You have set in place since the foundation of the world. Thank You for Your kindness that You have poured out on us, and for Your grace that is found in Jesus. May my heart be filled with awe, gratitude and submission as I reflect on this day. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
A Prayer To Reflect On Jesus’ Suffering For You
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your mercy that has withheld what we deserved, and for Your grace that has given us what we don’t deserve. Jesus Christ is both that mercy and grace personified. This Good Friday, I cannot help to reflect on all that Jesus suffered and endured in my place.
It is hard to remember at times that it should be I who received the punishment for my sins, but it is true. I deserved what Christ endured. Yet, He left His place next to You, took on flesh, and became like one of us, so that He might redeem us for Himself.
The Son of God, who took on flesh, and had no place to rest His head. Who was beaten, mocked, and spat upon. Who was accused of wrong, when He did no wrong. The Son of God who walked among us, and became a daily example for us.
In the same way that Christ lived sacrificially, help me to live a life of sacrifice to You. Help me to put to death the flesh, and to take up my cross everyday, just as Jesus took up His cross on my behalf.
Help me to rejoice in as much as I share in the sufferings of Christ, knowing that victory belongs to Him, and that no suffering for Christ goes to waste.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
A Prayer To Remember The Depths Of How Jesus Carried Your Sins
Father,
Thank You for Jesus. It is hard to put into words what that means, because it means so many things. I think of the perfect, and spotless Lamb and how He gave Himself for us.
I am reminded of the human form that He took so that He could live among us, be tempted in the ways we are tempted, yet be without sin, unlike we are.
His whole life on earth, and earthly ministry was fixed on one ultimate goal. And He came to earth willingly to carry it out. Though He did not have to, He carried the sin of all the world on His shoulders, and paid the full price.
He did not turn away, but submitted Himself to You, His faithful Father. He endured the mocking of the very humans whose sin He was carrying, and felt the whips across His back. He was crowned with thorns, our servant King, and God.
Through His human hands, and feet, He felt the agony of the nails that pierced through them. And on His side, He was struck with a spear. Yet, He did not hold it against them, and asked forgiveness on their behalf.
This is my Savior, Christ, whose sacrifice went deeper than I can wrap my head around. Help me to never forget the depth of what He has done for me, and keep me in eternal amazement knowing that I get to call Him my Lord.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
To Remember The Importance Of Repentance
Father,
This Good Friday I am reminded of the weight of my sin. I know that nothing can ever separate me from Your love. But I am reminded of how seriously You take sin, and what sin cost Christ.
The weight of our sin was so great that it took Your blameless and spotless Son, Jesus, to cover the great debt that we owed.
I am grateful for Christ’s finished work on the cross, and that I have been adopted into Your family. Yet, I do not want to make little of my sin, and forget that Christ’s sacrifice is not a license for me to live in sin. Please forgive me for the times when I minimize my sin.
Please help me to grieve over my sin, and to seek Your forgiveness. It is not Your wrath, but Your kindness that leads us to repentance. It is Your patience, longsuffering and mercy that brings us to our knees. Please help me not to run away in shame when I sin, but to turn to You for strength and forgiveness.
Let me not take lightly the thing which You hate most. But help me to hate sin, and to seek righteousness. In this lifetime, I know that I will sin, help me not to pursue a life of sin, but to turn from it, and to be led by Your Spirit rather than my flesh.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
To Feel The Impact Of Jesus Saying, “Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
Lord,
As Jesus hung on the cross for the sake of our sin, You poured out Your wrath on Him, though it was we who deserved it. Even while we were sinners and enemies of God, Christ gave Himself willingly, and lived the life we couldn’t live, and died the death designed for us.
In that moment, Jesus was left to suffer the full weight of our sin, and the judgment for our sins. The penalty for sin was death, and Christ carried that debt on His shoulders, and He felt the separation and forsakenness that the punishment of sin brings.
Jesus felt it all, He bled and suffered for us. It is hard to imagine what that moment must have felt like for Jesus, Your only begotten Son with whom You were pleased. Yet, He did not say it out of despair, or because He did not know how it would end.
Thank You for the sacrifice of Christ that has brought me life today. He endured a moment of forsakenness on my behalf, so that I might never be separated from the love of God in Christ, my Lord. For that truth, I am eternally grateful.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
To Reflect On The Meaning Of Jesus Saying, “It Is Finished”
Father in Heaven,
It is so sobering to think of all that the cross signifies and what Christ endured on our behalf. Though He was sinless, He took on flesh, and humbled Himself, even to the point of death. The only one who met Your righteous requirements took on the wrath that was meant for us.
Sometimes it can be so easy to take the cross for granted, because we have heard it so many times. Yet, this Good Friday, my prayer is that You will help me to reflect the weight of what Christ did, and what He meant when He said, “It is finished.”
Your Word says that Christ came to serve and not to be served. That is exactly how He lived His life and how He went to the cross. He came to accomplish what He set out to do, and what You sent Him for. And He finished it. He paid our debt of sin in full, and defeated death.
Thank You that death has lost its sting, and that we have hope not only for this life but for eternity. Now we get to be living sacrifices for You, because Christ has set us free from the slavery of sin, and has made us a new creation. For this, I cannot thank You enough.
In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
