Thought I'd post a prayer sequence I used last Sunday evening, in case anyone finds it helpful/useful.  The bidding and response (last two lines of each stanza) were 'given' and I wrote the rest around them.  Writing them helped me in my own rather dazed state at the time...

When Jesus stood at the grave of his friend Lazarus, he wept because he loved him

In the ache of separation,

In the tears of grief,

The numbness of loss

Reassure us of your promise:

Do not be afraid for I shall be with you

Lighten our path, Lord, show us the way

As Jesus hung on the cross, alone and in agony, his body wracked with pain and his slips parched he had the audacity to ask ‘My God, why?’

In our confusion and questioning

In our denial or disbelief

In our anger and in our emptiness

Reassure us of your promise:

Do not be afraid for I shall be with you

Lighten our path, Lord, show us the way

On meeting Mary in the garden, as she sought to embrace him, Jesus said ‘do not cling on to me’

In our reluctance to let go

In our desire to turn back the clock

In every ‘if only’ that haunts our minds

Reassure us of your promise:

Do not be afraid for I shall be with you

Lighten our path, Lord, show us the way

In an upstairs room where bewildered disciples needed reassurance, Jesus said “peace be with you”

In our remembering of times past

In our celebration of lives lived

In our grief and in our gratitude

Reassure us of your promise:

Do not be afraid for I shall be with you

Lighten our path, Lord, show us the way

A man had a dream in which he glimpsed eternity

There was no more death

No more mourning

No more weeping

No more pain

Lord of life,

You shared our life with all its joy and sorrow

You experienced our death, defeating its power with love

Lead us onwards in the confident hope of your promise:

Do not be afraid for I shall be with you

Lighten our path, Lord, show us the way

This day, and every day, Amen.