This is the day when followers of Christ commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. Here are 10 powerful prayers to remember Christ on Good Friday this year.
The stores are already stocking shelves with all the trimmings of Easter Sunday dinner and treats. Fluffy little Peeps line the shelves in bright pink, yellow, and blue. Other aisles are filled with devotionals and journals made for Good Friday prayers. It already has me wondering how to observe Good Friday to reflect what Jesus did for me. As a Christian who came to the Lord in my college years, I get misty-eyed thinking of all the sins, actions, behaviors, and mistakes He saved me from. At the time, I had been arrested for a DUI but the officer realized there was more to the story and took me to the hospital. There, my medical team rescued me from a suicide attempt and God intervened, saving me from eternity without Him.
As I think about my past and my mistakes—tears fill my eyes because I know I should be nailed to that cross instead of my Savior. While your story may not be as dramatic as mine, you too know the darkness God saved you from. As Good Friday looms ever closer on the calendar, we can begin to think and plan how to observe the holiday this year that will truly worship God for what He did that weekend!
What Is Good Friday and When Is it This Year?
This year, Good Friday will be on April 2. This is the day when followers of Christ commemorate the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. The name may seem counterintuitive since the day is typically viewed as a solemn one, often observed with fasting and somber processions. For Christians, it is one of the most crucial days of the year because it celebrates what we believe to be the most pivotal day in the history of the world. Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 1:10). It’s called Good Friday because, He became the final, complete sacrifice for our sins. We couldn’t have erased our sins. Our hands would have been forever stained with every single sin for a lifetime. But Jesus broke the bonds of death and sin!
D.A. Carson wrote, "It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father’s will—and it was his love for sinners like me." It is a good day because he traded places for you and for me. It is a good day because it was the day he conquered sin and death so that we will never be apart from God on this side of heaven or the other.
No greater love has ever been shown for any of us than Jesus showed. Even if someone else chose to die for us, only the blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, has the power to pay the price for and have the power to save us from our sin. He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except by Him.
Here are 10 Good Friday prayers to help you reflect and thank Jesus:
A Thankful Prayer for Good Friday
Father, thank You for this Friday. Thank You for seeing us through another work week and bringing us to the weekend. Father, we pray that this weekend will be filled with rest, refreshment, and quiet time with You. Our lives can seem so overwhelming and confusing, but we know that You are there by our side always.
Lord, thank You for guiding our path. We know that You are doing 10,000 things in our lives, even if we are only aware of a few of them. Lord, help us recognize Your Spirit. Bring us deeper into a knowledge of You, so that even in times of adversity, we can rest in the knowledge that You are with us.
Holy Spirit, please wash us with Your love. We repent of our sins, and we pray for help to do better in time. We rejoice that You are forgiving and full of such a grace that ushers us forth into freedom. Our times and our days rest in Your hands, and we know that even in anguish, You have a plan for our benefit and the glorification of the kingdom. Help us to trust You in such times and be filled with overwhelming peace.
Thank You, Lord, for this beautiful day. May we increase in You, may we come into an abundance of Your love.
In Jesus’ name, Amen. –Cally Logan
A Prayer of Remembrance
Dear God, We remember today, the pain and suffering of the cross, and all that Jesus was willing to endure, so we could be set free. He paid the price, such a great sacrifice, to offer us the gift of eternal life. Help us never to take for granted this huge gift of love on our behalf. Help us to be reminded of the cost of it all. Forgive us for being too busy, or distracted by other things, for not fully recognizing what you freely given, what you have done for us.
Thank you, Lord, that by your wounds we are healed. Thank you that because of your huge sacrifice we can live free. Thank you that sin and death have been conquered, and that your Power is everlasting. Thank you that we can say with great hope, “It is finished…” For we know what’s still to come. And death has lost its sting. We praise you for you are making all things new. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. –Debbie McDaniel
Today O Good Jesus Prayer
Today, O good Jesus, you did not hide your face from shame and spitting for us. Today, Jesus our Redeemer, you were mocked, struck by unbelievers, and crowned with thorns for us. Today, good Shepherd, you laid down your life for the sheep on the cross, and you were crucified with robbers and had your sacred hands nailed through. Today you were laid in the guarded tomb, and the saints burst open their tombs. Today, good Jesus, you put an end to our sins, that on the day of your resurrection we may joyfully receive your holy body, and be refreshed with your sacred blood. Amen.
Source: Mozarabic Sacramentary, 7th Century
An Easter Prayer
Jesus, Today we pause to remember your sacrificial love. That shone light into the darkness. That bore life from such emptiness. That revealed hope out of devastation That spoke truth through incrimination. That released freedom in spite of imprisonment. And brought us forgiveness instead of punishment. Thank you that we can now walk in the light of your life, Hope, truth, freedom, and forgiveness, This day and every day. Amen. –Lords Prayer Words
The Passion: Good Friday Prayer
Jesus, our Lord, and our God, you gave your cheek to those who struck you and for our sake, you endured much mockery. Grant that following the example of your sufferings, we may be courageous in bearing our own, and learn from you, for you are meek and lowly in heart; you now reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen –Good Friday Prayers
Everlasting Life
Lord, death could not hold You. And because of You, the resurrection, we, too, can live. Thank You that the grave is only a journey into the presence of God. You have removed the sting of death and empowered this thing called life. Now I will live in Your presence forever. Amen. —Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Friday Gathering Prayer
Lord, as we gather together as family and friends; we invite you once again into our lives. May the hope of your resurrection color our days. May the promise of your spirit working in us light up our lives. May the love you revealed to us shape our giving. May the truth in your word guide our journeys and may the joy of your kingdom fill our homes. As we gather together underneath the banner of your life, we thank you for all the wonderful food that we can now enjoy and celebrate your glorious resurrection. Thank you, Lord. Amen. —Unknown
Celebration of Resurrection Over Death
As the world sings triumphant cries to heaven over death that you conquered, help us, Lord, tomorrow as well, when the dresses are put away and the candy is all eaten and on with life we go let us not forget. The celebration of your resurrection over death is a celebration of life that should continue well beyond the sunrise service and the music, rehearsed for days prior; it is beyond the sign of spring, beyond the lily, beyond new lambs grazing in open fields. Resurrection is a daily celebration over fear; man's greatest and most powerful enemy. Fear of tomorrow, fear of our yesterdays, fear of what shall become of our young our old our unborn. Resurrection is replacing fear with physical action. This alone, the most touching and profound of your signs that fear is dead and belief in you brings, not just hope but life. What better living parable could You have brought? All fear death. All. Even in the garden, You took on our fear if for only moments, it was as real as our fears can be real and You knew then that this single enemy must be destroyed. And, You sacrificed your life, leaving those who had been comfort, and follower; You left them behind, to conquer fear. I shall cling to this now, and the tomorrows given me. Peace and thanksgiving lifted unto you. Amen. —Unknown
Love Overcame
Love overcame, emerging from a cold tomb, all the truth, majesty, and creativity of a living God, transforming a broken heart. Making a quiet return, in a still and sorrowful garden the grave stone rolled away, to release redemptive love. Jesus, resurrected and restored, comforts a weeping woman, speaks with travelers on a journey, meets with his faithful friends, and they bow down before Christ alive and acknowledge that the savior has arrived, that the word of God has come alive, and that the extraordinary transformation of heaven and earth is complete.—Julie Palmer
Good Friday Prayer
Lord God, Jesus cried out to you on the cross, “Why have you forsaken me?” You seemed so far from his cry and from his distress. Those who stood at the foot of the cross wondered where you were, as they saw Jesus mocked and shamed and killed. Where were you then? Lord God, we, too, ask where you are when there is trouble and suffering and death, and we cry out to you for help. Be near to us and save us so that we may praise you for your deliverance. Lord God, we wait, on Friday, for the resurrection of Sunday. And sometimes our lives seem a succession of Fridays and we cannot see what is “Good.” Teach us to call your name as Jesus did. Make us to trust in you like little children. In Jesus’ name, Amen.—Maria Miriam
How Do Christians Observe Good Friday?
There are so many ways Christians observe Good Friday. Some take part in their church’s reenactment of Good Friday. They begin with Palm Sunday and go through the week including the last supper, Peter’s betrayal, and even walking in the streets carrying a cross.
In some communities, several churches will gather for one service on Good Friday. The time is spent in reflection of what the cross truly meant for us. Communion is provided along with a time to worship and pray. It is a very powerful experience.
Families will gather that evening to read about the last hours of Jesus. Some will even have kids make a tomb replica in anticipation of Easter morning. How you observe Good Friday should reflect what Christ did for you!
What Are Good Bible Verses to Read on Good Friday?
If you haven’t read the complete story of the crucifixion recently, today’s a perfect day to revisit it. Here is a list of Scriptures from not only the Gospel accounts of the story but other references from the Bible. As you read them, try to envision the culture, the timing, and how everyone was waiting for a savior and the King of Kings. Ask yourself, what was Jesus feeling? What was on His heart? How were those near Him feeling and thinking?
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