A grandmother can play many roles in your life. She can be a teacher, a provider, and even a friend. That said, if your family is religious, your grandmother might also be among the key figures who’ve helped you embrace and understand your religious beliefs.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Prayers for Grandma’s Health
- Prayers of Thanks for Grandma
- Prayers for Grandma’s Birthday
- Prayers for a Grandma Who Died
Thus, you may wish to offer prayers for Grandma in a variety of situations. Whether you’re interested in prayers that can serve as tributes to Grandma, looking for a way to say “Happy Birthday in Heaven, Grandma,” or looking for sympathy messages you can offer to a person whose grandmother is ill or has recently passed, consider the following examples. They’re among the most powerful prayers for Grandma you can find.
Prayers for Grandma’s Health
Prayers for health are common in most religions. Whether it’s a Catholic prayer for healing, a Buddhist invocation, or any other type of healing prayer from any other religion, such offerings make ideal prayers for Grandma when she may be facing a challenging health situation.
1. Patience in Sickness from Christianity
This prayer, from Christianity’s Book of Common Prayer Chapel Edition, simply but sincerely asks for God to offer comfort and healing when you’re ill.
Although the prayer technically asks God to offer healing to the person reciting it, as with many prayers, you can dedicate it to your grandmother instead. Depending on the nature of the illness and your relationship with your grandmother, you may even consider reciting it together. This act of sharing a religious experience may help Grandma find comfort in a difficult time.
Read our list of Catholic prayers for healing for more ideas.
2. Refua Shlema from Judaism
Refua Shlema is a popular Jewish healing prayer that can serve as a prayer for Grandma when she’s sick. It’s also worth noting that there are two different versions of the prayer’s text.
This allows those reciting it to modify the prayer based on the gender of the person to whom they wish to dedicate it. Thus, along with being a prayer for Grandma, Refua Shlema can be a prayer for a grandfather (or any other important male figure) who is sick as well.
3. An Invocation of Metta/Compassion from Buddhism
Like many prayers for Grandma, you could potentially use this one to pray for the health of anyone in your life. Here’s one stanza: “May our parents, our teachers and mentors, our friends and may all living beings across the world...be well, happy and peaceful. May no harm come to them.”
This simple but effective prayer can be said not only for Grandma but for anyone who may need some spiritual support. Even if your grandmother is physically well, she may still benefit from a prayer for her emotional and/or mental health as she overcomes the common challenges of old age.
Prayers of Thanks for Grandma
Again, if you’re lucky, your grandmother has provided you with countless gifts. These can include tangible gifts, such as birthday presents, and intangible gifts, such as wisdom and joy. Either way, when you want to say thanks to Grandma with a prayer, these examples can help.
4. Crowded with Gratitude from Christianity
Many consider this particular gratitude prayer to be ideal for a Thanksgiving feast. Thus, you might offer this gratitude prayer for Grandma if she organized a Thanksgiving (or any other holiday) gathering. Numerous lucky families have matriarchs who remind them how important familial relationships are by working hard to prepare delicious meals for special occasions.
However, it’s still a perfectly appropriate prayer for any other time you want to give thanks to Grandma, as it involves expressing gratitude for the love one has experienced thanks to the important people in their life.
5. Muslim Prayer for Thanks and Gratitude
This Muslim prayer is very similar in meaning to the previous example. It allows you to give thanks not only for a holiday feast, but also for the loved ones (such as a grandma) who’ve gathered together to share it.
6. Prayer of Good Over Evil, Light Over Dark from Hinduism
Did your Grandma make a significant impact on your spiritual life? If you’re a Hindu wishing to give thanks to a grandma who helped you develop your religious identity and beliefs, consider using this prayer. It uses the metaphor of one lamp lighting another to comment on the way one person’s spirituality can directly contribute to another’s, and how we should feel grateful for the people who have given us that incredible gift.
It also reminds us that young people have the opportunity to continue that tradition by sharing those spiritual beliefs and values with the next generation. Remember, even after Grandma is gone, you can keep her alive by passing on the wisdom and values she gave you.
Prayers for Grandma’s Birthday
A birthday is a major milestone in anyone’s life. However, birthdays can be particularly significant for grandmothers, as they allow Grandma to look back on a long life filled with a range of experiences and accomplishments. Help your grandmother celebrate this special day with these birthday prayers.
7. Birthday Prayer from Christianity
A birthday prayer for Grandma doesn’t need to be complicated! On the contrary, as this example demonstrates, simply asking God to bless someone and be with throughout their life is enough to express the love you feel for Grandma on her birthday.
8. Tewa Prayer for Life from Pueblo Native Americans
This traditional Tewa prayer is an ideal birthday prayer for Grandma for several reasons. It begins with a reference to the “old women gods,” which naturally reminds many people of their grandmothers.
It also celebrates life and asks that our loved ones may live “until [their] frosted hair is white,” allowing you to simultaneously celebrate Grandma’s birthday while asking that she have many more birthdays to come.
9. Traditional Jewish Birthday Prayer
Like many birthday prayers for Grandma, this traditional Jewish prayer serves multiple spiritual purposes. It’s partially a prayer of gratitude, thanking God for the gift of life (and another year of it).
Additionally, it asks that God provide support to the person whose birthday you’re celebrating, and asks that you have the opportunity to share many more happy years together.
Prayers for a Grandma Who Died
A prayer for Grandma doesn’t merely need to offer her love and comfort. Prayers can also comfort you when you lose a beloved grandmother. These specific examples illustrate the way praying can help us accept this painful experience, framing it as a natural and inevitable part of life. In some cases, they can even bring about joy during a time when you might otherwise struggle with grief.
10. The Garden is Rich from Chinook Native Americans
Coping with the passing of a loving grandmother isn’t easy. This is an ideal time to offer prayers for Grandma, as religion can help you find peace and hope.
Consider this example from the Chinook Psalter, a collection of Native American poems and psalms (specifically from the Chinook people). Like many Native American prayers, it celebrates the beauty and spiritual essence of nature. It also expresses the belief that we can still feel the presence of a loved one who has passed on by experiencing them through nature, as their soul has simply rejoined the “sacred grove of eternity.”
11. Disciples of Life from Taoism
This short prayer contains significant wisdom in only a few words. It reflects on how, when we’re born, we’re gentle, but weak, having not had the chance to develop solidified identities. By the time we reach old age and death, we’re firmer.
So, when your grandmother dies, this prayer for Grandma can help you remember her as a solid and stable source of wisdom and love who held a family together.
12. Guardian Angel Prayer from Catholicism
Some religious people manage to overcome the grief of losing someone important by believing that person isn’t gone, they’ve simply taken on a new role. For example, you may be sad after losing your grandmother, that’s understandable.
But imagine that she is now your guardian angel, always at your side to guide you in times of struggle. That’s what this prayer is all about. It can be a very moving thought to offer Grandma after her passing.
Prayers for Grandma: Celebrating Extraordinary Women
Just as grandmothers can serve many purposes in our lives, so too can prayers for Grandma. From wishing Grandma a happy birthday, to helping you move on after she passes away, to writing your grandma a thoughtful tribute, these prayers will give you the chance to express your love for Grandma through the power of religion.
Sources
- “Buddhist Prayers. Jesuit Resource, Xavier University, www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/buddhist-prayers
- Kozlowski, Matthew. “Christian Birthday Prayers And Blessings.” Building Faith, Virginia Theological Seminary, 06 July 2015, buildfaith.org/christian-birthday-prayers-and-blessings/
- Miller, Lisa Farber and Sandra Widener. “Birthdays, Jewishly.” Ritual Well, Reconstructing Judaism, www.ritualwell.org/ritual/birthdays-jewishly
- “Native American Prayers.” Jesuit Resource, Xavier University, www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/native-american
- “PRAYER FOR HEALING | REFUAH SHLEMA.” The Israel Forever Foundation, The Israel Forever Foundation, israelforever.org/interact/blog/prayer_for_healing_refuah_shleima/
- Stern, Chaim. “On the Doorstep of Your House.” Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1994.