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You’re sitting beside the bed, and you want to pray. But every time you start, the words fall apart. What do you even ask for now? More time? An easy end? A miracle? You’re not sure what’s allowed, and you’re too tired to work it out.
Here’s something that might take the weight off. When you need a prayer for someone who is dying, you don’t have to invent one. Two of the oldest prayers in the Bible were made for exactly this moment. Jesus prayed one of them with his last breath. The church has prayed the other one every night for more than fifteen centuries. They’re short enough to say through tears, and you can borrow them tonight.
A Prayer for Someone Who Is Dying: Start Here
If you only have a minute, say this, out loud or in your head, with your hand on theirs:
“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace. Into your hands we place their spirit. You hold them. You hold us. Amen.”
That’s it. Its first two lines come straight from Scripture, and the rest of this page is about where it comes from and why it has carried so many people through the same room you’re sitting in now.
If you’re far away, or you can’t find the words, or the person can’t answer you anymore, there are shorter prayers further down for each of those moments.
The Man Who Was Waiting
The first prayer belongs to a man named Simeon. He appears in Luke 2 for only a few verses, and then he’s gone from the Bible for good.
Luke tells us almost nothing about him, except this:
“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:25-26, KJV)
Most paintings show Simeon as a very old man with a white beard. You may have pictured him that way too. But look closely: Luke never says how old he was. Just a few lines later, Luke carefully tells us that Anna, the woman who meets the baby next, was “of a great age” and gives her years. For Simeon, he gives only one detail about time: he had been promised he would not die until he’d seen what he was waiting for.
So Simeon wasn’t defined by being old. He was defined by waiting. His whole life was pointed at one moment.
Then one day, Mary and Joseph carried their baby into the temple. Simeon took the child in his arms and prayed:
“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32, KJV)
“Depart” Doesn’t Mean What It Sounds Like
In English, “depart” sounds like leaving. In the Greek Luke wrote in, the picture is warmer than that.
The word Simeon uses for himself is doulos, a servant or slave. The word he uses for God is despota, a master. And the word translated “lettest depart” is apolyeis, which means to release or set free. It’s the word you’d use for a master letting a servant go at the end of a long shift, or a watchman being told he can finally come down off the wall.
So Simeon isn’t saying, “I’m afraid, get me out of here.” He’s saying, “I’ve kept watch. What I was waiting for has come. You can let me go home now.”
That’s a very different thing to pray over someone you love. It isn’t giving up. It’s release, spoken by someone who has seen enough of God to rest.
The Prayer Jesus Borrowed on the Cross
The second prayer is even older. It sits in the middle of Psalm 31, a psalm about being surrounded by trouble:
“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” (Psalm 31:5, KJV)
Hundreds of years later, Jesus was dying on a cross. Luke records the last thing he said:
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46, KJV)
Jesus didn’t write new words for his own death. He reached for a line he already knew by heart, and he changed just one thing. He added a single word at the front: “Father.”
Here’s the part most people never hear. In Jewish tradition, this same verse became a bedtime prayer. The Talmud records rabbis recommending it as a verse to say before sleep, and it still closes the Jewish bedtime prayers and the well-known hymn Adon Olam today. Nobody can say for certain what prayers Jesus learned as a child. But the words he used to die were words that many of his people used to fall asleep.
And it didn’t stop with him. A few chapters later in the Bible, a man named Stephen was being stoned to death. His last prayer was the same prayer again, turned toward Jesus: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59, KJV). The dying were already borrowing it from each other.
Every Night, Both Prayers, Side by Side
This is where it gets beautiful.
Since around the fourth century, Christians have prayed Simeon’s words at the end of the day. Churches call it the Nunc Dimittis, after its first two words in Latin, “Now you let depart.” Eastern churches pray it at evening prayer. Anglican churches sing it at Evensong. And in the Roman Catholic night prayer called Compline, the last service before sleep, it is sung just after a short response built on Psalm 31: “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”
(One honest footnote: this wasn’t always so. St. Benedict, who shaped much of monastic night prayer in the sixth century, didn’t include Simeon’s song in his version. It was added to the Roman night service later.)
So for a very long time now, people all over the world have closed their eyes at night by saying the two prayers the Bible gives us for dying. They weren’t being gloomy. They understood something: every night we practise letting go. We hand ourselves over to God without knowing what happens while we sleep. Dying is that same handing-over, one last time.
That means the person in the bed in front of you may already know these words, even if they never read them in the Bible. And if they don’t, you can say them for both of you.
What This Changes at the Bedside
When you’re keeping vigil, it’s easy to think you have to pray the “right” prayer. Should you ask for healing? Should you ask God to take them? Is it wrong to want this to be over?
Simeon and Psalm 31 don’t make you choose. Neither prayer demands anything. Neither one pretends. They just do two things:
- They say, “What we were waiting for has come.” Your person may have waited their whole life for God, the way Simeon did. You can thank God for every way they saw it.
- They say, “Into your hands.” Not our hands, not the doctors’ hands. Yours. It’s the one thing you can still do when you can’t do anything else.
That’s the quiet discovery in these old prayers. You don’t need your own words, because the dying have been leaning on these ones for centuries. You’re not hunting for a prayer. You’re joining one that’s already being prayed.
If you’ve been grieving for weeks already, while they’re still here, you’re not doing it wrong. That has a name: anticipatory grief, and it’s very common.
Short Prayers You Can Say Aloud at the Bedside
Say these slowly. Pause wherever you need to. Change the words to fit your person. Put their name where it says [name].
When you don’t know what to pray
“Lord, I don’t know what to ask for. So I’ll just say what Jesus said. Into your hands I commend [name]’s spirit. Amen.”
When they can’t answer you anymore
“[Name], I’m here. I’m going to pray for us both. Lord, you know [name] better than I do. Hold them in the parts of this I can’t reach. Let them rest. Let them not be afraid. Amen.”
People who work in hospice encourage families to keep talking, even when the person can’t respond. Our article on what to say to someone who is dying looks at why.
When you want to thank God for their life
“Lord, my eyes have seen your goodness in [name]. In [one real memory]. In the way they [one real thing]. Thank you for letting me see it. Now let them depart in peace. Amen.”
When you want them to live, and you’re scared to let go
“God, I want more time. I’m not ready. You know that. I can’t hold on and I can’t let go, so I’m putting [name] in your hands, where they were all along. Amen.”
When you can’t be there
“Lord, I can’t be in that room. But you are. Sit where I would sit. Hold the hand I would hold. Into your hands I give [name]. Amen.”
For yourself, afterwards
“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8, KJV)
And if even these are too many words, Paul wrote that when “we know not what we should pray for as we ought,” the Spirit prays for us “with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26, KJV). A sigh with your hand on theirs is a prayer too.
Things You Can Do in the Next 10 Minutes
- Save the one-minute prayer on your phone. Copy the prayer at the top of this page into your notes, so it’s there when your mind goes blank.
- Say “Into your hands” once, out loud, tonight. Whether you’re beside the bed or at home, say it with their name in it before you sleep. You’ll be praying it alongside people all over the world.
- Write down one thing your eyes have seen. One memory of God’s goodness in this person’s life. Read it to them, or read it to God. That’s Simeon’s prayer, made personal.
Some families light a candle during a vigil, as a small visible sign that someone is praying. If that would help you, here’s what a prayer candle is and where the idea comes from.
Journaling Prompts
- What have your eyes seen of God in this person’s life that you haven’t said out loud yet?
- What are you still holding in your own hands that you’re afraid to put into God’s?
A Prayer for You
God, I’ve been sitting here trying to find the right words, and I don’t have any. So I’m borrowing the ones that were already here. I’ve seen your goodness in this person, and I’m grateful I got to see it. I’m scared, and I’m tired, and I’m putting them into your hands because mine aren’t strong enough. Hold them, and hold me too. Amen.
“You’re not hunting for a prayer. You’re joining one that’s already being prayed.”
Discussion Question
Do you think it’s better to pray for healing right to the end, or to pray for peace and release when the time seems close? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Someone keeping vigil tonight might need to read them.
Share This
- “I didn’t have words to pray at my mom’s bedside. Then I learned Jesus didn’t write new ones either. He borrowed Psalm 31:5. ‘Into your hands.’ That’s enough.”
- “Simeon’s prayer, ‘Lord, now let your servant depart in peace,’ isn’t giving up. The Greek is a servant being released at the end of a long watch. What a thing to pray over someone you love.”
- “For centuries, the church has ended every night with the same two prayers the Bible gives for dying. Every sleep is practice at letting go into God’s hands.”
Questions People Ask About Praying for Someone Who Is Dying
What is a good prayer for someone who is dying?
A simple prayer drawn from Scripture works well: “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace. Into your hands we place their spirit. Amen.” It combines Simeon’s prayer from Luke 2:29 and the words of Psalm 31:5, which Jesus prayed on the cross in Luke 23:46. It is short enough to say aloud at a bedside, even through tears.
What did Jesus pray when he was dying?
According to Luke 23:46, Jesus’ last words were “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” He was quoting Psalm 31:5, “Into thine hand I commit my spirit,” and added the word “Father.” In Jewish tradition this verse is also said as a bedtime prayer, and it still appears in the Jewish bedtime prayers today.
What is the Nunc Dimittis?
The Nunc Dimittis is the prayer Simeon prayed while holding the infant Jesus in the temple, recorded in Luke 2:29-32. Its name comes from the Latin for “now you let depart.” Christians have used it in evening and night prayer since around the fourth century, including Catholic Compline, Orthodox Vespers and Anglican Evensong.
How do you pray for a dying person who can’t respond?
Speak to them by name, tell them you are there, and pray aloud as if they can hear, since hospice workers encourage families to keep talking to unresponsive loved ones. A short prayer such as “Lord, hold them in the parts of this I can’t reach. Let them rest and not be afraid” is enough. Holding their hand while praying can also be a comfort.
Is it okay to pray for someone to die peacefully?
Yes. Praying for a peaceful death is not giving up on someone or asking God to hurry. In the Bible, Simeon prayed “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,” and the Greek word for “depart” means to release, like a servant set free at the end of a long watch. Many Christians pray for both healing and peace, leaving the outcome in God’s hands.
