“Lazarus, come forth!”

About this prayer

Let us gather our hearts in prayer this evening, reflecting on the profound mystery of Lazarus’s resurrection. An Evening Prayer on Lazarus Gracious God, as this day draws to a close, we come before you with grateful hearts, remembering the miraculous moment when you called Lazarus forth from the tomb. We marvel at how you wept alongside Mary and Martha in their grief, showing us that even in your divine power, you enter fully into our human sorrow. You did not stand apart from their pain, but drew near with compassion. When you cried “Lazarus, come forth!” you demonstrated that death itself cannot withstand your voice of love. The grave clothes fell away, and life triumphed over the darkness of the tomb. Help us to understand, Lord, that this miracle speaks not only of physical resurrection, but of the many ways you call us from our own tombs - from despair to hope, from isolation to community, from fear to faith. Just as you unbound Lazarus and told the witnesses to “loose him and let him go,” free us from whatever binds us tonight. Unwrap us from the grave clothes of old wounds, resentments, and fears that keep us from living fully. May this story remind us that you are the…