40 Days of Prayer for Your First Christmas Without Them
A verse, a prayer and a page to write to the one you miss — about 10 minutes a day, from the first decorations to Christmas morning.
- Get through December one day at a time — one verse, one prayer, 5 quiet minutes
- Ready for the days that hurt most — Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Year’s
- Keep talking to them — a page each day to write what you never got to say
- Feel God near on the days you can’t find the words to pray
Start tonight · 30-day “keep it” guarantee · A gentle gift for someone grieving
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It's digital. You get the PDF the moment you check out. Print it or read it on a tablet.
It's for any loss. A spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, a friend — last month or last spring.
It's a companion, not therapy. If grief feels like more than you can carry, please also reach out to someone you trust.
You set the table. You counted the plates.Then you put one back.
The first Christmas without them doesn't arrive all at once. It ambushes you, one ordinary moment at a time.
The box of decorations with their ornament on top. The carol in the grocery store that buckles your knees. The card you sign with one name now. The phone you still reach for.
You don't need to be strong this Christmas. You need somewhere to put it.
Four parts. One season.You don't walk it alone.
The Weight
The chair nobody mentions. The phone you still reach for. The friends who stopped asking.
The Questions
Why them, why now. Anger at God. The guilt that whispers “if only”. Where they are now.
The Season
The box in the attic, their ornament, the cards, the party you want to skip, setting the table.
The Light
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the day after, and carrying them with you into a new year.
You still believe.You just can't find the words.
Maybe you prayed for months and they died anyway. Maybe you're angry and scared to say it. Maybe you open your Bible and the words just sit there.
And then people try to help:
You won't find any of those lines in this book. It tells the truth about what you feel, then gives you the words you can't find on your own.
Four simple steps.About ten minutes.
A verse to hold
One promise from Scripture you can carry through the day.
An honest reflection
Short, true to what you're feeling, never preachy.
A prayer for you
For the days you can't find your own words.
A page to write to them
A gentle prompt and space to say what you never got to say.
Don't take our word for it.Here's the first day, complete.
The Chair Nobody Mentions
Every home that has lost someone has a chair like this. Maybe it's at the kitchen table. Maybe it's the recliner by the window, the one that still has the shape of them pressed into it. Everyone who walks in sees it. Almost no one says anything.
So you carry the silence too.
The Psalm doesn't say God is near to people who are coping well. It says He is near to the brokenhearted. Near. Not watching from a distance, waiting for you to pull yourself together. Near to the person sitting across from the empty chair right now.
You don't need the right words today. You only need to admit the chair is empty, and that it hurts.
Lord, You see the chair. You see me looking at it. I don't know how to do this season without them. Be near to me the way You promised. Amen.
Write to them: Describe their chair, their place, their spot. What do you see when you look at it today?
Christmas isn't the only hard day.Be ready for the whole year.
The Hard Days
12 prayers for their birthday, your anniversary, Mother's Day, Easter, clearing their closet, and the random Tuesday that knocks you flat.
Letters to Heaven
52 letter starters, one for every week of the coming year. “The first thing I wanted to tell you this week was…”
KEEP IT
PROMISE
Try the first ten days.
If it doesn't help you carry this season, email us within 30 days and we'll refund every penny. Keep the pages. No forms, no questions.
Everything else you might ask
Is this a physical book?
No. It's a digital download you receive right after checkout, in US Letter and A4. Print it at home or at any print shop, or read it on a tablet. Nothing ships, so you can start tonight.
It's already December. Is it too late?
No. The book shows you how to jump to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then come back. Many readers keep going into January.
Who is it for?
Anyone facing the holidays after a death: a spouse, parent, child, sibling or friend. If this is the first Christmas without them, it was written for you.
What church tradition is it from?
It's Christian and rooted in Scripture, written for believers of any denomination.
Can my family use it too?
Yes. Print as many copies as your household needs. Many families read the same day and talk about it at dinner.
Can I give it as a gift?
Yes. Buy it and forward the download email with a personal note. It often says what you don't know how to say.
Is this a replacement for counseling?
No. It's a devotional companion. If grief feels like too much, please reach out to a pastor, counselor or grief group. In crisis, call or text 988 (US), 9-8-8 (Canada), Samaritans 116 123 (UK) or Lifeline 13 11 14 (Australia).
This Christmas, you don't have to face the empty chair alone.
Get The Empty ChairInstant download · 30-day guarantee · Any Christian tradition
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