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When You're Hoping for a Miracle
21:33 Listen to When A Friend Is Dying — pt 2 (Fears, Heaven, Future, Eternity, Grief, Loss, Grieving, Empathy, Life, Death) When A Friend Is Dying — pt 2 (Fears, Heaven, Future, Eternity, Grief, Loss, Grieving, Empathy, Life, Death) Jul 22 · 22 min ...more
When A Friend Is Dying — pt 2 (Fears, Heaven, Future, Eternity, Grief, Loss, Grieving, Empathy, Life, Death)
July 22, 2025 · 22 min
In this broadcast, Pastor Rick teaches how to show compassion to a dying friend by offering kindness, patience, and help in small, practical ways.
Series When You're Hoping for a Miracle
Pastor Rick Warren shares the hope and encouragement you need to hear everyday. Listen in as he shares biblical truths to help you live the purpose driven life
July 22, 2025 · 22 min · When You're Hoping for a Miracle
In this broadcast, Pastor Rick teaches how to show compassion to a dying friend by offering kindness, patience, and help in small, practical ways. ...more Show the full description Show less In this broadcast, Pastor Rick teaches how to show compassion to a dying friend by offering kindness, patience, and help in small, practical ways.
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Up next Autoplay Up next in this series When A Friend Is Dying — pt 3 (Hope, Fears, Heaven, Future, Eternity, Grief, Loss, Grieving, Empathy, Life, Death) Rick Warren Jul 23, 2025
In this video 0:00 The Gift of Presence18:32 Living with PurposeComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
The Gift of Presence 0:02 Hey. We're so glad you're here with us today. This is pastor Rick's daily hope. And today, we're continuing in an inspiring series when you're hoping for a miracle. Now in this0:13 series, pastor Rick is guiding us through God's word and showing us how to strengthen our faith and live with greater love, peace, patience, and self control even when life feels0:25 hopeless. Now if you've been longing for a breakthrough, you're not gonna wanna miss this. And now a very touching message from Rick. It's part 2 of a message called when a friend is0:37 dying.0:38 Now what are the fears that you have with people who are dying? Well, you're afraid you're gonna say the wrong thing. You're afraid that you're gonna make matters worse. You're gonna afraid you're afraid that you're0:49 gonna mess up, and and so as a result, you don't do anything. Let me tell you something as a pastor who has been, I couldn't with, I couldn't count the number1:01 of people I've been with as they took their last breath. I have watched many, many people die, and I've been there in the rooms with them many, many times. It is almost1:13 impossible to mess it up. Let me just put your mind at ease. There's almost nothing you can say, to a dying person that's gonna mess them up, except,1:27 you look bad. You know. But outside of that, almost nothing you can say. It's not like you're gonna spill the beans and say you're dying. They know that. They already know it.1:39 And just you being there will make a difference. For those of you who haven't been around somebody dying, death is really quite ordinary. There's nothing spooky about it, no ghost
1:51 comes out, there's nothing weird or wicked. Really, when people die, they just stop breathing. That's about all there is to it. It's very normal. Everybody in the world eventually
2:02 does it. It's not scary, it's not spooky, it's not weird. You don't hear music, you know. People just stop breathing. There is
2:14 nothing weird about it at all. They just stop breathing. And the 1 moment they're here, and the next moment they're not. And contrary to TV, lifetime
2:26 TV movies, and Hallmark shows, there are very few Hallmark moments when people die. People don't sit up in bed and go, and I love you.
2:40 You know? It just doesn't happen that way. I have been around so many people when they die. Very few make great statements. It's pretty rare. You know, my dad made, made 1, but most people,
2:52 they don't say anything profound. It's just their body slows down, and their heart slows down, their breathing slows down, and they stop, and that's it. And it's not something that you need to be
3:04 afraid of. As I said, there aren't any of these Hallmark moments like you see on TV. The biggest mistake you can make with somebody who's dying is simply not be there.
3:16 Not be there. That takes us to the first, the next letter, O, which is the first thing you need to do, and that is I need to offer my physical presence.
3:28 It is the greatest gift that you can give to someone who is dying. Offer my physical presence. That means you show up. You are there.
3:40 You are with them. You stay close. You stay near, and you are with them when they are dying. That's what you see, the 2 biggest fears that
3:52 people have when they're dying are number 1, the fear of abandonment, and number 2, the fear of dying alone. You don't wanna die alone. You want somebody there
4:04 when you're dying. You don't wanna be abandoned and left alone to die by yourself. No 1 should ever be left alone to die. No 1 should ever have to die on
4:16 their on their own. It just means you just show up. You're there with them. You're not saying anything profound. You may not even be talking to them. But what it means is you get in the same
4:28 room with them. Instead of reading the magazine out in the living room, you sit in the bedroom with them and read the magazine in there. Instead of watching TV in the den, you sit in their room with them,
4:40 and you watch TV with them there. Or you knit, or you talk, or you sleep, or you work on your computer. It doesn't matter what you're doing, you're simply in the room. That's the
4:51 big deal. That's the greatest gift you can give to somebody who's dying, just to be with them. You don't have to be talking to them all the time, they don't wanna talk, but just be present
5:03 with them. This is the problem David had in his dying. Notice this verse on the screen, Psalm 142. I looked for someone to come and help me, but no 1
5:15 gives me a passing thought. No 1 will help me. No 1 cares a bit about what happens to me. That is the epitaph of
5:27 millions of elderly people right now who are in rest homes, and assisted living, and nursing homes, and all these things. They said nobody cares about me. Nobody
5:39 pays attention to me. I could die over here in the corner, nobody would even notice. Everybody needs the physical presence. Now let me just get you really practical. 1 of the things that you
5:51 can do to show physical presence, 1 of the greatest gifts you can give to somebody who's dying is touch them. Touch them, you write that down, touch them. And and it touch says physical,
6:03 I'm here with you. It is not an accident that when a baby is crying, you pick it up and touch it. You pick up the baby, and you draw it close to you, and you hold it tight, and it is in that physical
6:15 connection that the baby calms down. Our skin was made by God to be touched. Your skin was made to be touched. Now, when a person's in
6:27 bed, and they're dying, and what do you touch? I mean, a lot of people don't like to be touched on the face. I I mean it's a matter of personal preference. You can squeeze their hand. Let me just
6:39 give you a little thing that I do. Touch their elbow. Elbow's a nice non sexual place to touch. Okay. And what you do is you can grab 1 hand, grab their hand with 1 hand, and put
6:51 your hand under their elbow at the same time, and that says I'm not just kinda hanging on, I'm here. I'm here for you. And there is a physical presence of using both of your hands to hold a hand, and put
7:02 your hand on their forearm or their elbow, and just hold them like that while they're in bed. And you watch the stress go down. You can do this. And then you say to them, I
7:14 am here, and I will be with you, and I'm not going anywhere, and you don't have to worry about it. I'm not gonna abandon you. I'm not gonna leave you. I'm here with you for the duration.
7:26 And that is a great gift of love. And if you have to leave the room, phone call, bathroom, or whatever, you say, I will be right back. I'm not leaving you. I'll be right back. And you assure
7:38 them of your presence, And then you remind them that God is with them. That even when you're have to go out and take a phone call or whatever, that they're never really alone. God has said over and over
7:50 again in scripture, I am with you. I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. In fact, the great Psalm 23 that everybody knows, even when I walk through the dark valley of death,
8:03 I will not be afraid. Why? For you are close beside me. You're with me. It is when God is near, you lose your fear. So you remind Him, I'm gonna be here with you. You touch
8:15 Him, and you remind Him that God is always gonna be with Him at each moment, and you offer your physical presence. I got this letter this week from Jack. He wrote, Rick, my
8:27 mother Betsy is 96 years old. She still has her original hearing, teeth, eyes, and wits about her. 1 of her roommates is in the nursing home was a dear soul named Lucille, 4 years younger than mom.
8:39 Lucille suffered from a very poor hearing and eyesight. Fortunately, for over 20 years, my mother was a proofreader for my stepfather who published our hometown newspaper and authored 32 books.
8:51 So mom's passion for reading has never stopped. So, Lanny and I gave mom a copy of The Purpose Driven Life to read, which she devoured
9:03 personally. Then mom reread it again out loud to Lucille. So next we gave her Kaye's book, Dangerous Surrender. Now the timing of these books could have
9:15 not been better. Lucille's help was slipping badly in her final days, and mom felt a little lost, unsure of how to comfort her dying friend, Lucille. But by
9:26 reading Purpose Driven Life, mom discovered that God still had a purpose for her even at age 96. Her purpose was to just be there for others in that nursing home as a listening
9:38 post and a counselor. Then by reading Dangerous Surrender, mom discovered the importance and value of just being present with people. Not having to say anything, but just being there.
9:50 Just holding Lucille's hand, sitting there quietly with her, praying for God to comfort Lucille. Even at 96, mom is still learning that God has a purpose for her
10:02 life. So now we're giving her a copy of the purpose of Christmas. Now mom may outlive all of us, so I guess you're gonna have to keep writing books. Confront
10:14 my own fears, offer physical support, physical presence. Then the M in comfort is minister with practical assistance. Minister
10:25 with practical assistance. You give them your physical presence, and you give them practical assistance. What does that mean? It means you do whatever they need done. You run errands for them, you help them in little
10:37 ways, in practical ways. Now when somebody's dying, they they usually don't feel good, and they're often in pain. David says this in Psalm 38
10:49 here on the screen. I'm burning with fever, and I'm near death. I'm worn out and utterly crushed. My heart is troubled, and I groan with
11:00 pain. What do you do when somebody's in that situation? You give them comfort. Whatever you can do. You want the lights on, you want the lights off.
11:13 What what can I do? Can I get you some ice chips? Can I rub your back? What what? You do anything, it's the little things that show love. You offer practical assistance,
11:26 and relieve pain, and relieve, discomfort. And don't be afraid to ask questions. You just say, you know, what do you need? And don't be afraid to suggest things. The Bible says this here on the screen. Encourage those
11:37 who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak, and nobody's weaker than somebody who's dying. And be patient with everyone. Now why does it say be patient
11:49 with everyone? Because when you're in pain, you're cranky. Have you noticed that? It's hard to be spiritual when you got a toothache. When you're in pain, you don't feel
12:01 really happy. And when people are dying, they often get cranky. You cut them some slack. The Bible says be patient with everyone. Have you noticed that
12:13 when people get older, they can get cranky? Well part of it is they don't feel good a lot of the time. And so what you need to do is you need, the Bible says, be patient with everyone. And you
12:25 minister practical assistance. Now why is this important? Because another 1 of the biggest fears that people have when they're dying is the fear of losing control.
12:37 People have this fear that I'm, and they they're watching control move further and further. First I couldn't drive, and now I can't walk, and now I can't get out of bed, and now I can't use the bathroom on my own, and
12:49 they find control being taken away from them more and more and more. So So do you let me let you in on a little secret. How you can minister to people who are dying. The way you help them is give them
13:00 choices, because every time you give them a choice, you give control back to them. So you say, would you like your slippers on, or would you like your slippers off? You've
13:12 empowered them. Would you like the light on, or would you like the light off? You've empowered them. Would you like the window open or closed? Would you like for me to change the channel? Would you like to watch this or
13:24 not? You don't just bring in a breakfast, say, it's time for breakfast. You say, would you like your breakfast now or later? Every time you give people a choice, you give them a little bit of power
13:36 back. That make sense? Okay. And it is comforting, and that's what you can do in ministering with practical needs by giving them choices. The f in comfort
13:48 stands for fortify them with emotional support. Fortify means to build up. Fortify them with emotional support. You give them your physical presence. You give them
14:00 practical assistance, and you give them emotional support, because they're carrying a heavy, heavy burden. People who are dying are carrying all kinds of emotions inside them. And
14:11 the Bible says this in Galatians 6 verse 2, carry each other's burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. What is the law of Christ? Love your neighbor as
14:23 yourself. He says you fulfill that love your neighbors yourself part when you carry each other's burdens. Now how do you do that? How do you carry somebody else's emotional burden?
14:36 How do you do that? Here's how you do it. You pray for them, and you pray for them aloud, and you pray in front of them aloud, and you pray with them aloud.
14:49 And when you pray for them, you are giving them emotional support. You say, Rick, I don't know what to pray. Alright. I'm gonna tell you how to do this. Here's how you pray for somebody who's
15:01 dying. What you pray is whatever they say, you mirror it back to God in a prayer. When the person is dying says, you know, this really
15:12 frustrates me. Then you pray, now Lord, Susie's really frustrated by this. And when the person is dying says, you know what? I wish I had done this, I wish I hadn't done that. You know, Lord,
15:24 Susie's saying, I wish I had done that. And she wishes she had done And you just pray that. And when the when the when the person says, you know, I'm really angry. I'm really irritated. I I don't like what's going
15:36 on. Dear God, Bob is really having a tough time right now. He's he's he's upset. He's angry. He's he's frustrated. What you do is you simply mirror to God what
15:48 you've heard them say. That's what you pray. You listen to them, and whatever they say, you you turn it into prayer to God. What are you doing? You are lifting their
16:00 burden. Because when somebody is sick, sometimes they're just too sick to pray. They don't even have the energy to pray. And so they just say something, oh, I'm just, I'm so miserable.
16:13 When you turn that into prayer, you are, this is called interceding. You are interceding for another person. And you're saying, God, you heard what what Betty just said.
16:25 You know, she she is happy that all of her kids are alive, and she but she's sorry that John, her son's not gonna be here till next week, and she wants to make sure that she stays alive till John
16:37 gets here. Lord, this is her prayer, and I'm praying this too. You simply mirror to God what what the person told you. That's what you pray for, the
16:49 person who is who is dying. And you know, you could, you know, you can ask questions. You can say, well this wasn't what you expected, was it? Now, I want you to notice a
17:00 verse, and let's read it aloud. Psalm 1 16 15. Read it with me. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Did you know that when a believer
17:12 dies, God says that is precious? Not only is your life precious to God, your death is precious to God. Not only
17:24 is your life precious to him when you're doing something with it, but when you are an invalid and you can't do anything, and you feel helpless and worthless, and yet you're making no contribution to the world,
17:36 and all you can do is lay in bed, God says, you're still precious to me. Life is precious to God. From the moment you were conceived inside your mother's womb,
17:48 it's precious. That's why abortion is wrong. Because the Bible tells us that every day of your life was planned before you took your first breath. God says abortion is short circuits God's plan. So before
18:00 you're born, your life is precious. Your entire life, it's precious to God. And when you're dying, when a person is old, or helpless, or incapacitated,
18:12 or they've lost their mental acuity, their life is just as precious as it was when they were making 50000 dollars a year, or contributing to society, or whatever.
18:24 Now what's the implication of that? If the life of that invalid or invalid or that person is precious to God, it better be precious to you.
Living with Purpose
18:38 What a great message from pastor Rick today. There's something I always take away from his message. Here's Rick to tell you how you can help support this ministry.
18:49 Jesus told his disciples that they should live their lives according to 5 specific purposes. He said, you've gotta love God with all your heart, that's worship, and love your neighbor as yourself, that's
19:00 ministry, that's called the great commandment. And then Jesus said, go make disciples, that's evangelism, baptize them into the family of God, that's fellowship, a sign of fellowship, and then he said, teach them, obey
19:11 everything I've taught you. That's discipleship, and we call that the great commission. We believe at Daily Hope that a great commitment to the great commandment and the great
19:23 commission will produce a great Christian, a great church, a great company, a great community. You know, I started Daily Hope so I could spread the good news about Jesus, not just across
19:35 America, but all around the world. And we want people to know that God's word is filled with hope and truth, and the power that we need to follow him every day is available to
19:46 every single 1. You know as well as I do that the word of God changes lives. It's alive, it's active, and it breathes new life and new love into all of our lives. So wherever you listen to this,
19:58 whether you listen on the website, whether you listen on a radio station, or whether you listen through a podcast, you're a part of the Daily Hope family, and I need your help. We could not do this without your
20:10 support. Now you know I don't take any funds from this broadcast. We don't have any giant million dollar donor who's giving big gifts to this. It comes from daily donations from listeners like
20:22 you. We're 100 percent listener funded. Would you continue to pray for this broadcast, and would you continue to support us? And let write to me. Let let me hear from you. I absolutely
20:34 love reading the stories that are sent to me. So write me, pray for me, and support this ministry. And God will bless it, and God will bless you, and we'll get to heaven, and we'll thank God
20:46 for all the people gonna be in heaven because you cared.
20:49 Hey. If you'd like to support pastor Rick's daily hope, just go to pastor rick dot com. That's pastor rick dot com, or you can text the word hope to 7 0 3 0 9.
21:00 That's the word hope to 7 0 3 0 9. And really, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you so much for your support. Your gift to Daily Hope helps us share the hope of Christ with people
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