ASKING OTHERS TO PRAY FOR YOU: If you are scheduled for a procedure and think you might benefit from prayers, let everyone important to you know when you are having the procedure. Tell them the exact date and time of the procedure and ask them to send you loving and positive thoughts and prayers at the very moment you will be having your procedure. Do not be afraid to ask your doctor to say a prayer with you or at least to be in the room while you recite such a prayer. Be sure to pray for your doctor to be skillful and for a positive outcome! If you don’t have an appropriate prayer to recite, find one that touches your heart and spirit from the prayers included in this section.
Against Loneliness
My God and Father: I seek Your presence, praying that I may never feel alone. Though I may be separated from loved ones and friends, the knowledge that You are with me fills any lack in my heart. Bless me, Father, with the nearness of loved ones and friends. Teach me to treasure such blessings. Above all, grant me the awareness to sense the nearness of Your presence so that I may never feel the dread of being alone.
Amen.
Author Unknown
A Prayer During Pregnancy
Bless me, God. Let me carry this child in health and ease. Let no harm or misfortune come to me or to the precious life growing within me. Let labor begin in its proper time. Let me bear my child without too much pain. Let my child be born in health into a world filled with peace. May my child grow to bring goodness and blessing into this world. For the miracle of creation that is taking place inside me, I thank You, God, Creator of all.
Amen.
Rabbi Naomi Levy
A Prayer For My Critically Ill Child
Dear God,
Please watch over my beloved child as he lies in innocent slumber, with the purest of souls. With a broken heart I watch as disease robs him of his well-being, his health, his dignity, his consciousness, his life. He makes small movements, communicating in minute fashion to let me know he feels my presence. What is it about the human spirit that wants to soar even when the ugly face of illness attempts to drag it down? I struggle to understand why this dear, sweet soul must suffer. The pain of an anguished parent’s heart as I hover over my beloved child – ready to protect, defend, love…to give up my own life so that my child might live his. Lord, give me the strength to persevere as my child , devastated by disease, seems to slip away more and more each moment, all control over his well-being slipping through my hands. It is You, God, whom I turn to for that strength. For without my faith, all hope would be lost…taking with it all dreams for good things to come. Dear God, please hear my pleas and my prayers for my child. Do not abandon him .. Send him your healing love… he needs it now more than ever.
Amen.
Lorrie Klemons
This is Your Day
This is your day, so make a good thing of it. When you begin a new day, let your spirit be stirred with renewed hope. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of God is risen upon you.”
Amen.
Isaiah 60:1
The Lord Our Protector
I will lift up my eyes unto the hills: From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot stumble, He that keeps you will not slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your protection at your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep you, body and soul. The Lord will guard your going and your coming, Now and For evermore.
Amen.
Psalm
Prayer
As I lie on this sickbed, I turn to You, O God, for support and healing. I see people walking, moving. I hear sounds all about me. Looking out of the window I follow the flight of birds, the movement of clouds. I hear the sounds of the wind against the trees. Never have I been more conscious of nature and its creative power. Deepen my awareness of nature even more, that I may be filled with gratitude for blessings which we too easily take for granted. May the time come soon when I too will be able to walk about, participate again in life’s natural pursuits, blessed by normality together with Your other living creatures.
Amen.
Author Unknown
On Healing
Show the physician due honor For the Lord has created him; Healing comes from the Most High. The Lord has created medicines out of the earth, And a sensible person will not refuse them. My child, be not negligent when you are sick, But pray to the Lord and He will cure you.
Amen.
From Ben Sira 38
Out Of The Depths
Out of the depths I called to You; Lord, hear my cry, heed my plea. Be attentive to my prayers, to my sigh of supplication. Who could endure, Lord, if You kept count of every sin? But forgiveness is Yours; therefore we revere You. I wait for the Lord, my soul yearns. Hopefully, I await His word. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the dawn. Put your hope in the Lord, For the Lord is generous with mercy. Abundant is His power to redeem; He will redeem the people from all iniquities.
Amen.
Psalm
A Hopeful Heart
A hopeful heart helps to keep you alive, and joy adds length of days. Relax yourself, soothe your heart, and banish anxiety. For sorrow and anxiety have destroyed many lives; they lead to no advantage. Envy and anger shorten one’s life, and anxiety brings old age before its time. A person with a hopeful heart will develop a good appetite, eating the food which helps one survive.
Amen.
Ben Sira
Faith
I need fear nothing this day, for I have declared my My faith in God’s providence. Whether tried or spared, I accept His will as good. “I am always aware of the Lord’s presence, He is at my right hand. I shall never be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my spirit rejoices; my body, also rests in hope. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is the fullness of joy.”
Amen.
From Psalm 16
Prayer Before An Operation
Our Father, Our King, healer of all flesh, I thank You for Your watchful care. Help me to regain my health speedily. Be with me during my recovery. Strengthen me; keep me comfortable and hopeful. Help me to bear all pain with patience and fortitude. May I always be aware of Your comforting presence and always be thankful for Your divine gift of life. May it be Your will, 0 Lord our God and God of our fathers, speedily to grant me and all who lie on beds of pain, perfect healing, the blessed healing of body and soul.
Amen.
Author Unknown
Prayer For Healing
My soul I give to you
My spirit in your care
Draw me near
I shall not fear
Hold me in your hands
Draw me near
I shall not fear
Safely in your hands God is with me, I do not fear!
Amen.
Author Unknown
The Road Of Life
God of our life, there are days when our burdens overwhelm us, when the road ahead seems dreary, when the skies are grey and threatening. On such days our lives have no music, our hearts are lonely and Our spirits are robbed of courage. Flood our path with light, we beseech You; direct our vision to promising skies; attune Our hearts to the uplifting music of life. Grant us the awareness of true comradeship with others, to sustain us, and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage those who journey with us on the road of life to dedicate themselves to Your honor and glory.
Amen.
Author Unknown
Hope In The Lord
The Lord is my help and my light. Whom need I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Whom need I dread? Though armies be arrayed against me, I have no fear. Though wars threaten, I remain steadfast in my faith. This I ask of the Lord, and for this I yearn: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all my life, That I may be permitted to enter His sanctuary, Where I shall behold the beauty of the Lord. I will bring Him offerings with shouts of joy; I will sing and chant praises to the Lord. O Lord, hear my voice when I call; Be gracious to me and answer me. “It is Your face that I seek,” says my heart. “It is Your presence that I crave, 0 Lord.” Do not hide Your presence from me; Turn not in anger from Your servant. Mine is the faith that I surely will see The Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Hope in the Lord and be strong, Hope in the Lord and take courage.
Amen.
Psalm
Hear My Cry
There are times when the soul is weary and we find it hard to pray. There are times when the heart feels empty, and the world seems cold and gray. This is the very moment to turn in prayer.
Amen.
Author Unknown
A Prayer For a Couple Hoping to Conceive
Our love is strong. We both want, more than anything, to bring a new life into this world. Bless us with a child, God. Help our love bear fruit. When our bodies and souls unite in love, let the seed of life take root. Make us fertile, God. Be with us, God; watch over us, hear our prayer.
Amen.
Rabbi Naomi Levy
Turn To Me
Eternal God, merciful Father, I turn my heart to You. I am ill. I have tried to reach You. I now pray that You reach me. When I felt perfectly well, I confess that I did not seek You. I may not have looked for higher meaning in life with You as its source. I may not have shown much concern for others. We human beings are members of one family. I askYour blessings for other people who are afflicted not only with sickness, but with poverty or unhappiness. In a similar spirit I pray for all the physicians and nurses who serve their patients. May the tide of health return to me so that I can be fully restored to my family and community.
Amen.
Author Unknown
Hope
However deep I am sunk in despair, Groaning in my distress, Yet will I hope in God, I will praise Him continually For He is my deliverer.
Amen.
Psalms 42:6
On Prayer
Prayer is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a Physician, I have seen men and women, after all other therapy has failed, lifted out of a disease and melancholy by the serene effort of prayer. A constant, quieter miracle takes place hourly in the hearts of men and women who have discovered that prayer supplies them with a steady flow of sustaining power in their daily lives
Amen.
Alexis Carrel
A Psalm Of Praise
I extol You, O Lord. You raise me up. I cried out to You, O Lord. and You healed me. You brought up my soul from the grave, You saved me from the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, you faithful. Praise the holiness of His glory. His anger lasts a moment, His love is for a lifetime. Tears may linger for a night, but joy comes with the dawn. I once thought, while at ease: Nothing can shake my security. Favor me, and I am a mountain of strength. Hide Your face, O Lord, and I am terrified. To You, O Lord, would I call; before the Lord would I plead. What profit is there if I am silenced? What benefit if I go to my grave? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness? Hear me, O Lord. Be gracious to me. Hear me, O Lord, and be my help. I shall never be silent, Lord my God. I shall always sing of Your glory.
Amen.
Psalm
A Prayer Of Responsibility For Children
We pray for children who put chocolate fingers everywhere, who like to be tickled, who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants, who sneak Popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can’t bound in the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never go to the circus, who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who sleep with the dog and bury the goldfish, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money, who cover themselves with Band Aids and sing off-key, who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink, who slurp their soup.
And we pray for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can’t find any bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real.
We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at, and whose smiles can make us cry.
We pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who aren’t spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, and who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must, for those we never give up on and for those who don’t get a second chance. For those we smother…. and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.
And we pray for all children stricken with life threatening disease, whose small bodies grow weaker each day, and whose days are numbered without the help of strangers, whose hopes for the future lie in the hand of those same strangers, whose parents’ heartbreak cannot be measured, who lift up their eyes begging for someone to save them.
Oh, Lord, hear our cries…. listen to our prayers and save ALL OUR CHILDREN.
Amen.
Ina J. Hughes
A Prayer for Bad Days
Be with me, God. I feel so lost. I can’t seem to escape the dark cloud that is hanging over me today. Help me, God. Give me strength to combat despair and fear. Show me how to put my pain into perspective. Teach me how to have faith in the new day that is coming. Thank You, God, for today’s blessings, for tomorrow’s hope, and for Your abiding love.
Amen.
Rabbi Naomi Levy
Give Me Strength
Heal me, 0 Lord. My limbs tremble. I know not what the future will bring. Weary am I with groaning and weeping. The coming days may hold danger for me. I need that strength which has its source in You. While I pray with an anxious heart, I need guidance. Let difficulties not dishearten me, nor those who attend me. Give me strength so that I may master life, and not be mastered by it. Through Your light show me answers to my questions, some assurances for my doubts, some hope for renewal-soon
Amen.
Author Unknown
The Lord is My Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in pleasant green pastures, He leads me beside the peaceful waters. He restores my soul, He guides me in good paths for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through a valley overshadowed by death, I will fear no evil, For You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my oppressors. Once You anointed my head with oil; my cup has been full ever since. Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And then I shall live in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen.
Psalm 23
During Trials
“In trials and tribulations, in testings and temptations, grant me the insights of patience. When I am tired and restless, give me patience, O Lord. “Better to be patient in spirit than proud in spirit.”
“Out of the depths have I called to You. Lord, hear my cry, heed my plea. Be attentive to my prayer, to my sigh of supplication.”
Amen.
Psalms 130: 1-2