Our Prayers for the Sick
O God, in our hearts, we name those who are facing illness and pain. We join our prayers with the prayers of all who love them. Give them renewed comfort and courage. Strengthen in them the healing powers You have placed within us all. Guide the hands and heart of those who are entrusted with their care.
May the knowledge of your love and ours give added hope to them and to their dear ones. May they find even greater strength because our prayers are linked with theirs.
We praise You, O Lord, the Source of healing and health.
- Rabbi Harry Danziger
The light of God surrounds me;
The love of God enfolds me;
The power of God protects me;
The presence of God watches over me.
Wherever I am, God is.
Lord of the springtime, Father of flower, field, and fruit,
smile on us in these earnest days when the work is heavy and the toil wearisome;
lift up our hearts, O God, to the things worthwhile - sunshine and light, the dripping of rain,
the song of birds, books, and music, and the voices of our friends.
Lift up our hearts to these this night and grant us Thy peace. Amen.
-W.E.B. DuBois
Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Living God,
You breathe in us
on all that is inadequate and fragile,
You make living water spring even
from our hurts themselves.
And through you, the valley of tears
becomes a place of wellsprings.
So, in an inner life with neither beginning nor end,
your continual presence makes new freshness break through. Amen.
- Brother Roger of Taize
Lay your hands gently upon us,
Let their touch render your peace,
Let them bring forth your forgiveness and healing.
Lay your hands, gently lay your hands.
You were sent to free the broken-hearted,
You were sent to give sight to the blind,
You desire to heal in all our illness.
Lay your hands, gently lay your hands.
Lord, we come to you through one another.
Lord, we come to you in all our need.
Lord, we come to you seeking wholeness.
Lay your hands, gently lay your hands.
Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace.
Help me in all things to rely on your holy will.
In every hour of the day reveal your will to me.
Teach me to treat all that comes to me
throughout the day with peace of soul,
and with firm conviction that your will governs everything.
In all my deeds and words guide my thoughts and feelings.
In unforeseen events let me not forget that all are sent by you.
Teach me to act firmly and wisely,
without embittering and embarrassing others.
Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day
with all that it shall bring.
Direct my will. Teach me to pray. Pray yourself in me.
- Philaret, Patriarch of Moscow
Oh God,
You are Peace.
From You comes Peace,
To You returns Peace.
Revive us with a salutation of Peace,
and lead us to your abode of Peace.
- Islamic
Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart
by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my harried pace
with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me,
amidst the confusions of my day,
the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tension of my nerves
with the soothing music of the singing streams
that live in my memory.
Help me to know
the magical power of sleep.
Teach me the art
of taking minute vacations of slowing down
to look at a flower;
to chat with an old friend or make a new one;
to pat a stray dog;
to watch a spider build a web;
to smile at a child;
or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
that the race is not always to the swift;
that there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
into the branches of the towering oak
and know that it grew great and strong
because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
into the soil of life's enduring values
that I may grow toward the stars
of my greater destiny.
- Wilfred A. Peterson
Teach me to feel that I am enveloped always in the aureole of Thine all-protecting omnipresence, I birth, in sorrow, in joy, in activity, in meditation, in ignorance, in trials, in death, and in final emancipation.
Teach me to open the gate of meditation that alone leads to Thy blessed presence.
Behind the wave of my consciousness is the sea of cosmic consciousness. Under the ripple of my mind is the supporting ocean of Thy vastness. I am protected by Thy Divine Mind.
The light of goodness and Thy protective power are ever shining through me. I saw them not, because my eyes of wisdom were closed.
Now Thy touch of peace has opened my eyes. Thy goodness and unfailing protection are flowing through me.
- Paramashansa Yogananda
Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear;
Rather look to them with full hope that as they arise, God will deliver you out of them.
He has kept you until now; but hold fast to his dear hand
and He will lead you safely through all things;
and where you cannot walk,
He will bear you in his arms.
Do not look forward with fear to what may happen tomorrow.
The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care
of you tomorrow and every day.
Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be of peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations
- St. Francis de Sales
O God, You have prepared the peaceful path I am to follow today.
Help me to walk straight on the path.
If I speak, remove lies from my mouth.
If I am hungry, remove complaints from my lips.
If I have plenty, remove pride from my heart.
May I go through the day calling on You, O Lord,
You who know no other lord.
- Ethiopian prayer for peace
Give me the ability to be alone;
may it be my custom to go outdoors each day
among the trees and grasses,
among all growing things,
and there may I be alone,
to talk with the one
that I belong to.
- Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav
May the blessing of light be on you,
light without and light within.
May the blessed sunshine shine on you
and warm your heart
till it glows like a great peat fire,
so that the stranger may come
and warm himself at it,
and also a friend.
- Irish Blessing
Be not perplexed
Be not afraid
Everything passes
God does not change
Patience wins all things
He who has God lacks nothing
God alone suffices.
- Teresa of Avila
Lakota Prayer
Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery,
Teach me how to trust
my heart,
my mind,
my intuition,
my inner knowing,
the senses of my body,
the blessings of my spirit.
Teach me to trust these things
so that I may enter my Sacred Space
and love beyond my year,
and thus Walk in Balance
with the passing of each glorious sun.
(according to the Native People, the Sacred Space is the space between
exhalation and inhalation. To walk in Balance is to have Heaven
(spirituality) and Earth (physicality) in balance.
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth,
but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be.
If I am to stand up,
help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still,
help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low,
help me to do it patiently.
And if I am to do nothing,
let me do it gallantly.
- The Book of Common Prayer
We bow mind and heart in prayer before God . . .
We silence the outer self and banish worldly matters and thoughts.
With deep and compassionate love for all mankind we await the incoming of the
Spirit . . . Spiritual power now encompasses us.
Steadily, quietly, deeply, we breathe in the Spirit of God . . . We pray.
Fill us, O Spirit - fill us - fill us - and bless our endeavor to heal.
Being thus attuned, and steadfast in the light of God and the power of God's angels,
we remember all those who are sick and who suffer . . .
We especially concentrate upon (name of person). We hold him/her in a ray of spiritual light. We concentrate and project healing power to (person).
We behold him/her as helped, as healed, as made perfect in God . . .
We thank thee Lord for thy presence, and the blessing of thy healing grace on these
Thy children.
- White Eagle
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and the Wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time:
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.
- by Reinhold Niebuhr
Blessing for Patients
May you find an oasis of peace within yourself.
May you know your gifts and share them with others.
May you be surrounded by the love of those who care for you.
May isolation be replaced with the communion of kindred spirits.
May fear and anxiety dissipate leaving space for Hope.
May you live all the days of your life.
May the lives of significant others imprint and enrich your own.
May you embrace your humanness and have faith in your wholeness.
May the "little altars everywhere" remind you of all that is sacred.
May our heart be filled with love, gratitude, and blessing.
May you know that you are a Blessing.
Dear God,
I am full of wishes,
full of desires,
full of expectations.
Some of them may be realized, many may not, but in the midst of all
my satisfactions and disappointments,
I hope in you.
I know that you will never leave me alone
and will fulfill your divine promises.
Even when it seems that things are not going my way,
I know that they are going your way
and that in the end your way is the best way for me.
O Lord, strengthen my hope,
especially when my many wishes are not fulfilled.
Let me never forget that your name is Love. Amen.
- Henri Nouwen
Dear God,
Speak gently in my silence.
When the loud outer noises of my surroundings
and the loud inner noises of my fears
keep pulling me away from you,
help me to trust that you are still there
even when I am unable to hear you.
Give me ears to listen to your small, soft voice saying:
"Come to me, you who are overburdened,
and I will give you rest . . .
for I am gentle and humble of heart."
Let that loving voice be my guide. Amen.
- Henri Nouwen
Dear God,
I want so much to be in control.
I want to be the master of my destiny.
Still I know that you are saying:
"Let me take you by the hand and lead you.
Accept my love
and trust that where I will bring you,
the deepest desires of your heart will be fulfilled."
Lord open my hands to receive your gift of love. Amen.
- Henri Nouwen