This short prayer is for anyone who wants to bring their body, their energy and their worries about their health before God. You can pray it when you wake up anxious about a symptom, before a doctor’s appointment, during a long night of pain, or simply as a daily habit of trusting God with your physical life. Read it aloud as written, or use it as a starting point and add your own specific concerns.
Short Prayer for My Health
Lord, you made my body and you know every part of it better than I do. Today I bring you my health, the things I can feel and the things I cannot see yet. I ask for healing where my body is hurting, for strength where I feel worn down, and for rest where I am running on empty. Steady my heart when I am afraid of what a test or a diagnosis might show. Give wisdom to the doctors, nurses and caregivers who work with me, and help me to take the care I need without fear taking over my thoughts.
Thank you that my life does not depend only on my own effort. Thank you for the good things that still work in me, the breath in my lungs, the food I can eat, and the people who check on me. Keep me honest about my limits and patient with the slow pace of recovery. Whatever my body is going through, let me know that you are near and that I am not facing it alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Shorter Version to Pray in a Moment
Lord, I am tired and I am worried about my health. Please heal what is broken, ease what is painful, and give me strength for this day. Calm my fear and help me trust you with my body. Be near to the people who are caring for me. Thank you that you hear me. Amen.
Scriptures to Pray Alongside
Psalm 103:2-3
2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits; 3 who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases…
(WEB)
David calls his own soul to remember God’s benefits, including healing. Pray these lines slowly, thanking God for the ways he has already cared for you and asking him to continue his work in your body.
Jeremiah 17:14
Heal me, O the LORD, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved; for you are my praise.
(WEB)
This short cry from Jeremiah is a plain request for God to heal and save. Use it when you have no polished words and simply need to say, in your own voice, that you want God to make you well.
Isaiah 40:29
He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.
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Isaiah says God gives strength to the weary and power to those who have none. Pray this when your energy is gone, asking God to renew what you have lost and to help you keep going one step at a time.
Psalm 41:3
The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness.
(WEB)
The psalmist speaks of the Lord sustaining the sick on their bed and restoring them. Pray this for times when you are confined to rest, asking God to hold you there and to bring you back to health in his time.
James 5:14-15
14 Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, 15 and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
(WEB)
James points to prayer offered in faith, and to the care of the church community for those who are unwell. Pray this verse for yourself, and ask God to show you which believers you might call on to pray with you.
How to Pray This Prayer
Many people find it helpful to pray this prayer first thing in the morning, before checking messages or the news, and again in the evening before sleep. Sit somewhere quiet where you can be still, such as a chair by a window or the edge of your bed. If your hands are restless, hold a glass of water, a warm mug or a small object that reminds you of God’s care, and let that steady you while you speak.
You might also ask a trusted friend, family member or pastor to pray this with you, or to pray it over you on a hard day. Speaking your health concerns aloud to someone who loves you can lighten the weight of them. If you are waiting on test results or treatment, you can pray the prayer again each time you feel the fear rising.
A Blessing to Close
May the Lord who formed your body keep you in his care today and in the days ahead. May he be your strength when you are weak, your peace when you are anxious, and your healer in ways you can see and ways you cannot yet understand. May you rest in the knowledge that you are known and loved, body and soul.
