Prayers & scripture
Prayers for every need: healing, the sick, the hospital and grief
A free prayer library of 115 prayers. Find one by what you’re facing or by tradition (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox or any Christian tradition), then copy it, text it or print it as a card.
By Jon Horton · Updated
Find prayers by need
Healing
25 prayers for body, mind and spirit, from a one-line plea to a bedside liturgy.
The sick
For a parent, a child, a spouse in treatment, and the one caring for them.
Hospital and surgery
The night before, the waiting room, the ICU, the long stay and the ride home.
Recovery
Short prayers for the slow weeks of getting better. Easy to text or write in a card.
A friend
Prayers to send, pray on a call, or write in a card for someone you love.
Strength
For the days you are running low, whether you are sick or caring for someone.
Comfort in grief
Six short prayers for the first night, the deathbed and the days when you cannot pray.
Bible verses
Scripture for healing and for funerals, grouped by theme, with the translation named.
Find prayers by tradition
Catholic
St. Raphael, St. Peregrine, Our Lady of Lourdes, the Anointing of the Sick, a novena and the Rosary.
Protestant
Prayers drawn from the Psalms and James 5, laying on of hands, and an adapted Book of Common Prayer collect.
Orthodox
The Jesus Prayer and prayers in the Orthodox idiom for the sick and before an operation.
Any Christian tradition
Plain-spoken prayers, the Lord’s Prayer and the Aaronic blessing, for anyone.
Search the whole library
Choose a need and a tradition and we’ll list every matching prayer, each linking to the full text.
I need a prayer for
In my tradition
115 prayers
- Lord, you know this bodyAny Christian tradition
- You healed all who came to youAny Christian tradition
- When I am the one who is sickAny Christian tradition
- For a new diagnosisAny Christian tradition
- Waiting for test resultsAny Christian tradition
- For healing, and for peace if healing is slowAny Christian tradition
- For pain that will not let upAny Christian tradition
- For healing of a heavy mind and spiritAny Christian tradition
- A morning prayer for someone recoveringAny Christian tradition
- Recovery after an accidentAny Christian tradition
- Strength to keep goingAny Christian tradition
- A prayer from the Psalms: Heal me, LordAny Christian tradition
Comfort in grief
For the first night, for a deathbed, and for the days when you have no words. If you’re looking for what to write in a card, try our condolence message finder.
- Any Christian traditionShort · 41 words
For the first night after a death
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, the house is quiet and nothing feels real. Be here in the silence. Let us sleep if we can, and if we can't, be near in the waking. Hold the one we love in your keeping, and hold us. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 56 words
For someone who is mourning
Original prayer for pastor.care
God of all comfort, Jesus wept at the grave of his friend, so you know what this is. Be gentle with the one who mourns. Give them time, and permission to grieve in their own way. Send people to sit beside them. Turn their tears, in your time, into a kind of remembering that heals. Amen.
- CatholicShort · 20 words
Eternal rest
Requiem aeternam, traditional prayer for the dead
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
- OrthodoxShort · 39 words
Give rest, O Christ
In the spirit of the Orthodox Kontakion of the Departed; not liturgical text
Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting. You alone are immortal, the Creator and Maker of all things. May their memory be eternal. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 55 words
For a family at a deathbed
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, we are gathered around a bed we never wanted to stand beside. Give the one who is leaving a gentle road, and give us the words we need. Let us tell them we love them. Let us thank them. Let us hold their hand until the end, and trust them to you after. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionShort · 25 words
When you cannot pray
Original prayer for pastor.care
God, I have no words, and I'm not sure I could say them if I did. Hear the sigh underneath. Be with me anyway. Amen.
Get this prayer as a printable card
Choose a prayer, print it, and tuck it into a card or a Bible. We’ll send you a print-ready set and an occasional helpful note.
Free. A few helpful emails, then only what you ask for. Pause or unsubscribe in one click.
How the prayer library works
pastor.care is for the moment you need words and don’t have them. The prayer library is built so you can find the right ones quickly. Each prayer is labeled by tradition, because Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians pray differently, and each is marked as traditional (public-domain text handed down through the Church) or original (written for this site, in plain, warm English).
Our six library pages go deep on a single need: prayer for healing, prayers for the sick, healing prayer for a friend, short prayers for healing and recovery, Catholic prayers for healing and prayer for someone in the hospital. Each has filters for length and tradition, and each explains how and when to pray.
How to use a prayer
- Pray it as written. A prayer someone else wrote can carry you when you’re empty.
- Change it. Add a name, a diagnosis, a date. Prayers get better when they’re specific.
- Send it. Press “Send as a text” to open your messages app with the prayer already written.
- Print it. Press “Print as a card” and tuck the card into a get-well note, a Bible or a hospital bag.
- Pair it with scripture. See Bible verses by need for healing and for funerals.
If you are visiting someone who is ill
Prayer is easier to offer when you know what else to do. Our pastoral care guide explains how to visit someone in the hospital, what to say, what to avoid and how to pray if they ask. It was written for the person asked at the last minute to do a pastor’s job.
Common questions
What is the best prayer for healing?
The best prayer is the one you can pray honestly. For many people that is a short, specific ask such as “Lord, heal and restore.” For others it is the Lord’s Prayer, the Jesus Prayer or a psalm. Our prayer for healing page has 25 to choose from, short and long, from several traditions.
Who wrote these prayers?
Some are traditional public-domain prayers, such as the Memorare, the Anima Christi and the Lourdes prayer, and each is labeled so. The rest are original prayers written for pastor.care in plain, warm language. Where an original prayer is written in the spirit of a tradition, such as Orthodox, it says so, and it is not an approved liturgical text.
Can I copy, text or print these prayers?
Yes. Every prayer has buttons to copy it, send it as a text message and print it as a card. They are free for personal use, church bulletins and cards. If you share them, please credit the source tradition where it’s noted.
Which tradition should I choose?
Use the prayers from your own tradition if you have one, and borrow freely from the others. Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox share the Lord’s Prayer and the Psalms. If you’re unsure, begin with the “Any Christian tradition” prayers.
Is a prayer a substitute for medical care?
No. Pray and also follow your doctor’s advice. Prayer brings comfort, hope and the company of God to a hard time, and it sits beside good medicine. If you or someone you love is in crisis, call your doctor, emergency services or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Keep reading
- Bible verses for healingScripture for healing and strength in hard seasons — sickness, surgery, recovery — with verses you can copy, send or print.
- Pastoral care guideWhat pastoral care is and how to do it well — hospital visits, grief follow-up, home visits and care teams — with checklists and scripts.
- Condolence message finderPick who died and how you know the family. Copy a condolence message for a card, text, email or post, or print it as a card. Free.
- Prayer for healing25 prayers for healing of body, mind and spirit — short and long, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox — to pray, text or print for someone you love.
- Prayers for the sickPrayers for the sick and suffering — for a family member, a friend, or someone in treatment — with short prayers you can send today.
- Healing prayer for a friendHealing prayers for a friend who is sick, injured or facing surgery. Short prayers to text, longer ones to pray together.