Prayers & scripture
Prayer for healing: 25 prayers for the sick and recovering
A prayer for healing can be one sentence or a full page. Choose one to pray yourself, read at a bedside, text to a friend or print as a card. Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and any-Christian-tradition prayers, labeled so you know whose words you’re using.
By Jon Horton · Updated
25 prayers for healing
Filter by length or tradition. Every prayer can be copied, sent as a text message or printed as a card.
25 of 25 prayers
Length
Tradition
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 74 words
Lord, you know this body
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, you made this body, and you know every part of it. You know where the pain is, what the doctors can see and what they can't.
Come close. Do the healing that only you can do, and give the people caring for us wisdom for the rest. Where there is a cure, let it come. Where there isn't, give peace and a steady heart.
We trust you with what we cannot fix. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionShort · 32 words
You healed all who came to you
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord Jesus, you never turned away anyone who came to you sick. We come now. Touch this body, quiet this fear, and bring healing in the way you know is best. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 84 words
When I am the one who is sick
Original prayer for pastor.care
God, I am tired of being the one who needs help. I am tired of pain, of appointments, of being afraid in the middle of the night.
I don't have fancy words. I'm asking you to heal me. And if it takes a long time, hold me up while it does. Remind me that I am more than my illness and that I am not alone in this room.
Thank you for the people who are praying for me even when I can't. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 71 words
For a new diagnosis
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, the words we heard today have changed everything, and we haven't caught our breath yet. Hold us while we take it in.
Give us clear heads for the questions we need to ask and the decisions we need to make. Give us good doctors who listen. Keep us from carrying tomorrow's fears all at once.
You were here before this diagnosis, and you will be here after. Stay close. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 67 words
Waiting for test results
Original prayer for pastor.care
Father, the waiting is the hardest part. Every ring of the phone makes my heart jump, and my mind runs to the worst.
Slow me down. Let me do the next small thing — eat, walk, breathe — and leave the results in your hands. Whatever the news is, let me hear it knowing you are already there.
Be the peace I can't make for myself. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionLong · 116 words
For healing, and for peace if healing is slow
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, I ask you plainly: heal. Heal this body, and do it soon. You are able, and you invite us to ask.
But you also know I can't see the whole road. If healing comes slowly, or comes in a way I didn't expect, then give me what I need for each day as it comes. Give me patience that isn't pretending. Give me honest prayers on the days I'm angry. Give me people who will sit with me and not hurry me along.
I don't understand everything, and I'm not asked to. I'm asked to trust the one who holds me. So I do, as well as I can today. Hold what I can't. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 62 words
For pain that will not let up
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, the pain has been here a long time, and it is wearing us thin. Ease it. Give the doctors the right answers, and give the medicine the strength to work.
On the nights when nothing helps, be nearer than the dark. Let rest come, even if it comes in small pieces. You know what this costs. Carry what we can't. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 77 words
For healing of a heavy mind and spirit
Original prayer for pastor.care
God of all comfort, some sickness can't be seen on a scan. Thoughts that won't settle, sadness that sits on the chest, worry that wakes before dawn.
Come into that place. Bring peace where there is noise and light where it has been dark. Lead us to the doctors, counselors and friends who can help, and give us the courage to ask them. Remind us that needing help is not failing.
Be gentle with us today. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionShort · 34 words
A morning prayer for someone recovering
Original prayer for pastor.care
Good morning, Lord. Thank you for another day of getting better. Give me strength for what I can do today, patience for what I can't, and a grateful heart for the small progress. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 82 words
Recovery after an accident
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, one moment changed everything: the call, the sirens, the hospital lights. Thank you that this life was kept. Now we ask for the long work of healing.
Mend what is broken — bone, muscle, nerve. Be patient with every setback. Guard against fear of the road, the stairs, the thing that happened. Give the physical therapists skill and give us all the stubbornness to keep going.
Let this slow season teach us to lean on you and on each other. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionShort · 16 words
Strength to keep going
Original prayer for pastor.care
God, I'm running low. Give me enough strength for today, and I'll ask again tomorrow. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 57 words
A prayer from the Psalms: Heal me, Lord
Drawn from Psalm 6:2, Psalm 30:2 and Jeremiah 17:14
Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved, for you are my praise.
Have mercy on me, for I am weak. Heal me, for my very bones are troubled. I cried out to you, and you have healed me before. Hear me again.
I put my hope in you. Amen.
- ProtestantLong · 128 words
A prayer with the laying on of hands
In the spirit of James 5:14–15
Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you as your people. Your word says that when someone is sick, they should call for the elders of the church to pray over them. So we have gathered, and we lay our hands on our brother (or sister) in your name.
You are the one who heals. We are only the ones who ask. We ask for healing of body, for peace of mind, and for forgiveness where it is needed. Let your Spirit fill this room and rest on the one we love.
Raise them up, Lord, in your time and your way. And whatever the next days hold, let them know they are held by you and by this community.
We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- ProtestantLong · 104 words
O Father of mercies and God of all comfort
Anglican, adapted from the Book of Common Prayer (1662), public domain
Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: look down from heaven, we humbly ask, and see, visit and relieve your servant for whom we pray.
Look on them with the eyes of your mercy. Comfort them with a sense of your goodness. Keep them from the temptations of the enemy, and give them patience in their affliction.
In your good time, restore them to health, and help them to live out their days to your glory. And grant that at the last they may dwell with you in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
- ProtestantMedium · 89 words
A prayer of surrender: not my will, but yours
Echoing Jesus in Gethsemane, Luke 22:42
Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me. That is my honest prayer, and Jesus himself prayed it.
But not my will, yours be done. I don't say that because I am calm. I say it because I know you, and I know your will toward me is love. Strengthen me the way you strengthened him, and send your angels, whoever they may be today: a nurse, a neighbor, a friend with a casserole.
Into your hands I place this body, this fear, and this day. Amen.
- CatholicMedium · 46 words
Almighty and everlasting God, the eternal health of believers
Traditional Latin collect for the sick; our English translation
Almighty and everlasting God, the eternal health of those who believe, hear us for your servant who is sick, for whom we beg the help of your mercy. Restore them to health, that they may give you thanks in your Church. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
- CatholicMedium · 79 words
Anima Christi (Soul of Christ)
Fourteenth-century prayer, public domain
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from you. From the malicious enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me, and bid me come to you, that with your saints I may praise you for ever and ever. Amen.
- OrthodoxShort · 12 words
The Jesus Prayer
Ancient prayer of the Eastern Church, public domain
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
- OrthodoxLong · 101 words
Physician of souls and bodies
Original prayer in the Orthodox idiom; not liturgical text
O Lord Jesus Christ, our God, physician of souls and bodies, who healed the paralytic, raised Peter's mother-in-law from her bed and gave sight to the blind: visit your servant who lies sick.
Rebuke the fever. Quiet the pain. Raise them up from this bed and set their feet again on the path of your commandments. Heal the body, and heal also the soul, for you alone are the lover of mankind.
Through the prayers of your most pure Mother, of the holy unmercenary healers Cosmas and Damian, and of all your saints, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionShort · 33 words
The Aaronic blessing
Numbers 6:24–26, King James Version
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 71 words
The Lord's Prayer
Matthew 6:9–13, traditional English form. Catholics usually stop after “deliver us from evil.”
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 67 words
Thanks for healing received
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, I came to you afraid, and you walked with me the whole way. Thank you for the doctors and nurses, for every card and casserole and quiet prayer, and for the strength that returned.
Let me not forget what these days taught me: how fragile and how precious life is. Use my restored strength for your purposes, and let my gratitude be more than words. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 88 words
For a long recovery or a chronic illness
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, this isn't a sprint. Some days I feel better, and then I'm back where I started. Teach me to measure progress in inches and to be kind to myself on the bad days.
Give me patience with my own body, and with the people who don't understand how tired I am. Help me find joy in what I can still do. Where the road is long, give me companions on it.
You never get tired of me. Help me remember that when I'm tired of myself. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionMedium · 75 words
Healing for someone far away
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, I can't be in the room. I can't hold the hand or bring the soup. So I put my love into the one thing I can do: I'm asking you.
Be where I can't be. Sit by the bed, ease the pain, stand with the nurses at the door. Let the person I love feel that they are not alone, even if they can't say why. And give me peace in the distance. Amen.
- Any Christian traditionShort · 37 words
A night prayer when pain keeps you awake
Original prayer for pastor.care
Lord, it is the middle of the night, and sleep won't come. I give you this hour. Watch over me while I rest or while I don't, and let the morning find me a little stronger. Amen.
Get this prayer as a printable card
A print-ready prayer card you can slip in a get-well card, keep by a bedside or hand to someone in a waiting room.
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A prayer for healing is one of the oldest things people do when someone they love is sick. You may be praying for your own body, for a parent after a diagnosis, for a friend facing surgery or for a child in a hospital bed. The prayers above come from several Christian traditions. Use the words as they are, change a name or a detail, or let them show you how to say your own.
How to pray for healing
There is no secret formula. Jesus’ own disciples asked him to teach them to pray, and the answer he gave was short and plain. If you’re stuck, here is a simple way to begin.
- Name the person and the need. “Lord, heal Anna’s lungs” is stronger than “bless everyone who is sick.” Specific prayers keep your heart attached to a real person.
- Say what you’re afraid of. God is not shocked by it. The Psalms are full of fear, anger and tears, spoken aloud.
- Ask for healing, plainly. The New Testament invites us to ask. You don’t need to soften it.
- Ask for what else is needed. Peace of mind, wisdom for the doctors, rest through the night, strength for the family, relief from pain.
- Place it in God’s hands. End with trust, even if it’s shaky. “Into your hands” is the oldest way to close.
- Then do the next kind thing. Send the text, bring the meal, drive to the appointment. Prayer and presence belong together.
When to pray for healing
Pray at the moments when you most feel the weight:
- When you hear the diagnosis. Our prayer for a new diagnosis is written for that first, stunned day.
- While you wait for results. Waiting is its own kind of illness. Use the prayer for test results.
- The night before surgery, and the morning of. See prayers for someone in the hospital for surgery, ICU and waiting-room prayers.
- On treatment days. Chemotherapy, dialysis, infusions and physical therapy all go better with a few quiet words beforehand.
- In the long middle of recovery. Most people pray hardest in a crisis and least in the slow weeks. Those weeks matter too.
- Daily. Tie it to something you already do: the first coffee, the drive to work, brushing teeth at night.
Praying for yourself and for others
If you are the one who is sick
You do not have to be brave. If the words won’t come, pray a prayer that someone else wrote. The Lord’s Prayer, the Jesus Prayer and the Aaronic blessing are all in the list. Let people pray for you, and tell them what you would like them to ask. Many sick people find that being prayed for is a quiet comfort when they are too tired to pray themselves.
If you are praying for someone else
- Ask first when you can: “May I pray for you?” It honors their dignity and beliefs.
- Keep it short at a bedside. A hospital room is not a pulpit. Two or three sentences are enough.
- Pray with them, not about them. Use “you” to God and “we” where it fits.
- Don’t promise an outcome, and never suggest the illness is a punishment or a lack of faith. It is neither.
- Pair your prayer with something practical. Our guide to pastoral care and hospital visits covers what to say, how long to stay and what to leave unsaid.
Looking for words to send? See healing prayers for a friend and short prayers for healing and recovery.
When healing is slow, partial or doesn’t come
Some illnesses are cured. Some are managed for years. Some end in death. Christians have prayed through all of these, and the Church has never taught that a person who isn’t healed lacked faith. Jesus himself prayed in the garden, “Let this cup pass from me,” and then, “not my will, but yours.” Both were real prayers.
Healing also has more than one shape. A body may stay sick while a heart finds peace. A broken family may reconcile around a bedside. Pain may ease. A person may be surrounded by love for the first time in years. Asking for these is not settling for less. It is praying for the whole person.
Scripture to pray alongside
Many people pray with the Bible open. These three verses are the ones most often turned into prayers for the sick:
“Heal me, Yahweh, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved; for you are my praise.”
Jeremiah 17:14, World English Bible
“He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3, World English Bible
“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.”
James 5:15, King James Version
For thirty verses grouped by strength, peace, healing, fear before surgery, God’s presence and recovery, see Bible verses for healing and strength.
Healing prayer across traditions
Christians pray for healing in different ways. Here is how the main traditions approach it, and where to find more.
| Tradition | Common practice | More |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | The Anointing of the Sick, prayers to saints such as Raphael and Peregrine, Our Lady of Lourdes, the Rosary, novenas | Catholic healing prayers |
| Protestant | Prayer in the words of Scripture, laying on of hands, elders praying and anointing with oil (James 5), church prayer chains | Laying on of hands and psalm prayers, above |
| Orthodox | Holy Unction, the Jesus Prayer, asking the intercession of the Theotokos and the healing saints | The Jesus Prayer and “Physician of souls and bodies,” above |
| Any tradition | The Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, the Aaronic blessing, simple spoken prayer | The full prayer library |
Ways to share a prayer
- By text. Press “Send as a text” on any prayer and your messages app opens with the words filled in. Short prayers work best. No reply needed: tell them so.
- In a card. Copy a prayer into a handwritten note, or print it as a prayer card and sign it.
- At the bedside. Read it aloud slowly, with your hand on theirs if they welcome it.
- On a call. Ask if you can pray before you hang up. Most people say yes.
A prayer is not a replacement for medical care, and pastor.care is not a counselor or a doctor. It is a way to bring what you cannot fix to the one who can carry it.
Common questions
What is a good prayer for healing?
A good prayer for healing is honest and specific. Name the person, name what hurts, ask God plainly to heal, and ask for what else is needed: peace, wisdom for the doctors, rest, company. Even one sentence, such as “Lord, heal and restore,” is a real prayer. The library above has short, medium and long prayers to choose from.
How do you pray for healing for someone else?
Say their name, say what they’re facing, and ask God to heal them and to be near. If you’re with them, ask first (“May I pray for you?”) and keep it short and warm. If you’re not, pray where you are and send them a line by text or card so they know. Praying alongside them is better than praying about them.
What do I say when I pray for a sick person?
Start with who they are and what is wrong in plain words. Ask for healing, relief from pain, good care from doctors and nurses, and peace for the family. Close by trusting them to God’s care. You don’t need to use formal language. Many people simply pray, “Lord, you know what they need. Please give it.”
Is it all right to pray for healing if I don’t feel much faith?
Yes. Prayer doesn’t depend on how strong you feel. In the Gospels a father says to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief,” and Jesus helps him. You can borrow the words of a traditional prayer, or let other people pray for you until you can pray again.
What Bible verse is best for healing?
Jeremiah 17:14 (“Heal me, Yahweh, and I will be healed”), Psalm 147:3 (“He heals the broken in heart”) and James 5:14–15 (the prayer of faith for the sick) are the most used. We have gathered 30 verses by theme on our Bible verses for healing page.
Should I pray for healing or for God’s will?
Both. Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me,” and then, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours.” Christians pray plainly for healing and also entrust the outcome to God. Asking for healing is not a lack of faith, and surrender is not giving up.
How often should I pray for someone who is sick?
As often as you think of them. Many people pray at set times, such as morning and night, or each time they pass the hospital or take a treatment day on their calendar. Praying every day is fine, and so is praying a short prayer many times. Persistence is encouraged in Scripture.
What if the person is not getting better?
Keep praying, and widen the prayer. Pray for comfort, for freedom from pain, for peace, for good company and for the people caring for them. If the illness may be ending in death, our prayer for someone who may not recover and the pastoral care guide for hospital visits can help you know what to say.
Keep reading
- Prayer for someone in the hospitalPrayers for someone in the hospital — before surgery, in the ICU, for doctors and nurses — plus how to pray at a hospital bedside.
- 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.
- Bible verses for healingScripture for healing and strength in hard seasons — sickness, surgery, recovery — with verses you can copy, send or print.
- Catholic healing prayersTraditional Catholic prayers for healing — St. Raphael, St. Peregrine, Our Lady of Lourdes, the Anointing of the Sick — with when to pray them.
- 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.