A Prayer for a Loved One with Cancer

Father, You know who I am carrying in my heart right now. You know their name. You knew it before I did. Cancer has come into their life, and I would take it from them if I could. I can't. So I bring them to You, who can do what I cannot.

Heal them, Lord. I ask it simply and I ask it often. Touch what the scans have found. Work through every treatment, every surgeon's hand, every nurse who cares for them when I'm not in the room.

When they are afraid, be their calm. When they are exhausted, be their rest. When they put on a brave face for the rest of us, let them take it off with You and be fully known.

Show me my part — the meals, the rides, the sitting quietly, the not saying the wrong cheerful thing. Love them through me, and love them beyond me.

I trust You with the one I love. That is the hardest sentence I know how to pray, and I mean it.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this whenever your loved one comes to mind — waiting rooms, drives home, the middle of the night. Many people pray it daily through treatment, and it can be shared with them or kept between you and God. Your steady presence is part of the answer to it.

A Verse to Hold On To

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." — Psalm 46:1 (KJV)