Prayers for Healing

A short prayer like 'Loving God, lay Your healing hand on body, mind, and spirit, and let Your peace be felt even now. Amen.' works at a bedside or in a waiting room. The prayers above can be prayed word for word or adapted in your own words.

Scripture repeatedly invites us to bring sickness to God. James 5:14–15 encourages the sick to ask others to pray, and many psalms cry out for restoration. Prayer is offered alongside, never instead of, medical care.

The traditional Jewish prayer for healing is the Mi Shebeirach (מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ), meaning 'May the One who blessed.' It asks God to bless and heal the sick person in body and spirit, and is often recited in synagogue when someone is seriously ill. The refrain 'r'fuah sh'leimah' means 'a complete healing' — of body and soul. While Find A Prayer is a Christian devotional site, the Mi Shebeirach is a meaningful part of the broader prayerful tradition of asking God for healing, and many interfaith families find comfort in both traditions.

Praying for someone else is called intercession, and it's one of the most loving things you can do. Name the person specifically ('Lord, I pray for [name]'), describe their need honestly, and ask God to act. You don't need to be certain about the outcome — simply ask with trust. James 5:14–15 encourages the community to pray together for the sick. Letting the person know you're praying for them is itself an act of care.

Many people return to a small handful of Bible verses for healing again and again: Jeremiah 17:14 ('Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed'), Psalm 103:2-3 ('who healeth all thy diseases'), Isaiah 53:5 ('with his stripes we are healed'), James 5:14-15 (the elders praying over the sick), and Exodus 15:26 ('I am the Lord that healeth thee'). Read them slowly, pray them back to God in your own words, and share them with someone who needs strength today.

Scripture treats healing prayer as ordinary Christian life, not a rare event. James 5:14-15 invites the sick to call for the church to pray. The Gospels show Jesus healing everyone who came to him (Matthew 8:16-17). Psalms are full of honest cries for restoration answered by God. Healing prayer is offered alongside medical care, not instead of it—and the Bible frames the answer as belonging to God's wisdom and timing.

Yes — alongside the general prayers on this page, we have dedicated prayers for a sick or injured pet, a broken heart or heartbreak, healing eyes and eyesight, and healing kidneys, each written for that specific situation rather than adapted from a general prayer.

Name your relationship to them directly, since that shapes what you're actually asking for. For a sick parent: 'Lord, touch my mom's body with Your healing, and give me patience and strength to care for her well. Amen.' For a sick child: 'Father, my child is sick — ease their pain, calm their fear, and bring healing quickly. Amen.' Praying by name and relationship, not just 'someone I love,' tends to make the prayer feel more honest.

Yes. Name the condition plainly rather than praying around it: "Lord, I bring this diagnosis to You by name, whether it is diabetes, dementia, high blood pressure, or something else pressing on this body today. Give wisdom to the people managing this care and peace for what cannot be controlled. Amen." This works the same way for any ongoing diagnosis or care plan, alongside the medical treatment already in place, never instead of it.

Psalm 91 is most often prayed as a psalm of protection rather than physical healing — it promises refuge "under his wings" (v. 4) and safety from "the pestilence that walketh in darkness" (v. 6, KJV). Many people do pray it during illness because its language of shelter and safety brings comfort alongside a specific healing prayer, but its central theme is God's protection over a life, not recovery from sickness itself. For a prayer written specifically for healing, see the prayers at the top of this page or the healing-focused verses listed above.

Healing not coming is not proof of too little faith. Scripture itself records faithful people whose prayers for physical relief were not answered the way they asked — Paul prayed three times for his "thorn in the flesh" to be removed and was told instead, "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Faith and an unanswered prayer can coexist without either one being false; keep praying, keep working with your medical team, and let your worth rest in God's presence rather than in a specific outcome. If the waiting itself is wearing you down, the Prayer for Strength While Healing above is written for exactly that moment.