A Prayer of One Who Is In Constant Physical Pain (by Joyce Rupp)
God of oneness, wholeness, I hurt and am in pain and I dream of a day when I no longer feel continual distress in my body. I cry out to you to hear me, to stretch your arms of compassion to me and to embrace me with your comfort. My being needs to be filled with your spiritual energy. I am weary with the struggle to feel well and to be in good health. It is so easy to slide into depression and self-pity, to be impatient and despondent. God of the living, hear me. Fill my empty places with hope. Fill my life with a sense of joy in spite of this ceaseless pain. Help me to fight that giant oppressor of the spirit: discouragement. Remind me often of the good people of my life and of all the blessings that are mine as I struggle with this pain that is ever present to me. I praise and thank you for being a God who never leaves me.
I love you, God. I know you are my inner strength, especially now when my body does not have the strength that I took for granted in the past. God, my deliverer, I turn to you. Sometimes I feel that I do not want to go on. I get swallowed up by the floods of self-pity and discouragement. In my distress I cry out to you. Reach out to me and rescue me from the enemy of pain. Set me free of its grasp of resentment. Fill me with courage. When the darkness of constant pain threatens to overcome me, brighten the darkness with your presence. With you by my side I can go through this. You are like a rock. You will be my strength. You are like a shield. You can protect my spirit from being broken by my body’s pain. I will keep coming to you, touching the hem of your garment of love and feeling the spiritual energy that you share with me. I love you and I place my trust in you.
Amen.
I’ve met a lot of people in pain recently, so thought I would post this beautiful prayer to help others to give words and expression to their thoughts, feelings and pain to God.
I often encourage people, rather than focusing on the pain, to focus on the presence of God – the healing light and love of God – and to picture, envision and imagine it going to where in our body we need it most bringing perfect healing, soothing and relief. And to breathe that in as we pray it.
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