Updated on September 13, 2026

Prayer for Healing

Q: What if God does not heal?

Paul asked three times for a thorn to be taken away and was told no, and he kept trusting. Healing is not guaranteed in this life, and praying for it is still right. The prayer asks for what we want and leaves the outcome where it belongs.

Q: Can I pray for healing for someone who does not believe?

Yes. Most of the people Jesus healed had no faith of their own to speak of; a centurion, a friend, a mother asked for them. Your prayer does not depend on their belief.

Q: Should I keep taking medicine if I am praying for healing?

Yes. Luke, who wrote a Gospel, was a doctor, and Paul told Timothy to take something for his stomach. Prayer and treatment are not rivals; ask God to work through both.

For a body that hurts, or for someone you cannot heal yourself

This is the prayer of the hospital corridor and the sleepless night, for your own body or for someone you love and cannot help. The Gospels are full of people who brought their sick to Jesus, sometimes carrying them through a roof to get there, and none of them was turned away. Pray it as it stands, or change the words until they say what you mean.

The prayer

Lord, you know this body better than any doctor does. You know where it hurts, what the scans show and what they do not, and how tired we are of waiting for news. I bring the person I carry in my heart to you now, the way friends once carried a paralysed man to your feet.

I ask you for healing. Ease the pain, steady the treatment, guide the hands of the people giving care, and let strength come back where it has drained away. If there is a decision to be made, give clarity to those who must make it.

And while we wait, keep us close to you. Take the fear that comes at night and replace it with your peace. Teach us to receive each good day as a gift, and to trust you with the days we cannot see.

You are the God who heals, in this life or in the next. I leave this in your hands. Amen.

In one breath

Lord, you see this illness and you see how afraid we are. Bring healing, guide those who care, and hold us in your peace while we wait. Amen.

Verses to hold on to

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psalms 103:2-3David names healing among the benefits of God before he names anything else, in the same breath as forgiveness.

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
James 5:14-15The clearest instruction in the New Testament on what to do when someone is sick: ask others to pray with you.

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jeremiah 17:14A one-line prayer for healing you can say on your own, written by a prophet who was often in pain himself.

James 5:14 was the verse of the day on August 2, 2023. See that day

How to pray it

Say the name of the person and the name of the illness out loud; vague prayers are harder to keep praying.
Pray for the carers and doctors too, by name if you know them.
If you are the one who is sick, let someone else pray this over you; James says to ask.

Make it your own

Say what you are living, in a few words, and receive this prayer written for your situation.

Your words
Your prayer

Questions

What if God does not heal?+

Can I pray for healing for someone who does not believe?+

Should I keep taking medicine if I am praying for healing?+

Other prayers

All prayers