5 traditional prayers for recovery, and 8 passages from the Bible to pray with them. Choose one, read it aloud, or print it as a card to keep.
Prayers
Prayer for a Sick Person
O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need; We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servant for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with a sense of thy goodness; preserve him from the temptations of the enemy; and give him patience under his affliction. In thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to lead the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, who art the giver of life, of health, and of safety; We bless thy Name that thou hast been pleased to deliver from his bodily sickness this thy servant, who now desireth to return thanks unto thee, in the presence of all thy people. Gracious art thou, O Lord, and full of compassion to the children of men. May his heart be duly impressed with a sense of thy merciful goodness, and may he devote the residue of his days to an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God of heavenly powers, who, by the might of thy command, drivest away from men's bodies all sickness and all infirmity; Be present in thy goodness with this thy servant, that his weakness may be banished and his strength recalled; that his health being thereupon restored, he may bless thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Almighty God, who art the giver of all health, and the aid of them that turn to thee for succour; We entreat thy strength and goodness in behalf of this thy servant, that he may be healed of his infirmities, to thine honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O merciful God, giver of life and health; Bless, we pray thee, thy servant, and those who administer to him of thy healing gifts; that he may be restored to health of body and of mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
14Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jeremiah 17:14, King James Version
The Prayer of Faith Shall Save the Sick
13Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14Is 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: 15And 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. 16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:13-16, King James Version
He Brought Me Up out of an Horrible Pit
1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:1-3, King James Version
I Am the Lord That Healeth Thee
26And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
Exodus 15:26, King James Version
Thine Health Shall Spring Forth Speedily
8Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Isaiah 58:8, King James Version
The Lord Will Strengthen Him upon the Bed of Languishing
3The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
Psalm 41:3, King James Version
So Wilt Thou Recover Me
16O LORD, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 17Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
Isaiah 38:16-17, King James Version
Thou Hast Healed Me
2O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Psalm 30:2-3, King James Version
Questions
Which prayer for recovery should I start with?
Start with "Prayer for a Sick Person" and pray it each day, with Heal Me, O Lord (Jeremiah 17:14) to read alongside it.
Are these Catholic or Protestant prayers?
Both. They come from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the Bible. Most can be prayed by any Christian.
Can I change the words to fit my situation?
Yes. Where a prayer says "N." or "thy servant", put in the name of the person you are praying for.
Why are the prayers in old-fashioned English?
They keep the words of the older prayer books and the King James Bible, the words generations have prayed. "Thee" and "thou" are the old familiar forms of "you".