Right now we have several people on our church cancer prayer list so I decided to read a book called
“Loving your Friend Through Cancer” by Marissa Henley. In this book, the
author provides an excellent list of things to pray for—though I found it
interesting that she does not say to pray for healing. It is OK to pray for
healing too!
It's a very good book. I highly recommend it. Here is my summary of her list (Since the author always uses
“she” or “her” I will too but these obviously apply to men as well).
- Pray that she will feel closer to the Lord (Ps 62:1-2; 63:5-8; Isa 41:10)
- Pray for wisdom for family and friends to know how to support and encourage her (James 1:5)
- Pray for relief from her feelings of isolation (Josh 1:9; Ps 42; 56:8; Heb 13:5)
- Pray for wisdom in medical decisions (Ps 112:7-8)
- Pray that God will sustain and even strengthen her marriage through it all (Eph 5:22-23)
- Pray that she would put her trust in the Lord and not in any particular outcome (Isa 43; Jer 31:3; Rom 8:38-39)
- Pray that she would feel free to ask for help and support when she needs it (Phil 4:19)
- Pray that she would not be anxious for the future but would feel joy and peace as she grieves the loss of her health (Lam 3:21-24; Rom 15:13; Phil 4:6-8)
- Pray that she will be transformed and sanctified for God’s glory through suffering (Rom 8:28-29; 12:1-2)
- Pray that God will prepare her to comfort others with the comfort she is now receiving (2 Cor 1:3-4).
