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Sitting with someone who is ill

After a hard diagnosis

News that changes everything

When the news is new, there are more questions than answers. The psalms don't hurry people past fear; they give words to bring it to God.

Psalms to read aloud

Short, and chosen for a bedside. Open one to read it in large type, or to have it read aloud.

  1. Psalm 13

    How long?

    A lament that asks God hard questions out loud. It gives permission to be honest before trying to be brave.

  2. Psalm 46:1–7

    Though the earth give way

    For when the ground has moved under someone's feet. God is named as a refuge in the middle of the upheaval.

  3. Psalm 62:5–8

    Pour out your heart

    An invitation to rest in God and to tell Him everything, fear included.

  4. Psalm 116:1–7

    He heard my voice

    Someone who was entangled in trouble and called out to God. Read it as company, not as a promise of how things will go.

  5. Psalm 121

    Where help comes from

    For the appointments and the waiting ahead: God keeps watch over every coming and going.

Short prayers

Written by our team for you to pray aloud or quietly. Say their name where you see (name).

  • When the news is new

    Lord, this news is heavy, and we don't understand it. You are still here with us. Hold (name) steady today, and show us the next step. Amen.

  • For the road ahead

    Father, give wisdom to the doctors, strength for the treatments, and rest in the waiting. We ask You for healing. Keep (name) close to You in every hour. Amen.

  • How long

    Lord, like the psalmist we ask how long. We bring You our fear and our questions, all of them. Stay with us while we wait. Amen.

For you

  • Don't rush to answers

    You don't have to explain anything or find a reason. Listening is a kind of prayer, and lament is prayer too.

  • Grief is allowed

    Tears at a bedside are not a failure of faith. Jesus wept at the grave of His friend.

    Jesus wept.
    John 11:35BSB

  • Care for yourself too

    Drink some water, eat something, step outside for air. Jesus often went away to quiet places to pray.

    Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
    Luke 5:16BSB

  • Don't carry it alone

    Afterwards, tell someone how it was: a friend, a pastor, a counselor. If it gets too heavy, help is at the bottom of every page.

A different situation