Pause
Loving God, I come to you with a heavy heart, with a prayer for healing for a friend. Like a weary traveller coming in from the cold, wrap me up again in the reassuring warmth of your arms, in the comfort of your familiar presence. Thank you for receiving me with joy and tenderness.
Ask
My friend needs your mercy to cover them completely, like a long-awaited summer storm gently soaking through a parched field. May your healing run deep, deep down, like the rain reaching the lowest and longest roots below. Until every dry and cracked corner is quenched with wellness, with mercy.
Listen
I remember the friends who brought the paralytic man to you, Jesus. They carried him on his mattress through the streets of town to the house where you were teaching. Unable to enter through the door, they climbed up to the roof instead. Cut a hole through it, and lowered him down, directly to where you were standing. You did indeed heal him and called him “Friend.” Restored, sent out, rejoicing—moving on his own accord.
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I place my suffering friend directly at your feet, within reach of your healing hands. I pray for an abundance of healing: Ease what is aching, lift what is unbearable, shift what is obstructive, connect what is cut off. I long to see my friend move freely, of their own accord. God of Mercy, please let there be some balm, some relief, to their struggle and pain.
Reflect
I feel a quiet peacefulness unfolding while I speak with you. Like taking refuge under the canopy of an ancient tree, under your healing hands, extended like branches, I rest. My breath comes more easily. I entrust my friend to you. Kind hands cupped around a tiny candle’s flame. Your nearness, my consolation. I will stay near you today, keeping vigil for my friend.
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