Healing Archives - Page 9 of 14 - To Bend Light Archive | To Bend Light

Archive for the ‘Healing’ Category

After My Child’s Surgery

Posted on: November 3rd, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is to be recited by a parent after a child’s surgery. It is a prayer of both gratitude and petition, thanking G-d for seeing the child through surgery while asking for healing. It also asks that G-d watch over all children recovering from surgery. It appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. There are seven prayers to be used before and after surgery in my book, including “For My Child’s Surgery.”

After My Child’s Surgery
G-d of renewal and strength,
Thank you for seeing my/our son/daughter
Through the many traumas of surgery.
Bless him/her with the gifts of comfort,
Healing and recovery,
As his/her body and spirit use Your Divine energy,
Endowed by Your loving hand,
On the journey toward wholeness.

Ease his/her pain.
Remove his/her suffering.
Grant him/her courage and endurance throughout these challenges,
Moments of joy and humor,
Happiness and love.

Bless [my/our] [son/daughter]
And all children whose recovery is not yet complete.
Erase their worries,
Strengthen their parents,
Fortify their partners
And bring peace to their families and friends.

May the One who heals with holiness and love,
Grant recovery to my son/daughter and to all children in need.

Postscript: Other prayers for healing include: “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Source: WikiMedia Commons

After My Surgery

Posted on: October 23rd, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is to be recited by an individual after surgery. It asks for recovery and healing for all in need. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

After My Surgery
God of renewal and strength,
Thank you for seeing me
Through the many traumas of surgery.
Bless my body with the gift of vitality and renewal
As I move through the process of recovery.
Grant me rest, comfort and healing.
Bless my body and spirit with Your Divine energy,
Endowed by Your loving hand,
On the path to wholeness.

Bless all of us whose recovery is not yet complete,
All whose future remains uncertain.
Erase our worries,
Console our children,
Strengthen our parents,
Fortify our partners
And bring peace to our families and friends.

May the One who heals with holiness and love,
Grant a full and speedy recovery to me and all in need.

Postscript: Other prayers for healing that will appear in include: “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Source: WikiMedia Commons

Before My Surgery

Posted on: October 17th, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is for an individual’s use before surgery. It asks for healing, as well as blessings upon medical professionals and family members. In preparing it for my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, I made two changes. I changed the title — originally “For Surgery” — to make the intended use clearer. I also cut one line from the section asking for G-d to give the family strength “regardless of the result.” Although that line is important to me, my instinct is to focus on hope. There are seven prayers in my book for use before and after surgery.

Before My Surgery
G-d of health and healing,
I surrender myself to the physician’s hand,
The surgeon’s knife,
The nurse’s care,
Placing my body in the cradle of others,
Just as I place my soul in Your loving arms.

Bless my surgeon with a steady hand,
Keen vision
And a passion for healing.

Bless my caregivers with wisdom and skill,
With compassion, focus and dedication.

Bless my family with ease and comfort.
Give them energy and endurance, tranquility and peace.
Remind them to care for themselves and each other,
Even as their hearts and prayers turn to me.

Bless my body with strength,
My spirit with courage,
My thoughts with hope
And my life with renewed purpose.

Source of life,
Bless us with Your guidance,
Make us Your partner in healing
And grant a full and speedy recovery.

Tweetable! Here’a suggested tweet. Please tweet it (with link): Prayer Before Surgery: “Bless my surgeon with a steady hand…Bless my body with strength…” https://tobendlight.com/?p=9254

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Source: WikiMedia Commons

After News of a Clean Biopsy

Posted on: October 9th, 2013 by tobendlight

The results of my third prostate biopsy brought good news yesterday evening, a clean report. This is a quick prayer to be said after receiving the news of a clean biopsy. The tone here is different from my prayer for news of “Cancer Remission,” which recognizes the fight against the disease after a diagnosis and treatment. Of course, this prayer can be used by anyone at any stage of the disease; I wrote it, however, with a pre-diagnosis perspective.

This is the 15th prayer I’ve written to be said at various stages of the disease. I’m not posting them in sequence of the disease process. I posted “For Cancer Treatment” as several of my friends and family members battled their cancers. I posted “Cancer Remission” when my friend David emerged from his knock-down, drag-out fight with the disease. My new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, will include 14 prayers to be used at various points along the cancer journey. This one did not make it given the timing. I’m just grateful to have the reason to write it.

After News of a Clean Biopsy
G-d of blessing,
G-d of wholeness,
My biopsy is clean
And I am told, [at least for now,]
That I’m free of _______ [type of cancer suspected: breast, prostate, etc.] cancer.
Thank you for this news.
Thank you for this relief, this joy,
This moment of renewal and celebration.

G-d of life,
Keep me free of this and any cancer.
Grant health and healing to the men and women who are fighting this disease.
Grant comfort, solace and strength to the families of those who have succumbed.
Grant scientists and researchers tools and understanding
To develop new treatments for this and all cancers,
Speedily, in our day.

Blessed are You,
G-d of gifts,
G-d of health and healing,
Source of life.

Postscript: Other prayers in this series posted so far include: “For Cancer Treatment,” “Cancer Remission” and “On the Recurrence of Cancer,” as well as two related Hospice Prayers. See also: “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically-Ill Child,” “For a Critically-Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.” Thanks to the friends and family who assisted with writing the series of cancer prayers. Most asked not to be named. You know who you are. I appreciate your wisdom.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

If you use this prayer, please take a moment to post a link to your Facebook page, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: Caffeinated Autism Mom

To a Spouse/Partner on Diagnosis with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease

Posted on: October 7th, 2013 by tobendlight

How painful is it to know that you’ll slowly lose your memories, your personality, your understanding of who you are in this world? And how painful is it to know the impact it will have on your spouse or partner? There is an element of what appears to be cruelty in this disease. This prayer is one antidote for that cruelty. It’s a prayer of love and gentleness to be said together, the one with the diagnosis and his or her beloved. This is one of several prayers addressing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases that appear in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

To a Spouse/Partner on Diagnosis with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease
My darling,
Dear _________________ [Name],
The doctors say that I will be leaving,
Perhaps slowly,
In stages,
[First losing control of my body and then]
Retreating into my mind,
Visiting with you less and less.
It is not my choice to say goodbye.
It is our path.

G-d of compassion,
Watch over my [husband/wife/spouse/partner]
In the months and years ahead.
Give her/him the strength to live
To love and to mourn
As we lose each other to this disease.
Grant her/him courage and peace of mind
As we face difficult decisions and difficult moments together
And, in time, she/he faces them without me.

My love,
It is not my choice to leave.
It is not my choice to depart.
It is not my choice to disappear.
Forgive me when my disease
Speaks words of anger or pain.
Remember my devotion to you.
Remember our love and our lives for both of us,
Our joys, our hopes, our dreams.

G-d of compassion,
Bless my [husband/wife/spouse/partner]
In her/his hours of loss and grief.
And grant her/him a life of wonder and awe
In the years ahead.

Postscript: I wonder if this prayer can be used by the spouse or partner during the late stages of these diseases? In other words, would I be able to say this prayer and hear it in the voice of my loved one? Here are prayers for “R’fuat HaNefesh” and “For Healing the Spirit.” Please consider purchasing my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Fire Fighters with Parkinson’s Disease

When a High-Risk Pregnancy is Confirmed (men)

Posted on: September 29th, 2013 by tobendlight

This is a prayer to be said by a man whose partner has a high-risk pregnancy. It is the companion prayer to “When a High-Risk Pregnancy is Confirmed (women).” Both prayers include an optional phrase for a multiple pregnancy, shown in [brackets]. This is one of several new prayers on pregnancy, both the joys and the potential challenges. Here’s a link to a prayer to be said by a woman in fertility treatment, another for a man in fertility treatment and one to be said “To a Spouse/Partner during Fertility Treatments.” I’ve already posted a general prayer for pregnancy and two others for use after the loss of a pregnancy. This series of prayers will appear in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

When a High-Risk Pregnancy is Confirmed (men)
Source of Life,
With joy and celebration,
With hope and gratitude,
With care and caution,
Knowing the risks and challenges ahead,
I/We pause to give thanks
For this pregnancy,
This potential for new life.

Grant our doctors wisdom
And my [wife/partner/spouse] strength
So that I may know
The holiness, radiance and light,
Of bringing life,
And the joy and wonder of fatherhood.

God of love,
Grant me/us [this child/these children]
In the fullness of health,
In the fullness of joy,
The gift of generations,
A gift of glory beyond measure.

Postscript: Other prayers in this series include “For Pregnancy,” “Loss of Pregnancy” and “Loss of Pregnancy (Husband/Partner).” Please also see: “On the Birth of a Child” and “On the Birth of Grandchildren.” For more prayers about family, click here.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Photo Source: UPMC Magee-Womens

Waiting for a Pre-Diagnosis Biopsy and Results

Posted on: September 15th, 2013 by tobendlight

Last week I had my third prostate biopsy. The waiting begins again. I’ve heard the phrase “you’re too young for these numbers” about my PSA in every possible form, in two languages, from doctors, nurses and secretaries. The emotions of not knowing has an odd rhythm that changes from the time the doctor says something like ‘let’s check this out’ to the date of the procedure and again waiting for results. For me, this prayer reflects increasing uneasiness as time passes. It is one of 14 cancer-related prayers that will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. Others include: “For Cancer Treatment,” “Cancer Remission” and “On the Recurrence of Cancer.”

Waiting for a Pre-Diagnosis Biopsy and Results
G-d of health and healing,
Source of my life,
Has my body has turned against me?
Have my cells have become agents of disease?

G-d of my ancestors,
G-d of hope,
Grant me strength as I wait for [my biopsy][the results of my biopsy]
With dignity and resolve,
With [confusion /sorrow/anger/fear/doubt][and]
[____________________________ (insert words to describe your feelings)].
Stand with me as I await news and, if necessary,
Grant me the clarity to make sound choices
For my treatment and my life.
Grant my family comfort and relief.
In this time of uncertainty.

Ancient One,
G-d of old,
Provide my physicians knowledge and insight.
Give scientists and researchers tools and understanding
To develop new treatments for all forms of cancer,
Speedily, in our day.
Grant me courage.
Set my life on a path to wholeness and well-being.

Postscript: Other healing prayers include: “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically-Ill Child,” “For a Critically-Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Photo Source: Roy Yeoman’s Charitable Trust

For Medical Science

Posted on: August 25th, 2013 by tobendlight

This is a prayer giving thanks for the gifts of medical science. Related prayers include: “For Organ Donation” and “For Organ and Tissue Donation.” Other prayers in the series include one “For Nurses” and another “For Physicians.”

ADDENDUM, Spring, 2020: I used this as the basis of “Coronavirus: A Prayer for Medical Scientists.”

For Medical Science
G-d of wisdom,
We give thanks for the fruits of medical science,
The gifts of health and healing
That have saved millions of people:
From immunization to chemotherapy,
From diagnostics to surgery.
You gave us the tools of science and research,
Intelligence and curiosity,
Challenging us to be Your partner
In bringing new medications and remedies,
Technologies and procedures,
Into the world.
The needs are great.
Diseases and conditions still plague
The lives of our families,
Our brothers and sisters,
Nations and communities,
Young and old.

G-d of love,
Bless medical scientists and researchers with
Insight and skill,
Dedication and fortitude,
So that their work yields knowledge and understanding
Leading to new treatments and cures,
Speedily, in our day.
Grant medical science the wisdom to use these gifts wisely
In service to the highest ideals of humankind.

Rock of Ages,
Bring an end to pain and suffering,
So that all may know
Your compassion and Your grace.

Blessed are You,
G-d of health and healing.

Postscript: My other prayers for healing include: “For Surgery,” “On Waiting for An Organ Transplant,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For Healing the Spirit” and “For a Critically Ill Child.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you use or like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: East Stroudsberg University

After His/Her Infidelity

Posted on: August 19th, 2013 by tobendlight

A friend recently asked me to write a prayer to be said by someone suffering after the infidelity of a spouse or partner. The victim of infidelity in his own marriage, he was now helping a friend cope with the same trauma. We spoke about his experiences, which were important in writing this prayer. I also gave him a copy of a prayer he could say on behalf of her spiritual healing, called “R’fuat HaNefesh: Healing the Soul.” This appears in my book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press.

After His/Her Infidelity
I thought that we were in love.
Was our past a lie?
Was I living a dream, a desire, a yearning?
After all we’ve been through together,
Was it false?
How long ago did your heart leave me?
How long ago did your hands and your eyes
Yearn for someone else?

Oh grief,
My soul is rent,
Torn apart by the one who promised
To help me find my way,
To help me journey through joy and sorrow,
To help me make myself whole.
You were once the warmth that held me.
You have become the blade that twists inside me.

God of compassion,
Grant me the strength to live a life of dignity and honor
In the face of this betrayal.
And the devastating abandonment by [some of] my friends and community.
Help me to believe that there is light after this darkness.
Bless me with the time and space for healing.
Grant me the willingness to renew my trust others,
And the ability to trust myself,
As I move into a new life.

God of mercy,
Be my hope when hope has left me.
Be my strength when my strength has crumbled.
Be my rock to anchor me through this cruel moment.
Be my courage to preserver and to rebuild,
To choose, once again, a life of awe and wonder.

Postscript: Here’s a prayer to be said on removing a wedding band.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Photo Source: Cuddlebuggery

When a High-Risk Pregnancy is Confirmed (women)

Posted on: July 24th, 2013 by tobendlight

This is a prayer to be said by a woman with a high-risk pregnancy. An optional phrase, for a multiple pregnancy, is shown in [brackets]. In the coming weeks I’ll post a new prayer for the spouse or partner to say when a high-risk pregnancy is confirmed. This is one of several new prayers on pregnancy, both the joys and the potential challenges. Here’s a link to a prayer to be said by a woman in fertility treatment, another for a man in fertility treatment and one to be said “To a Spouse/Partner during Fertility Treatments.” I’ve already posted a general prayer for pregnancy and two others for use after the loss of a pregnancy. This series of prayers appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

When a High-Risk Pregnancy is Confirmed (women)
Source of Life,
With joy and celebration,
With hope and gratitude,
With care and caution,
Knowing the risks and challenges ahead,
I/We pause to give thanks
For this pregnancy,
This potential for new life.

Grant my doctors wisdom
And my body strength
So that I may know the holiness and wonder,
The radiance and light,
Of carrying life and giving birth,
And the joy of motherhood.

God of love,
Grant me/us [this child/these children]
In the fullness of health,
In the fullness of joy,
The gift of generations,
A gift of glory beyond measure.

Photo Source: Life123

Archive for the ‘Healing’ Category

After My Child’s Surgery

After My Surgery

Before My Surgery

After News of a Clean Biopsy

To a Spouse/Partner on Diagnosis with Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease

When a High-Risk Pregnancy is Confirmed (men)

Waiting for a Pre-Diagnosis Biopsy and Results

For Medical Science

After His/Her Infidelity

When a High-Risk Pregnancy is Confirmed (women)

“Alden has become one of Reform Judaism’s master poet-liturgists…" - Religion News Service, Dec. 23, 2020

“Mesmerizing, spiritual, provocative, and thoughtful, Alden was everything you would want in a guest scholar and teacher.” – Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Congregation Kol Ami, Los Angeles, and Past President, CCAR

**"Alden Solovy has become one of the most revered liturgists of the last decade…" - Jewish Post & Opinion, March 29, 2023**

“Alden left everyone feeling inspired.” – Cantor Jeri Robins, Shabbat Chair, NewCAJE6

Your contribution helps support the creation of new prayers available to all on this site.