Tag Archive for "surgery"

Posts Tagged ‘surgery’

Family Caregivers

Posted on: August 16th, 2021 by Alden

This is a prayer to be said on behalf of those family members and friends who have taken on the task of daily caregiving of another member of the family or a close friend, devoting their days and energy to the care of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, and other dear ones.

Family Caregivers
G-d of health and healing,
Bless our family and friends
Who have taken on the sacred task
Of giving care and comfort
To their loved ones,
Committing their time, energy, and physical labor
To the well-being of dear ones
At a time of immeasurable need.
Grant them wisdom and skill,
Compassion and dedication,
Energy and endurance,
As time passes and tasks increase.
Remind them to care for themselves,
And to nourish their own bodies and souls,
So easily forgotten in this time of need.

Source and Shelter,
Rock of life,
Bless all who dedicate themselves
To the care of others,
And bring lasting health and healing
To all in need.

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Postscript: Thanks to my friend Joel Africk for the idea for this prayer.

Please check out my CCAR Press Grateful/Joyous/Precious trilogy. The individual books are: This Joyous Soul , This Grateful Heart, and This Precious Life. Here’s a link to my ELItalk, “Falling in Love with Prayer..” 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: CDC

For a Loved One’s Cancer Treatment

Posted on: July 26th, 2018 by Alden

Another prayer in a series of prayers that follow the cancer journey. These prayers appear in my book Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. Options for adapting this prayer to an individual circumstance are shown in [brackets].

For a Loved One’s Cancer Treatment
Today is the day,
God of old,
That my [wife][husband][partner][dear friend][companion],
_____________________________ [insert name],
[Begins to receive][Begins another cycle of]
Treatment for cancer,
This disease,
This intruder,
That has invaded his/her body and our lives.

God of compassion,
Grant him/her a path to healing.
See him/her through this day and the days ahead with dignity.
Strengthen our resolve to live fully and to love deeply.

Grant healing power to his/her [surgery][radiation][and][chemotherapy].
Reduce the side effects and eliminate any complications from this procedure
And grant him/her a full and complete recovery from this disease.
Grant his/her physicians insight and perseverance
And his/her caregivers knowledge and skill.
Grant scientists and researchers tools and understanding
To develop new treatments for this cancer,
Speedily, in our day.

God of Mercy,
Give me the poise and clarity
To provide steadfast support on this journey,
With love and respect,
With kindness and compassion.
Grant our family comfort and relief.
Ease our burdens and ease our minds.

Blessed are You,
God of health and healing.

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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: Doctors Beyond Medicine

Praise for Healing

Posted on: May 27th, 2015 by Alden

This is a prayer to be said after recovery from illness. Although I’ve written several specific prayers — such as “Cancer Remission” and “Upon Recovery from Surgery” — this is my first general prayer of thanks for physical recovery. It’s an adaptation of “Inviting Healing,” which appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Praise for Healing
Radiance and awe.
Splendor and wonder.
The energy of being surrounds me
Flowing day-by-day
From the holy realms.

These gifts of holiness
Flow into my hands,
Into my body,
Into the core of my being.

The energy of life flows
Into my limbs,
Into my chest,
Into my heart.

Thank you
Source and Shelter,
For opening the well of healing to me,
Bringing renewal and hope.

G-d of Old,
Healer and Guide,
You have blessed me with life,
With days of joy and yearning.
You have blessed me with Your care,
Leading me back
To a life of wholeness and peace.

Postscript: Thanks to my friend, Rabbi Len Zukrow for the idea for this prayer. He asked me if I had a something that could be used at a communal Shabbat gomel service for all who’ve recovered from illness. As a result, I put this together. Other healing prayers include: “For Surgery,” “For a Critically-Ill Child,” “For a Critically-Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Father,” “For Cancer Treatment” and two Hospice Prayers. See also: “Quick Prayer for Healing,” “Quick Prayer for My Healing,” “Quick Prayer for Healing (Specific)”and “On Recurrent Pain.”

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. Please consider purchasing my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Credit: Agility Recovery

My Illness, My Children

Posted on: April 6th, 2014 by Alden

Here’s a prayer to be said by an ill parent worried about how witnessing the disease will impact his or her children. A challenge in writing this piece: striking a tone that encompasses the experiences of both younger and older children. This is the main reason for the built-in flexibility in structure and use of this prayer, providing optional inserts for meditation on each individual child’s needs in this time of stress, uncertainty and potential trauma. This prayer appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

My Illness, My Children
My G-d,
In the days ahead,
The weeks and the months,
I will face challenges as the result of _________ [insert type of surgery or name of disease].
My heart and my hopes,
My love and my questions,
Also turn toward my children.
How will the experience of my [surgery][illness][condition]
Shape their lives?
What will they learn?
What beliefs will they take in?

Grant me the ability to care for my children,
Even as they yearn to provide support and understanding for me.
Let me be a source of love,
A light of comfort,
A lamp of hope,
A well of blessings.

[Optional insert: Repeat the following paragraph for each child]
Bless my child ___________ [insert name]
Who _____________ [insert thoughts about what he/she is feeling now]
With _____________ [insert specific concerns and prayer for that child].

G-d of health and healing,
Watch over my children
In their hour of need.
Let our love for each other
Shine brightly through the days ahead,
A testimony to your Holy Name.

Postscript: There are a wide variety on health and healing at a time of critical illness in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, including seven prayers about surgery, among them: “For Surgery” and “Upon Recovery from Surgery,”

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Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Inviting Healing

Posted on: February 11th, 2013 by tobendlight

G-d’s healing power surrounds us. Re’fuat haguf. Healing of the body. Re’fuat hanefesh. Healing of the spirit. This is a meditation on inviting healing into our lives. It’s one of 10 new pieces that I wrote after getting out of the hospital. This prayer appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Inviting Healing
Radiance and awe.
Splendor and wonder.
The energy of being surrounds me
Flowing day-by-day
From the holy realms.

Let me invite these gifts of holiness
Into my hands,
Into my body,
Into the core of my being.

Let me invite the energy of life
Into my limbs,
Into my chest,
Into my heart.

Let me invite this well of healing
Into my breath,
Into my blood,
Into my spirit.

G-d of Old,
Healer and Guide,
You have blessed me with life,
Days of hope and yearning.
Bless me with Your healing power.
Lead me back to
A life of wholeness and peace.

Postscript: My 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,” “For Cancer Treatment,” “Cancer Remission” and two Hospice Prayers. See also: “Quick Prayer for Healing,” “Quick Prayer for My Healing,” “Quick Prayer for Healing (Specific)”and “On Recurrent Pain.”

Please consider purchasing my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. 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. Also, please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Credit: University of Cincinnati

On Recurrent Pain

Posted on: February 3rd, 2013 by tobendlight

I recently spent several days in hospital dealing with a kidney stone. In the days before, during and after, I had times of dull pain, times of intense pain and times of relief. This prayer is to be said when a person has a medical condition that includes recurrent pain. I have also written, but not yet posted, a variety of prayers on the topic of pain, including: “Relief from Chronic Pain,” “Relief of a Loved One’s Chronic Pain” and “This Well of Pain.” See also: “Quick Prayer for Healing,” “Quick Prayer for My Healing” and “Quick Prayer for Healing (Specific).” This prayer will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

On Recurrent Pain
G-d of Old,
My pain has diminished,
The trouble has eased,
This grief has, for now, faded.
Thank You for these moments of relief
After the hours of affliction,
These moments of quiet inside me,
These times of rest.
Thank You for those who have
Dedicated themselves to my care.
Thank You for the chance to regain
A sense of wholeness,
A sense of calm,
A sense of peace.

Ancient One,
Well of healing,
Grant healing power to my physicians
And my medications.
Grant comfort and healing to all who suffer.
Grant me the strength to endure
When the pain returns.

.ברוך אתה ה’ אלוקינו מלך העולם הנותן ליעף כח
Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam hanotein laya’ef ko’ach.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who gives strength to the weary.

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Photo Credit: AdultSpan Counseling

For a Child’s Surgery

Posted on: January 8th, 2013 by tobendlight

This revision of “For My Child’s Surgery” appears in the new book, Mishkan R’fuah: Where Healing Resides published by the CCAR Press. I am grateful to the editors who made some important suggestions regarding the emotional content and theological implications of this prayer while remaining profoundly respectful of my work. Gender choices are identified with a “/” slash. It appears as “Before My Child’s Surgery” in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For a Child’s Surgery
G-d of health and healing,
I surrender my daughter /son to the physician’s hand,
The surgeon’s skill,
The nurse’s care,
Placing her / his body into the cradle of others,
Just as I pray for you to hold her / his soul with Your loving hands.

Bless her / his surgeon with a steady hand,
Keen vision and a passion for healing.
Bless her / his caregivers with focus and compassion,
With wisdom and dedication.
Bless our family with comfort and kindness,
Energy and endurance, tranquility and strength.

Source of life,
Bring Your healing power to _______________ (child’s name).
Remove her / his pain,
Relieve her / his distress,
And restore her / his body, mind and spirit,
Renewing her/him to wholeness and peace.
Bless her / him with vigor, courage and hope
So that she / he may enjoy life and health,
Joy and love.
And grant her / him a full and speedy recovery.

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

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Postscript: “After My Child’s Surgery” also appears in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. Here’s a related prayer “For a Critically Ill Child.”

Photo Credit: CCAR Press

Posts Tagged ‘surgery’

Family Caregivers

For a Loved One’s Cancer Treatment

Praise for Healing

My Illness, My Children

Inviting Healing

On Recurrent Pain

For a Child’s Surgery

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