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A Prayer about Wisdom for Caregivers

A Prayer about Wisdom for Caregivers

For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6

Wise and Gracious Lord,

Thank you for the wisdom you give 

for all of life’s hard stories and tough decisions. 

Today we think of our caregiving friends, 

who face weighty decisions daily 

concerning their loved ones’ care. 

Which medicine to try, 

how to get their loved one to comply with doctor’s orders, 

whether to take the car keys or not, 

how long to continue trying new treatments….

the list goes on and on. 

We pray for them, 

that they would hear you answering their prayers, 

perhaps in the form of helpful and wise counselors 

who have been there before them 

or in the form of gentle and kind social workers 

who understand the situation. 

We pray that you would deploy us 

as answers to their prayers, 

simply by offering respite 

or picking up mail while they’re at the hospital, 

or performing a simple task 

like walking the dog or delivering a meal. 

We pray that you would show them 

your deep compassion and forgiveness, 

especially if they are feeling a sense of failing their loved ones. 

Lord, in their hard caregiving days, 

may they truly know the rest and kindness of Jesus, 

our constant and caring companion.

Amen.

Read Proverbs 2:6; Psalm 91:1, 16; Isaiah 25:6-8; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.



A Prayer about Coming Alongside Caregivers

A Prayer about Coming Alongside Caregivers

….four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on the mat, right down in front of Jesus. Mark 2:4

Gentle Jesus,

Bring to mind the people we know 

who are acting as caregivers to the sick or disabled in this season. 

They often find themselves 

paralyzed with guilt or grief, 

with confusion and exhaustion. 

Show us how we can be like the four friends to them, 

laying them on the mat 

and breaking through barriers 

to bring them before you. 

May we serve them in practical ways, 

cooking meals and doing yard work, 

helping them navigate the insurance maze, 

staying with their loved one 

so they can make doctor’s appointments 

or go for a walk. 

May we serve them 

by listening to them,

by encouraging them to lament,

and by praying for and with them 

when they can’t find the words to pray. 

Help us, Lord, to have the faith and kindness 

of the paralytic’s mat-friends 

to bring our caregiving friends before you 

to ask you to heal and help them. 

In your caring name. Amen.

Read Mark 2:1-5. 



A Prayer about Clearing the Caregiver Fog

A Prayer about Clearing the Caregiver Fog

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city…. Revelation 22:1

Creator God,

Today we lift up all the caregivers of hospital patients. 

You are with them, 

so you know the fog that sets in 

after days of caring for a patient 

in the hospital. 

It may feel like Pigpen’s cloud 

surrounding the brain, 

making clear thinking dusty

when it seems essential.

In the room dimly lit by fluorescents, 

the walls are two awful shades of beige, 

and before you know it, 

every thought and perspective is colored dingy beige.

Lord into this foggy space,

we ask you to send the radiating light of your Son, 

that the caregiver’s mind and heart 

might be transported 

to the glorious day to come. 

May she see the silvery river of the water of life 

glistening into this dim space. 

May she brighten at the brilliant greens 

and lemon yellows 

of the leaves of the tree 

for the healing of nations (and patients). 

May she imagine the better day, 

the eternal day 

when she and her loved one will taste of all twelve kinds of fruit, 

pomegranates and mangoes and juicy oranges and grapes 

bursting with the joy of it all.

Comfort the caregiver with this true hope, 

the hope of eternal glory.

In Jesus’ restoring name. Amen. 

Read Revelation 22:1-5.

**This prayer is part of a celebration of the one-year anniversary of the free online community, the NYD Network, which offers gospel-centered encouragement and equipping for issues of aging, caregiving, legacy, and end-of-life. Why not join today or invite someone you love to join? (It’s FREE!) Link: https://numberingyourdaysnetwork.mn.co/share/B5q0dGGIOR0f996K?utm_source=manual



A Prayer about Comfort for Caregivers

A Prayer about Comfort for Caregivers

In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Matthew 26:12

Precious Jesus,

Thank you for this affirmation 

of Mary’s tender caregiving actions. 

May we remember 

that while she cared for you before you died, 

she could not save you. 

May we see that she, unlike the disciples, 

seemed to believe you 

when you said you would die, 

and that she came alongside you 

to help you die well.

We pray today for all caregivers 

who are watching their loved ones die. 

Fill them with your surpassing peace 

in the midst of anxious moments bedside. 

As beepers blare or breathing becomes shallow, 

remind them that it is neither in their job description 

nor in their power 

to prevent their loved one’s death. 

Free them from any guilt or sense of failure 

about the care they have given. 

Give them the hope of resurrection, 

the hope that their loved one will soon be well 

in a way they never can be on this earth.

And send us, Lord, to comfort the caregiver, 

to sit with her, 

to listen to her, 

to cry with her, 

to feed her, 

to care for her 

in her grief and sorrow. 

Give us the wisdom and insight only your Holy Spirit can give 

about how to care for the caregiver 

in these agonizing moments.  

In your caregiving name. Amen.

Read Matthew 26:6-13, 25:31-46. 



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

A Prayer about Caring for Those Who Care for Others

A Prayer about Caring for Those Who Care for Others

“casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you” 1 Peter 5:7

Jesus, our Great High Priest,

Today we lift up 

pastors, priests, and ministry leaders 

who care for your people. 

We confess, 

we don’t think often enough 

about how what their days look like, 

these hard days of comforting the broken-hearted, 

of sitting with the doubts and denials of your goodness, 

of bearing the burdens of so very many. 

We don’t think often enough 

about how the devil prowls around like a ravenous beast, 

eager to destroy 

their faith, 

their marriages, 

their children, 

their health, 

their homes. 

Now, as we remember our ministry leaders, 

we lift them up by name [name your ministry leaders], 

praying that they would indeed 

“humble themselves under the mighty hand of God,” 

confessing their own weakness 

confessing their need for your help. 

We ask that they would cast their cares 

and worries 

and fears 

and frustrations 

onto your broad shoulders. 

We pray that they would experience 

your mercy 

and love 

and comfort 

and pleasure 

in this very moment. 

Give them relief, 

and make us the answer 

to some of their prayers.

Lord, bless those 

who bless you 

by blessing us 

with the hope of the gospel.

In your comforting name. Amen.

Read 1 Peter 5:6-8. 



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

Caring for Caregivers: Four Ways You Can Help

Caring for Caregivers: Four Ways You Can Help

Hi Friends,This month I have a special offering, an excerpt from my new book, Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions on Living and Dying in Hope of HeavenIt’s available now from all of your favorite booksellers. I’m offering a free virtual book club to discuss it together in March. I’d love for you to join!

Numbering Your Days with Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

When Jesus saw her weeping . . . he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. (John 11:33)

As we prepare for glory, we must follow Jesus’s lead in offering comfort to caregivers, and if we are caregivers, we can reach out for and welcome the comfort of others.

Because caregiving can lead to anxiety, depression, fear, grief, guilt, shame, isolation, doubt, and poor health,1 caregivers need our support. Although caregiving can also lead to joy and fulfillment, that joy only comes when caregivers find meaning in their suffering and receive the support of their communities.

How Jesus Cared for Caregivers

To understand how to care for caregivers, let’s observe Jesus’s response to them in Scripture. With Martha, Jesus was tender but truthful. He gave her hope as she grieved the loss of her brother: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). With the brokenhearted Mary of Bethany, Jesus wept (see John 11:32–35). When Mary anointed his body before his death, Jesus honored her (see Matt. 26:10). As author and caregiver Marissa Bondurant writes, “In all your caregiving, Jesus is caring tenderly for you.”2

We must follow Jesus’s lead by offering practical and spiritual comfort to those who are caring for the sick and dying. Below are just a few of the ways we can join Jesus in caring for caregivers.

Four Ways to Care for Caregivers

1. Pray for caregivers when we pray for the sick.

Whenever possible, pray with the caregiver. Caregiving can lead to spiritual and emotional exhaustion; offering a prayer by phone or by text can soothe a frenzied heart and mind.

2. Listen for the spiritual and emotional struggles caregivers experience and affirm their grief.

As we have seen, Jesus wept with Mary of Bethany. Avoid quick-fix answers to a caregiver’s profound questions and deep concerns about their loved one’s suffering. Instead, offer the presence of Christ with compassionate listening and gently point them to the Savior who grieved death and who died for them.

3. Urge caregivers to attend to their own health needs and offer respite care to them.

Studies show that many caregivers suffer from serious health problems because they miss their own medical appointments. Remind caregivers you know that their own well-being is crucial and help them, as much as you are able, to attend to their own health.

4. Assist with practical needs.

Whether it’s mowing the lawn, paying bills, filing for insurance, buying groceries, cooking meals, or hanging Christmas lights, you can relieve a caregiver’s burden by doing tasks that they don’t have the time, energy, or ability to do.

Dear friend, what better way to prepare for glory than to offer Jesus’s care to those who care for the sick and dying?

Prayer

Comforting Jesus, make us a comfort to those who care for the least of these. Give us the wisdom and the compassion to help our caregiving friends. In your loving name, amen.

Further Encouragement

For Reflection

(Consider sharing your thoughts here. We’d all benefit from hearing them.)

If you have been or currently are a caregiver, write down some of the helpful ways people have cared for you. If you haven’t been a caregiver, ask a caregiver how people have ministered the love of Christ to them. If you have a caregiver, how can you care for them?

Order a copy of Preparing for Glory, or join the virtual book club, which meets in March. 

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage is an author, life and legacy coach, and speaker. She wrote Preparing for Glory: Biblical Answers to 40 Questions on Living and Dying in Hope of Heaven and is the Co-founder of the Numbering Your Days Network. 

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth is a life and legacy coach who offers gospel-centered wisdom and equipping to help you live, prepare, and share your life and legacy.

Subscribe now to get free coaching tips from Elizabeth to help you with your aging, caregiving, legacy, and end-of-life.