rreverent Prayers: Talking to God When You’re Seriously Sick by Elizabeth Felicetti and Samantha Vincent-Alexander. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2024.
About the book
This book’s title grabbed my attention. The authors offer what the book title claims. There is some narrative. In one case, a story about breast cancer, the writer says that when she was in the hospital for a serious problem and could barely move, she received text messages asking if she was keeping up with Netflix. Most of the book, however, presents prayers. The book’s authors are two female Episcopal priests. Some of the prayers are specific to females, but most of them are applicable to anyone.
A few examples of Irreverent Prayers
If your prayers for healing are gentle or timid or afraid to be too explicit, these are not. They present to God the specific issues and cry out for help. Here are some examples with the headings given in the book.
Prayer for courage in the midst of pain
Dear Jesus, who suffered the cross, all I can think about now is pain, my pain, I see it. I feel it. I smell it. I don’t care what someone else is thinking or feeling. Right now, all I know is, pain and the desperate desire that it will end. How did you forgive people when you hung on the cross bleeding and suffocating? How did you love others with that kind of overwhelming pain. The only person I can forgive is the person bringing me the painkillers. Please, God, give me some courage and compassion in the midst of my pain. Remind me that I am not the only one hurting and that this pain cannot last forever. It won’t, will it? Please tell me it will end. Amen.
Prayer of praise for release
Dear Holy Spirit I am not the kind of Christian who loudly praises you, not even in church. I am not the kind of Christian who says “Praise God” when something good happens. Maybe I should be, but I am not. Today I am. When they took me out of the MRI machine and unstrapped me from that unforgiving board, I praised you. I will always remember the relief I felt when released for that damned board, the relief that you denied when hanging on the cross. Thank you for that feeling of freedom that so many people are denied. Amen.
When waiting on tests and results
God, in the Bible you spoke of time the Israelites were wandering in the desert with great longing. That was preincarnation, so maybe you don’t get how it felt for them. I can assure you that it was awful. We humans hate uncertainty. I am having to wait weeks to figure out what is wrong with me and cannot fathom forty years of such nonsense. God, send me some clarity. Please. Amen.
There is a prayer for better veins and a thanksgiving for blood. Many of the prayers begin with a relevant passage of Scripture. For example, the Prayer to be okay with doubt begins with Ezekiel 37:1-3. In one instance, one of the authors needed to go the hospital for several days, but hadn’t packed any clothing. There is a prayer of thanks for hospital underwear. There are several prayers about long stays in the hospital.
I had a three-night stay in the hospital, following unsuccessful retina surgery. I spent the time with a blindfold on in order to protect my eyes. During that time, they brought me chicken noodle soup and green peas to eat. That with your eyes closed. The authors, however, had much more serious issues and prayers.
I recommend this book
In case you want to know, the book does not end with both authors becoming great specimens of health. If you have suffered from chronic pain or illness, these may become your prayers. I said “amen” to some of them myself.
Many Christians pray and pray and pray for healing or deliverance from some bad situation, and they don’t get healed or delivered. I have prayed for years that God would heal my eyes. They weren’t good to begin with, and a string of bad, arrogant ophthalmologists made them much worse. They continue to get worse, and I’ve been praying for healing for thirty-five years. Others have prayed that God would heal my eyes also. I can relate to the authors’ ongoing health struggles. I recommend this book.
https://www.eerdmans.com/9780802882639/irreverent-prayers/
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