Prayers for Caregivers: Strength, Patience and Rest for Those Who Care for the Sick

  • Short prayers for caregivers cover the start of the day, lost patience, a loved one with dementia who no longer recognizes them, lifting, long nights, guilt about resting, resentment, loneliness, money and hard medical decisions.
  • Prayers for others cover a friend caring for a spouse, a family sharing the care, and nurses, aides and care-home staff; two more cover a move to a care home and the time after a death.
  • Two family prayers from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer are quoted, “For Guidance” and a prayer at night to God “the strength of those who labour.”
  • Scripture’s caregivers include Ruth with Naomi, the disciple who took Jesus’ mother “unto his own home,” and the Good Samaritan; Jethro warned Moses, “thou art not able to perform it thyself alone” (Exodus 18:18).
  • St. Camillus de Lellis, a nurse who founded an order to care for the sick, was named co-patron of nurses by Pope Pius XI in 1930.
  • In the US, the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) connects families with local services; 988 and Samaritans (116 123) answer anyone in crisis.

For anyone caring for a sick or aging parent, a spouse or a child, this prayer fits the start of a day: “Lord, you know how much [name] needs from me, and how little I have left. Give me strength for today and patience for the hard moments. Let [name] feel your care through mine. Amen.” If you are close to breaking, say so to someone. In the US, the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116, call or text) connects older adults and…

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