English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Continue reading with a subscription
Get unlimited access to all our premium content and exclusive features.
Enjoy unlimited access, cancel anytime.
Summary
- Short prayers cover fever, a long night, the hospital, a premature baby in intensive care, tests and operations, feeding, the doctors and nurses, the parents, brothers and sisters, a long-term illness and recovery.
- The NHS says to call 999 if a baby struggles to breathe, has blue, grey or blotchy skin, cannot be woken, has a fit or a rash that does not fade when pressed, or is under three months with a temperature of 38°C or higher.
- The 1928 Book of Common Prayer has a prayer “For a Sick Child” (p. 45) and a thanksgiving “For a Child’s Recovery from Sickness” (p. 53).
- Jairus (Mark 5) and a royal official at Capernaum (John 4) asked Jesus to heal a dying child; David prayed and fasted for his infant son, who died (2 Samuel 12).
- Catholic canon law says an infant in danger of death “is to be baptized without delay,” and any person may baptize in necessity; the 1928 Prayer Book allows any baptized person to do so when no minister can come.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (2 Samuel 12:16, 22–23; 1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:35; Psalm 30:5; 139:13; Isaiah 40:11; Mark 5:23, 41–42; 10:14, 16; John 4:49–53). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. Prayers and Thanksgivings, “For a Sick Child,” p. 45, and “For a Child’s Recovery from Sickness,” p. 53; Holy Baptism, “Private Baptism,” p. 281. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
- Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. Prayers for a Woman on the Fortieth Day after Childbirth, p. 270. https://www.ponomar.net/data/hapgood.pdf
- Code of Canon Law, canons 861 and 867. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann834-878_en.html
- NHS. “When to get urgent medical help for babies and children under 5.” Last reviewed 6 August 2026. https://www.nhs.uk/baby/health/is-your-baby-or-toddler-seriously-ill/
Leave a Reply