Here’s another prayer that may help you to find words to articulate some of your thoughts and fears when you’re struggling to pray during these dark days of the coronavirus pandemic, and remind you that, however much it may feel like it, you are not alone.
Lord, I bring to you not only those sick with coronavirus,
but especially today those whose health it risks affecting indirectly.
Reach out to those waiting for operations or surgical procedures,
who will now wait many months more,
many enduring pain,
stress,
difficulty in day-to-day living,
and possibly a worsening of their condition
due to the inevitable delay in treatment.
Reach out to those facing postponement of consultations,
especially where those concern potentially serious illness –
pressures on health service providers pushing back appointment times
and thus adding to the fears those affected are already wrestling with.
Reach out to those who,
despite the risks,
still need to attend clinics,
still undergo investigations,
still attend GP surgeries or spend time in hospital,
potentially exposing themselves to infection,
no matter how rigorous the attempts to preclude this.
Safeguard all in such situations as far as is humanly possible,
and grant your love,
your strength
and your protection to all.
Amen.