A Nurse’s Prayer of Lament
God, our hearts ache. And that’s on the good days. Then, there are those days when all we feel is anger. Anger covering the grief, frustration, and helplessness buried deep inside of us. Emotions that we cannot always name. Worst of all are the days when we cannot feel at all. A protective mechanism gone awry as it shuts off any emotion for us – both the positive and the negative emotions that are a part of our lives.
God, we need you. Hear our cries. Capture and remember our tears. Those we vocalize out loud and the silent screams we keep inside. Bind our hearts as they break again and again.
Heal us, God. We find ourselves a divided people – a divided profession. The system is broken…so very broken. We need strength. We need wisdom. We need compassion – compassion for ourselves, compassion for those we work with, and compassion for those we provide care for.
And yet…through all the uncertainty and questions surrounding us, we acknowledge you as being the only thing that is certain in our lives. You do not change. You remain steadfast. You are our rock - our refuge.
You are present with us. You hear us. You know and understand the pain we feel. You see what we cannot see. You are our comforter.
Be with us during these days of transition. Help us to surrender all that we are to you. Help us to trust even when we can’t see the path ahead and the questions we have seem to far outnumber any answers. Keep us, God, rooted deeply in your love so that we may be salt and light to others. Remind us of the call you have placed on each of our lives.
We ask all this in your name. Amen.
Christy Secor RN, DNP, CDWF, NCF Professional Ministries Director
You can download the October Prayer Calendar here.
October Prayer Calendar
- October 1 – The Journal of Christian Nursing editors are in the process of changing the focus and function of the journal’s Editorial Board. We ask God to bring to our awareness those who have a wide range of backgrounds, knowledge bases, and roles to join this advisory group.
- October 2 – Praise God that he does extraordinary things though ordinary people.
- October 3 – We praise God for the connections being made and the encouragement our Sunday evening prayer times are providing nurses across the country. Pray this time will continue to draw nurses in and that the scripture and prayer will provide additional “spiritual nutrition” for us in our week ahead.
- October 4 – Intercede for nurses, educators, and students caught in the disruption and challenges related to COVID. Pray for wisdom, patience, protection, and much grace as they try to serve Jesus in difficult situations.
- October 5 – Ask God to continue to guide NCF and his work with students and nurses. Pray that NCF staff and volunteer leaders would hear from Jesus in our quiet times with him and receive his blessings and divine instructions for the work.
- October 6 – We thank God for the addition of a new staff member to JCN’s team. Pray for her learning curve in these initial weeks and months.
- October 7 – Pray for campuses that have shown an interest in starting an NCF chapter and to remove any barriers. Pray also for nursing students to be encouraged to participate as these groups launch. We pray Isaiah 54:2 for them to “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
- October 8 – Pray for insight and learnings for Christy Secor, NCF’s Professional Ministries Director, as she participates in the Saline World Conference taking place virtually October 8 – 10. Pray that God would use the Saline process to support students, faculty, and nurses in being salt and light to those in our care.
- October 9 – We remember faith community nurses around the country as they continue to serve their communities in the midst of a very difficult situation. May God give them wisdom and insight and support for the weeks and months ahead.
- October 10 – Please be praying for our next Journal Club webinar that is scheduled for November 4th. We will be discussing the article Recognizing the Trauma of Adverse Childhood Experiences. Pray for God to use this discussion in significant ways.
- October 11 – Praise God for the queries NCF receives from nursing students and nurses to start Bible studies and NCF groups. Ask God to lead in establishing new pockets of ministry on campuses and in communities.
- October 12 – We ask God to provide refreshment, encouragement, and times of spirit-led writing for Skip McDonald, who serves NCF in the southeast, as she continues with her sabbatical.
- October 13 – We lift up Jen Wojtysiak, NCF’s Student Ministries Director, as she continues to seek God’s leading and direction for NCF during her sabbatical.
- October 14 – Ask God to raise up needed resources to support NCF staff who are new and for longer term staff members who have budget shortfalls.
- October 15 – God has generously answered the JCN team’s prayers for additional peer reviewers. Thank him for the new nurses who have qualifications in a diversity of areas.
- October 16 – Pray for a safe delivery for Jessica Harper, NCF’s Marketing and Communications Manager, as she and her husband welcome their third child in November.
- October 17 – Pray for NCF staff to have robust times of sabbath rest to be rejuvenated and inspired for the calling to serve God.
- October 18 – Pray that the Student Ministry National Online Monthly Gathering which is scheduled for tomorrow, October 19th, will reach nursing students who do not have NCF on their campus. We ask for this to be a meaningful time for them to grow in their faith. Pray also for students who hear about this event to be bold in inviting others to join.
- October 19 – We ask God to guard the technology and to draw nurses across the country to participate in the Twin Cities NCF webinar, “Who Is Going to Care for Me? Addressing the Challenges We Face in Our Profession Today.” Pray for God to use this webinar to lay a strong foundation for the ways in which we as nurses can provide spiritual care to one another.
- October 20 – We remember our faculty who continue to face unique challenges with clinicals and teaching nursing students in face-to-face/virtual environments. We ask God to give them strength, wisdom, encouragement, and discernment in the work they do.
- October 21 – Health for All Nations will be launching a course, Christian Global Health in Perspective, at the Global Missions Health Conference, in Louisville, Kentucky in November. This has been an international global collaborative effort to provide the church and healthcare providers with a course in healthcare missions. Please pray this course provides Christians with a better understanding of the place of health and healthcare in missions.
- October 22 – Ask God to order the steps of each NCF staff member, showing us what he wants us to do each day. Pray that we can accomplish all he has planned and complete the myriad of tasks we need to do according to his plan.
- October 23 – Pray for nurses who are struggling with increased patient loads, burnout, anxiety, depression, witnessing the repeated loss of life of their patients, growing polarities in the workplace, and a lack of compassion in the care they are providing. May they know they are not alone, and that God is present with them in each of the challenges they face.
- October 24 – Pray for Katharine Provost, NCF’s Campus Staff Student Minister, to continue to grow in all she has been called to in NCF. We are grateful to have Katharine as an amazing part of NCF’s team and for the way our team works so well together to surround and encourage each other with God’s love.
- October 25 – Pray for wisdom in the planning of our December Tabletop Discussion which will be held December 13th as we discuss “The Spiritual Discipline of Lament – Drawing Closer to God Through the Difficulties We Face.” Pray the discussion would deepen our understanding and application of lamenting within our daily lives.
- October 26 – We thank God for our nurse group leaders and their commitment to support nurses emotionally and spiritually. Pray for each nurse as we meet this evening for our monthly NCF nurse group leader’s meeting to share, study God’s Word, and pray together.
- October 28 – Pray for all the details and moving parts of journal editing and production to come together for the Journal of Christian Nursing.
- October 29 – We are grateful for the leadership and insight of Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner, NCF’s Director and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Christian Nursing. Pray for Kathy to have a strong vision for NCF’s future and for strength, flexibility, and creativity as there are often many plates to keep spinning within the ministry.
- October 30 – Pray that NCF student groups can grow in evangelism and learn to share their story of how a relationship with God has changed them. Pray also for courage in being able to invite others and to share when the Holy Spirit leads them. We ask for God to equip these groups to be a light on campuses pointing many to understanding and receiving salvation.
- October 31 – Thank God for making himself known to us and in nursing, allowing each of us to have a personal, vibrant relationship with him through his son Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
