By Hal Pickus · · 5 min read
A prayer before surgery — for the one going in, and the one waiting
There's a particular kind of helplessness that comes the night before a surgery. Maybe it's yours, and you can't sleep. Maybe it's your mom's, your husband's, your child's, and you're the one who'll be sitting in a waiting room tomorrow watching a screen that doesn't update fast enough. You can't pick up a scalpel. You can't speed up the clock. But you can pray — and that's not the small thing it feels like. It's handing the person you love to the only One who can actually be in that operating room.
The night before
If the surgery is tomorrow and your stomach is in knots, start here. This verse has steadied frightened people for three thousand years:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
"A very present help in trouble." Not a far-off help. Present — in the prep room, in the waiting room, in the dark hours tonight.
A prayer
Father, tomorrow feels bigger than I can carry. I'm asking you to be with ______ through this surgery — in the room I can't enter, with the people I'll never meet. Steady my heart tonight so I can rest. You are a very present help, so be present with us. Amen.
A prayer for the person going in
If you're the one having the surgery, God isn't waiting on you to be brave. He's offering you his courage. Hold onto this:
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Isaiah 41:10
A prayer
Lord, I'm scared, and I'm tired of pretending I'm not. You said not to fear because you're with me — so be with me. Steady my hands and my heart. Give the surgeons skill and clear minds. And whatever happens, hold me with that right hand you promised. I'm trusting you. Amen.
For the people doing the surgery
Don't forget to pray for the team. Their training is God's gift, and their steady hands tomorrow are part of his answer to your prayer:
A prayer
God, bless the surgeons, the nurses, the anesthesiologist — everyone in that room. Give them steady hands, sharp focus, and wisdom for anything unexpected. Work through their skill, and let your healing finish what they begin. Amen.
While you wait
The waiting room is its own kind of hard. Time crawls. Your mind goes to dark places. When it does, this is the verse to pray back to God — he is the healer behind every healing:
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Jeremiah 17:14
And when the worry spins up again — and it will — Paul gives you something to do with it besides spiral:
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6–7
A prayer
Father, the waiting is so hard. I keep imagining the worst. I'm bringing it to you instead — every fear, every what-if. Guard my heart and my mind in this room. Bring the news we're hoping for, and carry us if it isn't. Either way, you're here. Amen.
One more thing: you don't have to sit in that waiting room praying alone. Write the name and the surgery down and let other people pray right alongside you — there's real strength in knowing others are carrying it with you while you wait.