Prayer Through a Long Illness

Lord, I am weary of being a patient. Of appointments and results, of measuring my life in waiting rooms, of answering 'how are you?' when I do not know anymore. You know this body better than its doctors do: every cell, every fear it carries, every night it lies awake rehearsing bad news. I do not need to explain myself to You, and that itself is a relief. I ask for healing, plainly and without embarrassment. I believe You can. But while I wait on that, I ask for other things too: doctors with wisdom and kindness, treatments that work, sleep that restores, and people who love me without making me manage their fear. Protect me from despair on the worst days and from false certainty on the best ones. Let me live today, the only day I actually have, as fully as this body allows. Whether healing comes soon, late, or in ways I cannot yet imagine, do not let me walk this road alone. Amen.