A web search on “prayer for diabetes” will quickly send you on a wild goose chase. I would rate it zero stars. Have you ever searched for that term? I did while preparing this post for you and, I must say, it wasn’t pretty.
This world (and its search engines) will lead you in all sorts of different directions on prayers for diabetes, mostly focused on healing and a cure, of course. But is that what is best for us? Is that all we can pray about when we pray for diabetes? I believe no. A resounding no. God has far more in store for us!
My Prayers for Diabetes
I talk in a couple different devotions in my book about prayers related to diabetes. I share my prayers around my fear of my daughter being diagnosed in Day 25. And I also talk about praying for a family that just experienced a diagnosis in Day 13.
In Day 23, I write about what I call “A New Prayer” for diabetes. Because of a perspective shift I experienced before writing my Devotions on Diabetes book, I have started to realize this isn’t just about curing diabetes anymore.
I have decided I can’t only pray for something in the future. I need to also be praying about the here and now. Of course, I can certainly say prayers for a cure for diabetes. There’s nothing wrong with that. But what about today? And what about tomorrow, all the other tomorrows, until it is the will of God that there is a cure?
My prayer now is that God would use me in a way that will bring good from this diagnosis and my days living with a chronic illness. He is the master of bringing good from hardship, and I pray that will be my story as I live day to day with diabetes.
do you EVER say A Prayer for Diabetes?
What about you — do you ever pray about diabetes? Do you pray for a cure? Maybe you pray against high blood sugar, or for stable blood sugar levels. Perhaps you say prayers against long term diabetes complications or protection from developing any additional medical conditions. Do you pray about medical treatment options? Have you prayed that other family members don’t develop the symptoms of diabetes? What else do you pray?
Let’s go further. What do you base your prayers on? It’s easy to look to the resources we have available to us today. As I mentioned above, you can find any type of prayer for diabetes you are looking for online. Unfortunately, many of them have no scriptural basis, yet they contain claims of physical healing. You can find information about a so-called “spirit of diabetes.” You’ll also find claims of miraculous healing, evil power, and the demon of diabetes. Some websites will tell you you will be healed if you pray sitting in a certain position. Friend, please know there is no magic healing touch in your posture itself. Nothing is healed without God’s intervention.
So instead of looking to the world for answers on how to pray for diabetes, let’s look to scripture.
An Example of Prayer in Scripture
Let’s turn to God’s Word today to get what we need here. I absolutely love reading King David’s Psalms. He found himself in some tough spots from time to time, and we can learn so much from his prayers. Take Psalm 13, for example.
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.But I trust in your unfailing love;
Psalm 13
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
David wrote several Psalms like this one, in which he is emotionally raw with the Lord. He is honest with Him about his feelings, his questions, and his struggles. Yet, he ends with joy and trust in the Lord. David knew that, regardless of the situation we find ourselves in here on this earth, God is still in control and He is still good.
Just a few chapters later, David says, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing” (Psalm 16:2). And then David declares, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).
David saw the good in God even through his hard situations. He knew that when you can’t see the good in your circumstance, there is still good in God.
Prayers for a Different Kind of Healing
As I mentioned above, there’s nothing wrong with praying for healing and a cure. Of course — who would want to continue suffering with a chronic illness? And who’s to say God won’t heal? He has the healing power to do anything. But if we only pray for a cure and healing in the future, we are missing an amazing opportunity God has given us in the here and now. What if we prayed for spiritual healing in this life on earth before our physical healing in heaven?
A dear friend and fellow chronic illness warrior guest posted on my blog previously. I love what she shared last time in her post called “5 Lessons Learned from a Journey with Chronic Illness.” Point #2 specifically relates to what we’re talking about right here: While God does not always change our circumstances, He often uses our circumstances to change us.
The Good in our Hardships
God uses our struggles and hardships to help us grow in our faith and trust in Him. He gives us opportunities to reach other people and encourage them through it, too. For example, He is now using my 30+ years with diabetes as a way to point people to Him through this blog. What can He do through you?
Friend, we can live each day for God, allowing Him to work through us (even in the difficult times!), right here and now. And, although I have said prayers for a cure, the here and now is what I choose to pray about most often. This is how you and I are able to do God’s work as we abide in Him and He equips us to carry out His will.
Yes, God is the Great Physician, and He will heal my physical body one glorious day. But nowhere in scripture does He promise us all healing on this side of heaven. Then how do we pray about diabetes?
How to Pray
If we aren’t praying only for a cure and our need of healing, then how should we pray? Christ Jesus was a faithful prayer warrior, and prayer was something specific He taught His disciples. It’s also something we can learn from today. Here’s what He said, as documented in the book of Matthew:
“This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
Matthew 6:9-13
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.'”
This prayer wasn’t necessarily something specific He was asking them to repeat verbatim, word for word, each day. But it was a prescription, if you will, for how to pray. The word of the Lord here is a powerful example. Let’s take a deeper look at His prayer to learn more.
Jesus started this prayer with adoration of the Father in saying, “Hallowed be your name.” He modeled forgiveness by saying, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” He asked for what He needed as a prayer request with His daily bread and protection from evil. There is so much wisdom to gain from this example. And we can follow His example when we pray.
There’s a method of prayer that I have practiced for a while now called the ACTS prayer method. It’s widely known in Christian circles, and it follows this example of Jesus’ prayer listed above. ACTS is an acrostic that stands for:
A – adoration (showing praise to the Father)
C – confession (confessing, repenting)
T – thanksgiving (giving thanks, showing gratitude)
S – supplication (sharing your prayer requests)
A Morning and Evening Prayer for Diabetes
Here are a couple diabetes prayer examples within this ACTS prayer model to get you started thinking. Come to Him each morning, every evening, and throughout the day as the dearly loved child of God you are. He is waiting to hear from you.
A Morning Prayer FOR DIABETES
Good morning, Father God. You are so gracious to give me this new day. I look forward to what You have in store for me. God, I can’t manage diabetes on my own. I can’t control it myself. Thank You for your constant presence as I manage the best I can. I pray today You would help me to sense the power of Your Holy Spirit. Please give me wisdom in the choices I will make to manage this broken body. Guide me to do the best I can with Your help today. O Lord, give me an unwavering faith, and remind me that You are so good and You are in control of it all. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
AN Evening Prayer FOR DIABETES
God, thank You for the day You gave me. You are such a loving Heavenly Father to give me life and sustain it. There were times today when I struggled. And You know I was frustrated at this chronic illness and how it seems never ending. But You were there. You upheld me in the moments I wanted to throw in the towel. You kept me going. Thank You, God, for Your strength when mine runs out. Help me to find rest in Your everlasting love and perfect peace tonight, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.
FREE Prayer Download
Because I love to encourage people in their prayer life, and I really love prayer journaling, I have a fun new prayer download to share with you below. This is a free instant download of a PDF file you can save and print as needed. It contains 10 different designs of prayer pages that go right along with our ACTS prayer model.
You will see at the top of each page there is a place for gratitude and praise to start your prayer time. I always like to recount the goodness of the day as I start to pray — it just sets my heart right and tunes me into the power of the Holy Spirit. And then there are spaces for each of the ACTS sections of your prayer for the day.
A GUIDE TO PRAYER FOR DIABETES
And if you’d rather just journal your prayers, you can do that too! I most often use a journal like this one. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. God just wants to hear from our hearts.
Looking for More?
If you use these downloads, would you please leave a comment? I would love to hear from you!
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