7 Powerful Prayers for Women With CancerSample

You’re Not Alone in This

The doctor sighed heavily. The tumor they’d found was either cancer or lymphoma, yet I hardly flinched at the news.

“Oh, is there a third option?” I asked calmly.

Maybe it was denial. Maybe it was the anesthesia drugs still coursing through my veins, fogging my brain. Or perhaps the Lord’s peace descended just when I needed it. Regardless, I didn’t break down. Not then.

Your tears may have flowed immediately, the what-ifs of your midnight worry sessions suddenly morphing into reality. Or maybe you slowly folded into yourself like a deflating bouncy castle. Perhaps you gasped, your hand racing to stifle the eruption of a primeval wail, before gathering yourself to pepper your doctor with a million questions. Or maybe your diagnosis was so unexpected you simply sat, dazed and stunned in shocked silence.

However you reacted—and please know there’s no right or wrong way—you’re here because you have cancer, and for that I’m so sorry. It stinks. It just does.

More than anything, I want you to know you’re not alone. No matter what cancer chucks your way, I want to journey through this with you, my hand on your shoulder, as we allow God to be our daily companion through these Scriptures, prayers, and words of encouragement.

I know the fear, worry, overwhelm, confusion, and yes, even anger, are very real, so I’ve been praying for you as I write. Your cancer’s probably overshadowing everything right now, but I want you to know something: You’ve got this. How am I so sure? Because I know God’s got you.

Though it might seem obvious, I want to make sure you hear this: God is good, and he likes you, and he’s 100 percent for you, 100 percent of the time. When cancer rips our world apart, it’s easy to think he’s mad or punishing us, but that simply isn’t true. If we fully understood the enormity of his love, it would blow our minds. So remember, you are loved—passionately and unconditionally.

Second, God hasn’t left you. He isn’t off helping someone more “deserving,” like the missionary couple you support in Thailand, or Janice at church who leads Bible studies and didn’t sleep around in college. Regardless of whether you can see him, feel him, or hear him, God is with you and isn’t going anywhere. Saint Augustine’s testimony is true for you too: “God is nearer to me than I am to myself.”

If cancer taught me anything, it’s that life doesn’t have to be pain-free to be full. I pray that you discover that too.

Lord, this wasn’t meant to be my story. Cancer’s highjacked my life, leaving me feeling so alone, afraid, overwhelmed, and even angry, and that’s before we start on how I feel physically. Help me know in my in most being that you are my strength and you’re not going anywhere. Be my comfort when I need it, my hope when my future looks bleak, and my joy even in the darkest moments. For you are nice and you like me!

He Is with You

Unfortunately, fear isn’t something we can simply decide to ignore or shed absentmindedly like a sweater on a warm summer’s day. It follows us around unbidden.

On the verge of finally entering the Promised Land, the Israelites were paralyzed by the size of the enemies they faced. God told them to be strong and courageous, and he says the same to you as you face cancer. You too can be strong and courageous. You too can rise above fear and terror. Why? Because just as God was with the Israelites, he is with you, and he will never leave.

Lord God, I’m scared. Really scared. I can’t shake the fear overwhelming me, confronting me at every appointment, scan, treatment, and conversation. It keeps me awake and overtakes me. Lord, thank you for being with me. Thank you for never leaving me, ever. Because of your presence, I don’t need to be afraid. Today, Lord, whatever cancer enemy I face, remind me of your continued presence. Give me your courage and strength to face it head-on, with you.