Praying for Your Spouse after They Have Been Diagnosed with an Illness - Crosswalk Couples Devotional - July 26
Praying for Your Spouse after They Have Been Diagnosed with an Illness
By Vivian Bricker
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11).
After our spouse has been diagnosed with an illness, it can be very stressful and heartbreaking. Whether our spouse has been diagnosed with a physical illness or a mental illness, it can bring fear and worry into our hearts. None of us wants to see our spouse struggling with their health. It can make us feel helpless to see their health decline, as well as it forces us to think about what life will look like if they pass away.
My dad had to face my mom’s heart disease diagnosis about two years before she passed. Due to the fear in his heart of my mom’s impending diagnosis, he chose not to talk about it. Talking about it only made the fear more real. My mom had a hard time coping with her diagnosis, too, and wanted to believe the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease was not true. Instead of seeing professional doctors, she opted for a holistic route.
Due to my mom and dad ignoring the problem, my mom never got better. She passed away two years after her original diagnosis. I often wonder if my mom and dad chose not to ignore the problem, that maybe she would still be here. My mom was scared and chose to ignore the problem, and my dad followed suit. This is not the approach to take when our spouse has been diagnosed with an illness.
Rather than ignoring the problem, we need to comfort, support, and help our spouse. We don’t need to go along with whatever they say, as my dad did with my mom. Instead of going along with what they say, we need to help them know the truth. Their diagnosis is real and valid. Yes, it is scary, but we are not helpless. By following the instructions from the doctors or the therapists, our spouse can get better.
Spouses need to work through the fear together and trust God. Don’t ignore the problem and don’t shrug it off as though it is nothing. If our spouse has been diagnosed with an illness, we have to be there for them. This means going to doctor or therapist appointments with them, assisting in medicine management, and being a support system for them.
We don’t need to see them as an inconvenience or a bother. This is not right and not biblical. When we married our spouse, we made the vow that we would love them “in sickness and in health.” If we are going to take our vows seriously, then we are going to have to live in accordance with them. Vows are binding, and we need to be faithful to the covenant that we made before God.
This means that we truly help our spouse and are supportive of them. We don’t need to leave or ignore their problems. Instead, we need to turn to God and the Bible. Through turning to God and the words of the Bible, we can be provided with the comfort we need, and we can also comfort our spouse.
Psalm 91:11 gives us comfort for the protection and healing of our spouse. From this passage, we are told that God will command His angels concerning us and will guard us in all our ways. This passage also applies to your spouse. God will command His angels to protect your spouse. While God doesn’t promise to divinely heal our spouse, we can still pray for healing.
God can do amazing things, and we never need to doubt Him. It might not be within God’s will to heal our spouse completely, but it could be that He will help with the symptoms of their illness. Don’t overlook prayer and never feel as though it doesn’t do anything. Prayer is powerful because we are talking with God directly. Pray big prayers and don’t doubt God, as He can do all things (Matthew 19:26).
Truly being there for your spouse after they have been diagnosed with an illness will be challenging some days, but we can always find strength in the Lord. We can also turn to Him in prayer and ask the Lord to help our spouse. Jesus hears all of our prayers, and not one goes unnoticed by Him. Choose to be intentional in prayer and pray for your spouse each day.
Let’s pray together now,
Dear Jesus, my spouse has just been diagnosed with an illness. It is making me very fearful and scared. I don’t want anything to happen to my spouse, and I don’t want to see their health decline. Please provide healing, comfort, and peace to my spouse. I also ask that You provide me with strength to do the right thing rather than to ignore the problem out of fear. I trust You, Lord, with all things. Thank you, Amen.
Photo Credit: GettyImages/Monkey Business Images
Related Resource: The Truth Every Overwhelmed Christian Mom Needs to Hear
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If you've ever ended the day feeling guilty because you didn't have time to read your Bible, pray, or spend quiet time with God, you're not alone.
In this episode of I Wish You Could Hear This, Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn sit down with author, speaker, and Equipping Godly Women founder Brittany Ann to talk honestly about the challenges young Christian moms face. Together, they explore how to grow closer to God without adding more pressure to an already full life.
Brittany shares her own journey of balancing marriage, motherhood, ministry, and faith, along with practical encouragement for finding God's peace—even in the middle of exhaustion and chaos.
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