Praying With your Doctor

Asking your doctor for prayer.

Do you want your doctor to pray with you?

How would your doctor feel about that?

I prayed regularly with my patients and have seen God come through wonderfully, as I’ve written about in God in the ICU and Prayer, Medicine and Miracles. I very rarely had a patient who was not pleased to have me pray with them when I offered to do so.

But what about you as a patient? How do you feel about asking your doctor to pray with you?

Well, you might be surprised to learn that 77% out of 428 physicians who were polled by Becker’s Healthcare said they would be comfortable to pray with a patient if he/she requested it.

Yet very few patients ask for prayer. Only 12% of physicians said patients frequently ask for prayer. I suppose those are the doctors who have a reputation as believers. They confirmed that it was mostly Christians who requested prayer.

Then I thought about how I would feel about asking my doctor to pray with me. I think I’d like to have some clue about his/her spiritual commitment. I wouldn’t like someone suddenly calling on a god other than the God of the Bible as they prayed.

But if I knew they were Christian — even without knowing the depth of their commitment — I think I would ask them. Apart from anything else, if they were not used to praying with their patients it would give them the experience, and they might discover what a joy it is and how it can affect an outcome.

What do you think? How would you feel? Have you ever had your doctor pray with you?

I’d love to hear from you