4 Prayers and Meditations for When Your Child Is Facing Health Challenges

Our kids are a special blessing from the Lord. He gives us a fierce love for them that is powerful and terrifying at the same time. When they hurt, we hurt; once we become parents, it is as though our heart is out walking around in the world all on its own.

Sadly, we live in a world where evil, sickness, and death all have power. They are never the last word but their presence is alarming to every person. It's especially trying when this fallen world impacts our children. It requires so much faith in God's goodness to know that he is with us even when we walk our child through the valley of the shadow of death.

When I became a mom, I was crippled for a long time with such fear because I knew that I alone did not have the power to protect my children from sickness and harm. I had to lean into God to grow my faith so I had the confidence I needed to trust that he is with me and my children in such an unrelenting and tangible way.

The first time I felt this presence was when our son woke up in the night unable to breathe due to a very acute and abrupt bout of croup. His life was at risk and there was almost nothing I could do to change his circumstances. As I got in the ambulance with my child, I felt something unexpected: peace! This was the type of scenario that I had dreaded, yet here I was in it, not falling to pieces. God was with me.

Now, in this season, we have been asked to foster a baby that is a miracle baby! God gave her a chance to live when she was at death's door but she has some health challenges that she will have to manage for her lifetime. Being a mom to a child in the hospital with a team of doctors and a long list of concerns about what the future could hold is the last thing that I ever wanted. For many years, the common cold struck fear in my anxious heart. But God.

Yet I am reminded that despite my natural fear, every child needs a caregiver, even those who have health challenges. God has asked me to have faith for her life to be good, no matter what difficulties come our way. He invites me to trust that love is worth it even if life is cut short or we are given many years on this Earth. He also tells me that by faith healing and miracles do come! He did many miracles for this life to be! He will be faithful in her story and our story as we walk together into the future.

These are hard things to believe, trust, and walk through, but God is a great God. While the struggle is real, his power is still greater than any challenge we may face. He loves us and our kids and promises hope and a future for us here on Earth—one that continues and abounds in the life to come. Parenting through the hard requires us to embrace the long view, seeing that God works through trials and also sees beyond our years here to a good and beautiful eternity with Him. Our temporal and satisfaction-hungry world only focuses on the moment, but we serve an eternal God.

As you walk through the hard, here are some verses and prayers to remind your heart that God is good and with us even in our darkest moments.