International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every year on 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. Here we bring you a complilation of multifaith prayers for nurses (and healthworkers) from the World’s Religions, along with the Nightingale Prayer, the flame of Florence Nightingale’s legacy.
A PRAYER for NURSES to PRAY
O loving God of compassion and healing, Let us pray for myself and my nursing colleagues, By the power of Your love and care, always give us hope and courage, Destroy this virus and all viruses, and the virus of fear and despair. With the psalmist, we cry: ‘Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil for You are at my side’. May I deeply touch a life every nursing day and night, through the power of touch, through the ever kind word and smile, through the listening and caring ear. May the light of Easter, the triumph of life, Shine upon our nursing team and the whole health care world, O God of many names, May we find rest and fulfilment in caring for others, May we find peace and calmness in the chaos of the moment in the knowledge of our work, in the value of our service, in the skill of our service. O God, in Your sacred call to nurses to care, Be close to us, and guide us So that we can hear the divine whisper in our hearts, And be the healing hands of Your care, And the caring wisdom of Your love, This we ask in Your eternal name, AMEN.
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Christian Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven,
The world is struggling through troubled times and we thank Thee for Thy care and love shown throughout.
Most especially this day, we thank Thee for the care of the many nurses and other medical staff serving the sick and the scared.
Please protect these caregivers.
Inspire and guide them in the work they do.
Strengthen them for the work that still lies ahead.
Comfort them in the face of the pain and sadness they witness.
May they know that the lives they touch number far more than just their patients.
Finally, please bless the patients that come in their care, that they will be comforted, strengthened and healed, according to Thy will.
In the loving name of Thy Son and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Islamic Prayer for Nurses and Health Workers
One of the first Nurses in history was a woman called Rufaida Al-Aslamia in the 7th century. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) commended her work in a Hadith saying ‘who ever assists a mankind in need, Allah will assist him.”
Du’aa (Prayer)
And He will soothe the bosoms of those who believe
And when I fall ill, He (Allah) is the one who cures me
Remove the harm O Lord of mankind and heal this ailment,
You are the one who heals and there is no healing expect Yours,
With a healing which does not leave any disease behind
Here issues from within these (bees), a fluid of many hues, wherein there is health for man
And a cure for all (the ill) that may be in men’s hearts
Source: (Surah At-Taubah, verse 14) (Surah Ash-shu`ara,verse 80) (Surah An-Nahl, verse 69) (Surah yunus,verse 57)
Sikh Prayer referencing God as the one who nurses All.
Salutations to God, Who is respected by all.
Salutations to God, Who is the treasure of everything.
Salutations to God, Who is above all gods.
God has no dress and is mysterious.
Salutations to God, Who can destroy death.
Salutations to God, Who nurses all.
Salutations to God, Who can reach all places.
Salutations to God; Who is present in all places.
God, Who is the Master of all, has no body.
No one is equal to God.
Salutations to God, Who is the Sun of suns.
Salutations to God, Who is respected by all.
Salutations to God, Who gives light to the moon.
Salutations to God, Who gives light to the sun.
Salutations to God, Who is the creator of songs.
Salutations to God, Who is the creator of different tunes
Salutations to God, Who makes others dance.
Salutations to God, Who is the creator of sounds.
Salutations to God, Who beats the drum;
Then world drama is played.
Salutations to God, Who has got no body or name.
Salutations to God, Whose beauty is present in all.
God can cause the end of creation.
God is the bestower of spiritual and miraculous powers.
God is free from all blots and is pure.
Salutations to God, Who is the King of kings and the highest of all
Salutations to God, Who is the biggest Yogi and Sidh.
Source: Jap Sahib: Bhujang Prayat Chhand
A Jewish Prayer for International Nurses Day 2020
Heavenly Father,
We gratefully acknowledge the work of our nurses as they care for the needs of their patients, in particular at this time with the world in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic. These nurses put their own lives at risk whilst looking after others. They are the front-line warriors in the fight to save lives. We are grateful for their work, their selflessness, their courage.
Please look after these amazing people, protect them and their families and bring them all safely through this pandemic.
May the words of King David support and comfort our nurses and all of us in this time of uncertainty:
Tehillim / Psalm 23
1. A psalm by David. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing.
2. He lays me down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.
3. He revives my soul; He directs me in paths of righteousness for the sake of His Name.
4. Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they will comfort me.
5. You will prepare a table for me before my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup is full.
6. Only goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for many long years.
Tehillim / Psalm 23 in Hebrew
1. מִזְמור לְדָוִד ה׳ רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר
2. בִּנְאוֹת דֶשֶׁא יֵרְבִּיצֵנִי, עַל-מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי
3. נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב, יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְלֵי-צֶדֶק לְמֵעֵן שְׁמו
4. גַם כִּי-אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת לֹא-אִירָא רָע כִּי-אַתָּה עִמָדִי, שִׁבְטְךָ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ הֵמָה יְנַחֲמֻנִי
5. תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי, דִשַנְתָּ בַשֶמֶן רֹאשִי כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה
6. אַךְ, טוֹב וָחֶסֶד יִרְדְפוּנִי כָּל-יְמֵי חַיָי, וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-ה׳ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים
Amen
Hindu Prayer
Lord Dhanvantari is the God of Healing in Hinduism. He emerged during the churning of the Ocean – as the doctor (Vaidya) of the gods with Amrita – the nectar of immortality (a healing essence).
Namani Dhanvantari Aadi Devam,
Surasura Vanditham Pada Padmam
Loke jara rugbhay mrityu nashakam
Datharam eesham vividhaushadinam
O Lord Dhanvantari
I bow down in front of you
You are worshipped by Gods and Demons
Your divine powers bless the people of this world
and bring them out of sufferings, diseases, ailments,
old age and fear of death. O Lord, give your nurses
and healthworkers your blessings in abundance to
remedy the sickness confronting the humanity.
Buddhist Prayer
(This prayer invokes the protection of the triple gem,
the protection of the Buddha, the Teachings, and the Community. )
Bhindanto marasenam mama/tava sirasi thito
Bodhi maruyha sattha.
Moggallano’si vame vasati bhujathate
dakkhine Sariputto.
Dhammo majjhe urasmim viharati bhavato
mokkhato morayonim.
Sampatto bodhisatto carana yugagato
bhanu lokekanatho.
Sabbava mangala mupaddava dunni-mittam
Sabbiti roga gahadosa masesa ninda
Sabbantaraya bhaya dussupinam akantam
Buddhanu bhava pavarena payatu nasam.
Sabbava mangala mupaddava dunni-mittam
Sabbiti roga gahadosa masesa ninda
Sabbantaraya bhaya dussupinam akantam
Dhammanu bhava pavarena payatu nasam.
Sabbava mangala mupaddava dunni-mittam
Sabbiti roga gahadosa masesa ninda
Sabbantaraya bhaya dussupinam akantam
Sanghanu bhava pavarena payatu nasam.
The Buddha who defeated the army of the Evil One
at the foot of the Bodhi Tree stands on my/your head.
The Venerable Moggallana is on my/your left shoulder
and the Venerable Sariputta is on my/your right shoulder.
The Dhamma dwells in my/your heart’s core.
The Bodhisatta, who was born a peacock
and who shines as the sole Benefactor
of the world, shields my/your feet.
All ill-luck, misfortunes, ill-omens,
diseases, evil planetary influences, blame, dangers,
fears, undesirable dreams –
May they all come to naught by the power of the noble Buddha.
All ill-luck, misfortunes, ill-omens,
diseases, evil planetary influences, blame, dangers,
fears, undesirable dreams –
May they all come to naught by the power of the noble Dhamma.
All ill-luck, misfortunes, ill-omens,
diseases, evil planetary influences, blame, dangers,
fears, undesirable dreams –
May they all come to naught by the power of the noble Sangha
from: Atthavisati Paritta (Protective Chant Of Twenty-Eight Buddhas)
Prayer of the Servant Nurse and Carer
The Servant Nurse and Carer, in whatever form,
is the one – of many – who carries us back to
the light. The transformers of the world,
working with millions of people to heal and
restore their life energies, need mighty power
to align with them in order to bring forth the
enlightened society.
Nurses, Carers, Health workers, ambulance workers,
therapists, cleaners, healers – there is an
emerging servant consciousness in the world today,
as each and every healthworker strives to bring
forth the inner light for healing the suffering.
O Source, from the Realms of Cause,
I surrender this work to You.
I ask that my service with this person be
used for Your purposes.
I surrender all worldly thought I would bring
from my past and ask, in this moment, to be
filled with Your Love, your kindness,
your gentleness.
May I be used as a channel for Your healing
light, for by myself I can heal no one.
Rather I remember that Your light within me
does the work.
Show me how to love this Person and listen to
her/him and counsel them as You would have me
do.
May I remind her/him of their own magnificence that
through this memory they might awaken to
truth.
May I serve truly through Your words
and Your thoughts and Your love.
Amen.
Nightingale Prayer
The Flame of Florence Nightingale’s Legacy
Florence Nightingale was a Unitarian and this contemporary prayer, written by a nurse, is sufficiently universalist in its ethos to be embraced by many faith traditions. Crafted in 1996 for the United Nations Habitat II Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, where Nightingale’s famous work began, this Prayer remains keenly relevant to our time and for our challenges.
Today, our world needs healing and to be rekindled with Love.
Once, Florence Nightingale lit her beacon of lamplight to comfort the wounded.
Her light has blazed a path of service across a Century to us–
through her example and through the countless nurses and healers
who have followed in her footsteps.
“Today, we celebrate the flame of Florence Nightingale’s legacy.
Let that same light be rekindled to burn brightly in our hearts.
Let us take up our own ‘lanterns of caring,’ each in our own ways–
to more brightly walk our own paths of service to the world–
to more clearly share our own ‘noble purpose’ with each other.
“May human caring become the lantern for the 21st century.
May we better learn to care for ourselves, for each other and for all Creation.
“Through our caring, may we be the keepers of that flame.
That our spirits may burn brightly to kindle the hearts
of our children and great-grandchildren-
as they, too, follow in these footsteps.”
(Reproduced with permission per Deva-Marie Beck, PhD, RN © 1996 )
