Systemic Scleroderma and other unknown autoimmune

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer for your little sister has been heard and we join you in lifting her up before the Lord with love and compassion. To watch one so dear face systemic scleroderma, to see her hands hardening and the disease moving more quickly than expected, and to hear that her doctors feel they can do no more where she is, is a heavy burden. It is right to bring this sorrow to God, who sees her body and knows her fear of the unknown.

We pray for her now. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, have mercy on this young woman. You formed her body and you know every part of it. We ask for your healing hand upon her. Soften what has become hard, protect her organs from harm, and slow and stay the progress of this disease. Give wisdom and knowledge to the doctors to whom she is being sent, and guide their eyes and hands to care for her well. Grant her peace in place of anxiety, and let her know that you are near to her in this uncertainty. Comfort her family also, and especially her sibling who loves her and has asked for prayer, and give them strength to trust you day by day.

Scripture reminds us not to be anxious but to bring everything to God in prayer, and that his peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ. The Lord is not distant from our fear. He asks us what we seek so that we may draw near to him with boldness and find that he is ready to listen. He is the true physician, and even when earthly physicians reach their limits, his mercy does not reach a limit. He can restore and renew when we think there is no way forward.

We will continue to pray for her protection, for relief and softening, for skilled and compassionate care, and for calm in the face of what is unknown. We also remember before God all others who suffer with this same illness and with other autoimmune diseases, that they too would know his comfort and care.

May the Lord keep your sister in his hands, give her rest from fear, and show you both his faithful love as you wait on him.

 

[Silas]

Your request for your little sister has been heard and we are joining you in prayer for her. To watch the disease progress quickly in her hands and to be told that the doctors where she is cannot do more and must send her elsewhere brings a deep sense of helplessness and anxiety about what is unknown. The Lord sees her affliction and He hears when His people cry to Him. He has not despised nor turned away from the afflicted, but hears them when they call.

We are praying for healing and for the protection of her organs, and for a softening of her body. We are asking the Lord in His tender compassion to touch her. The gospels show us again and again the compassion of Jesus as He healed the sick who were brought to Him. We do not always understand His ways in healing. Sometimes healing comes instantly, sometimes it comes gradually through the healing processes that God Himself has built into our bodies. Any true healing is from Him, whether it comes in a moment or step by step through the skill He gives to physicians. What we do know is that He loves her and His care for her is personal and present, and we can trust her fully into His hands even while we ask Him earnestly to restore her.

We are also praying for the doctors who will care for her, that God would give them true knowledge and wisdom. Scripture teaches that the beginning and the sum of all real knowledge is reverence for the Lord, not a frightened phobia but a holy awe at who God is, His greatness and power, that leads us to want what He wants and to love what He loves. We are asking that God would grant that kind of wisdom to those treating her, that they would have clarity, understanding and skill beyond their own training to help her.

For the anxieties you mentioned, about the unknown ahead for her and for you as her family, we are praying that the Lord would quiet fear with faith. Fear often comes when we forget the Lord and fix our eyes on the problem itself, and it can drive us to wrong thoughts and reactions. Faith and fear cannot rule the heart at the same time. When faith is present, fear must leave, and when fear takes over, faith is pushed aside. The cure for fear is remembering the Lord and His presence. He says, do not fear for I am with you. David said, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me. That promise is for your sister and for you. He is with her in the hospital room, in the waiting, in the unknown future. As you keep your eyes on Him and remember His nearness, His faithfulness and His promises, He will be your confidence and keep you from being overcome.

May the Lord give your sister peace that passes understanding, guard her heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and grant her rest from anxious thoughts. May He strengthen you as you love and support her, and may He draw you both closer to wisdom as to a dear sister and to understanding as close kin, keeping your hearts in His ways.

We continue to pray for your sister by name before the Father, for her hands, for her organs, for softening and strength, for wise and compassionate doctors, and for peace over every fear of the unknown. We also lift up everyone else who is walking through this same disease and other autoimmune battles, that they too would know the Lord's presence, His comfort and His healing mercy according to His perfect will.

 

[hostadmin]

We thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf and we are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer for your little sister.

We have continued to lift her up before the Lord, asking for His healing touch upon her body as she battles systemic scleroderma and other autoimmune disease. We have prayed specifically for the progression in her hands to be slowed and reversed, for softening of her skin and tissues, and for protection over her organs that this disease would not advance further within her. We have also prayed for the doctors at the specialized center she is being sent to, that God would give them great wisdom and knowledge beyond what has been available to her locally, and that they would have clear discernment in her care. We remember too your request for her anxieties about the unknown, and we have asked the Lord to replace her fear with His perfect peace and to comfort you and your family as you walk beside her. We also join you in praying for anyone else going through the same suffering, that they would feel seen and supported. We claim His promise that He will restore health and heal wounds, Jer 30:17, and that He has not given us a spirit of fear, 2 Tim 1:7.

If your request was answered, please post a praise report and let us all know so we can rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. We are honored to continue to stand with you and your little sister before the throne of grace.

May God bless you as you continue to seek him through his son, Jesus Christ. We pray in Jesus Name.