Silas
Beloved of All
Your love for your cat comes through in every line you wrote, and the weight of this sorrow is clear. To watch a beloved companion who was once so affectionate now pull away because even purring brings coughing, to see her stare and want to cuddle but be unable to, is a deep and real grief. God sees that grief and He sees how faithfully you are trying to care for her.
Scripture tells us the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and to those with a contrite spirit. As you pour out your heart to Him with your tears, your pain, your worry and your prayers, He is close. You do not have to find perfect words. Like the friends of Job who came to comfort him, when they saw how great his suffering was they wept and sat with him in silence for a long time because they did not know what to say. Sometimes grief is so large that words fail, and simply being present before the Lord with an honest heart is itself a prayer He hears.
In seasons like this our minds often torment us by replaying the past, thinking if only I had done this or why did I not do that, as if we could have changed what is happening. And when grief is heavy we may say things out of our pain that are not fully accurate about God or about the situation. Job did this in his suffering. The Bible records what he said in his anguish, but what he said in that anguish was not always true according to Scripture itself. God understands the difference between a settled belief and the cry of a hurting heart, and He is gracious toward you as you cry out to Him.
Pain and sorrow and grief are hard, and we would never choose them, yet God can use even these hard tools to shape us and to form His character in us, to carve more of the image of Christ in our lives. We rarely understand what He is doing while we are in the middle of the dilemma, and we bring much of our grief to Him in not knowing. There will be a day when we see more fully the whole work He has been doing, and what now brings misery will be seen in the light of His mercy and purpose, and there will be rejoicing even over the path that led through sorrow.
I join you in prayer for your precious cat and for you.
Father in Jesus name I bring this beloved cat before You and I bring her owner who loves her so deeply. You know every detail of her body, the tumor, the masses and lesions in her lungs, the troubled breathing and coughing, the loss of appetite and thirst, the difficulty with bowel movements. You are the Creator and You are able to heal where no treatment can. I ask that You would have mercy and bring comfort to her body, ease any pain or distress, help her to breathe more easily, to eat and drink again, and to have normal bodily functions according to Your will. Restore to her, if it pleases You, the ability to purr and to receive affection without coughing and suffering.
Give wisdom and steadiness to the hands that must give her so much care. Guide every pill given, every use of the inhaler, every fluid treatment, so that it can be done gently and without fear or harm. Grant wisdom for every decision that must be made, and peace in knowing You are leading.
And Father, when her time comes, I ask for Your tender mercy. You know her fear of travel and of the clinic, and the desire to not let her last moments be filled with terror and confusion. Please provide a peaceful way and, if it is needed, provide someone who can come to the home to help with compassion. Above all, let Your will be done and let both this cat and the one who loves her feel Your presence and Your care. Comfort this grieving heart, remind her that You hear every desperate cry, and hold her close in Your love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scripture tells us the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and to those with a contrite spirit. As you pour out your heart to Him with your tears, your pain, your worry and your prayers, He is close. You do not have to find perfect words. Like the friends of Job who came to comfort him, when they saw how great his suffering was they wept and sat with him in silence for a long time because they did not know what to say. Sometimes grief is so large that words fail, and simply being present before the Lord with an honest heart is itself a prayer He hears.
In seasons like this our minds often torment us by replaying the past, thinking if only I had done this or why did I not do that, as if we could have changed what is happening. And when grief is heavy we may say things out of our pain that are not fully accurate about God or about the situation. Job did this in his suffering. The Bible records what he said in his anguish, but what he said in that anguish was not always true according to Scripture itself. God understands the difference between a settled belief and the cry of a hurting heart, and He is gracious toward you as you cry out to Him.
Pain and sorrow and grief are hard, and we would never choose them, yet God can use even these hard tools to shape us and to form His character in us, to carve more of the image of Christ in our lives. We rarely understand what He is doing while we are in the middle of the dilemma, and we bring much of our grief to Him in not knowing. There will be a day when we see more fully the whole work He has been doing, and what now brings misery will be seen in the light of His mercy and purpose, and there will be rejoicing even over the path that led through sorrow.
I join you in prayer for your precious cat and for you.
Father in Jesus name I bring this beloved cat before You and I bring her owner who loves her so deeply. You know every detail of her body, the tumor, the masses and lesions in her lungs, the troubled breathing and coughing, the loss of appetite and thirst, the difficulty with bowel movements. You are the Creator and You are able to heal where no treatment can. I ask that You would have mercy and bring comfort to her body, ease any pain or distress, help her to breathe more easily, to eat and drink again, and to have normal bodily functions according to Your will. Restore to her, if it pleases You, the ability to purr and to receive affection without coughing and suffering.
Give wisdom and steadiness to the hands that must give her so much care. Guide every pill given, every use of the inhaler, every fluid treatment, so that it can be done gently and without fear or harm. Grant wisdom for every decision that must be made, and peace in knowing You are leading.
And Father, when her time comes, I ask for Your tender mercy. You know her fear of travel and of the clinic, and the desire to not let her last moments be filled with terror and confusion. Please provide a peaceful way and, if it is needed, provide someone who can come to the home to help with compassion. Above all, let Your will be done and let both this cat and the one who loves her feel Your presence and Your care. Comfort this grieving heart, remind her that You hear every desperate cry, and hold her close in Your love through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
