Silas
Beloved of All
Your heartfelt love for this precious cat comes through so clearly in every word you wrote, and the heaviness you are carrying is completely understandable. To watch the most affectionate companion you have ever known want to cuddle and then pull away coughing, to see her lie alone and stare, to feel helpless while she struggles to eat and drink and breathe, is a deep and real grief. It is not small because she is a cat. The bond you have is real, and the sorrow you feel is real, and God sees it with compassion.
There is consolation in Christ and comfort in His love, and fellowship in His Spirit, with compassion and mercy that meets us especially in times of loss and helplessness. He is described as the God of all comfort, the One who stands by us in the darkest hours, in difficult situations and long nights, to strengthen and encourage us. When friends saw Job in his suffering, they first simply sat with him in silence because they saw his grief was so great. Your grief is great as well, and you do not need to walk through it alone. The Lord is near to comfort you as you love and care for her through this.
You have asked so faithfully for complete healing, and it is right to bring that request to the Lord. We see in the ministry of Jesus how often He healed those who were sick, and how the early church brought the sick for prayer, and many miracles were wrought as people prayed. The prophet Isaiah wrote that He bore our griefs and carried our sicknesses, which Matthew connects to the physical healings Jesus did, and when we remember the bread broken for us we remember that His suffering touches both our spiritual and physical need. At the same time Scripture also shows us that healing is a sovereign work of God in His hands. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for his own affliction to be removed and the Lord did not remove it, and his dear companion Epaphroditus was sick near to death and God had mercy on him. Not everyone is healed, and we do not always know why. Please do not let anyone put guilt on you or suggest that if you only had more faith she would be healed. That is not scriptural and it only heaps pain on a hurting heart. God's ways are beyond our finding out, and His love for you is not measured by the outcome you see.
So we will pray with you, asking for mercy and leaving the answer in His wise and loving hands. We ask that the Lord would ease any pain or discomfort she feels, that He would help her breathing to be easier and her body to be more at peace. We ask that He would help her to want food and water again and to be able to eat and drink without distress, and that her bowel movements would become regular. We ask that He would touch whatever is causing the coughing when she purrs, so that she might again receive and give affection without suffering for it, because we know how heartbreaking it is to see her sadness over that loss. We ask that He would guide your hands as you give her the four pills twice a day, the inhaler three times a day, and the fluids under the skin each week, that you would be able to do what is needed without hurting her or causing her great fear, and that she would be calm in your care.
We also pray for wisdom for every decision before you. You love her so much that you cannot bear the thought of her last moments being terrified in a car and in a strange place, shaking and crying and not understanding. We ask that God in His mercy would grant her a peaceful passing, and if the time comes when you must make that difficult choice, that He would provide a gentle and compassionate person who can come to your home so she can be in the place she knows and loves, surrounded by your presence. Above all we ask that God would show her mercy when her time comes, whether by taking her quietly in her sleep or by giving you clear guidance and peace about what is most kind.
God hears the desperate cries of His children when they pray in Jesus name. You are not bothering Him with these prayers. Bring them to Him again and again, honestly and humbly, and trust His compassion to do what is right. If there are elders you trust, invite them to pray for you and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord as James instructs, for the prayer of faith is precious to God.
May the Lord comfort your heart even now, give you strength for each day of care, and let you feel His nearness as you love her so tenderly. We are joining you in prayer for her and for you, asking for His mercy, His peace, and His will to be done.
There is consolation in Christ and comfort in His love, and fellowship in His Spirit, with compassion and mercy that meets us especially in times of loss and helplessness. He is described as the God of all comfort, the One who stands by us in the darkest hours, in difficult situations and long nights, to strengthen and encourage us. When friends saw Job in his suffering, they first simply sat with him in silence because they saw his grief was so great. Your grief is great as well, and you do not need to walk through it alone. The Lord is near to comfort you as you love and care for her through this.
You have asked so faithfully for complete healing, and it is right to bring that request to the Lord. We see in the ministry of Jesus how often He healed those who were sick, and how the early church brought the sick for prayer, and many miracles were wrought as people prayed. The prophet Isaiah wrote that He bore our griefs and carried our sicknesses, which Matthew connects to the physical healings Jesus did, and when we remember the bread broken for us we remember that His suffering touches both our spiritual and physical need. At the same time Scripture also shows us that healing is a sovereign work of God in His hands. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for his own affliction to be removed and the Lord did not remove it, and his dear companion Epaphroditus was sick near to death and God had mercy on him. Not everyone is healed, and we do not always know why. Please do not let anyone put guilt on you or suggest that if you only had more faith she would be healed. That is not scriptural and it only heaps pain on a hurting heart. God's ways are beyond our finding out, and His love for you is not measured by the outcome you see.
So we will pray with you, asking for mercy and leaving the answer in His wise and loving hands. We ask that the Lord would ease any pain or discomfort she feels, that He would help her breathing to be easier and her body to be more at peace. We ask that He would help her to want food and water again and to be able to eat and drink without distress, and that her bowel movements would become regular. We ask that He would touch whatever is causing the coughing when she purrs, so that she might again receive and give affection without suffering for it, because we know how heartbreaking it is to see her sadness over that loss. We ask that He would guide your hands as you give her the four pills twice a day, the inhaler three times a day, and the fluids under the skin each week, that you would be able to do what is needed without hurting her or causing her great fear, and that she would be calm in your care.
We also pray for wisdom for every decision before you. You love her so much that you cannot bear the thought of her last moments being terrified in a car and in a strange place, shaking and crying and not understanding. We ask that God in His mercy would grant her a peaceful passing, and if the time comes when you must make that difficult choice, that He would provide a gentle and compassionate person who can come to your home so she can be in the place she knows and loves, surrounded by your presence. Above all we ask that God would show her mercy when her time comes, whether by taking her quietly in her sleep or by giving you clear guidance and peace about what is most kind.
God hears the desperate cries of His children when they pray in Jesus name. You are not bothering Him with these prayers. Bring them to Him again and again, honestly and humbly, and trust His compassion to do what is right. If there are elders you trust, invite them to pray for you and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord as James instructs, for the prayer of faith is precious to God.
May the Lord comfort your heart even now, give you strength for each day of care, and let you feel His nearness as you love her so tenderly. We are joining you in prayer for her and for you, asking for His mercy, His peace, and His will to be done.
