A Doctor's Prayer

My Father,

I bow my head to You in worship, Most Amazing God, who has created all things for Your glory! Your awesome power and wisdom have been so clearly demonstrated to me right from the day I first observed those intricate anatomical details and myriads of physiological proceses in the human body. Who but You could have created such countless wondrous biochemical pathways within my body? All the systems in my body working in perfect harmony, independent yet dependent on each other! The tireless heart, the awesome liver, the busy lungs, the amazing brain! No human wisdom has ever been able to find where life resides in the body, and where does it come from! No wonder I was created in Your own image!! Oh, such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain! (Ps. 139:6)

All good things in life, including all wisdom and knowledge come from You. I am so honoured and humbled to be one of the privileged few who are called “doctors”. The knowledge I have gained from studying medicine, the experience I have gained in practice, the skills my hands have developed are all Your gifts, and I will ever be grateful to You, My Father! You are the Great Healer, and You have healed the world through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Never let me forget that You are the One who heals, not me! I am just a humble instrument in Your hand. I may do the cutting and suturing, but remind me that You make the cells grow, the blood flow and the tissues heal! I may administer drugs, but You are the unseen Hand that works inside the body to restore health. If I put myself on a pedestal for saving somebody’s life, humble me with the realization that without You I cannot prolong human life even for a mere second! If I become careless and insensitive to the sufferings of others, remind me that someday I too could be lying on that hospital bed!

Let me never forget that I am Your representative to my patients. Remind me always that my words are as important as my medicines, and that a single word of my mouth could either heal or kill! Teach me that a smile, a kind word, a comforting hand are sometimes all that the patient needs. Help me accept that I do not know everything, and be humble enough to admit when I am wrong.

Never let me lose the vision and the passion I had when I was a student, the vision to be completely in Your will and the passion to serve You my whole life! Let the fire of my zeal for You burn on and burn even brighter when the night comes!

Let me never sell my integrity for money, nor my purity for worldly pleasures! Let me not covet what my colleagues have, but teach me to be content with what You have given me. Teach me how to be rich without possesing, and how to enjoy things by letting them go.

Finally Lord, remind me that I am mortal and have an ‘expiry date’ stamped on me the day I was created. Help me live a simple life, enjoying simple things and never taking things for granted but be thankful for every simple thing. Thank You for the love of family and friends. Let me never forget who I am and who You are! Just as I am an imperfect being, teach me to accept others’ imperfections. Let me never lose the sense of humour, and the ability to laugh at myself! Let me never lose the sense of awe and wonder at Your creation. When I grow old and my eye sights dim, open my inner eyes to see Your beauty that I haven’t seen before. As I have stood many a time by the bedside of a dying man, stand by me O Great Physician, when my eyes close in dead, and hold my hand till the last beat of my heart. Then I shall meet You in the morning on the other side of the curtain!

Amen.