Last Updated on October 19, 2023 by Emma
My great-grandma was in a nursing home for 9 years before she passed away. I don’t remember much about it, but I know it was an extremely challenging experience for my family. Since then, it’s been ingrained in my family to pray for those in nursing homes.
My grandma has dementia and is now in an assisted living facility which is one step shy of a nursing home. She can still dress and bathe herself so she is able to be in assisted living until that changes. However, since she has dementia, she doesn’t know that my dad, who visits her multiple times a week, is her son anymore.
My dad lives the painful experience of caring for an elderly loved one who lives in a residential care facility. Watching my dad take care of his mom and work with the staff at the assisted living center over the last three years has been an eye-opening experience.
He has such patience and love for his mom who doesn’t even know his name. He walks with her or watches tv with her. He simply gives her the gift of presence. It’s a selfless gift because he often returns home from these visits frustrated and emotionally drained.
It’s unbelievably challenging to care for a loved one in a nursing home/assisted living facility. The family members of the residents need just as much prayer as the residents themselves. If you currently have a family member in a nursing home here are a few things to seek during your prayer time:
- Wisdom: “For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Ask the Lord for His wisdom” (Proverbs 2:6, NIV). Ask for wisdom to know what to say to your loved one, how to spend your time together, and how to proceed with care when they decline even more.
- Patience: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12, NIV). It can be difficult to communicate with elderly people, especially those with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Before and during your visits be sure to ask for patience during those frustrating moments.
- Peace: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV). It’s not usually the most enjoyable experience to visit a nursing home. In your moments of discomfort ask the Lord for His peace. Seek His peace as you make decisions to adjust your loved one’s care plan. It can be difficult to know what to do, but ultimately, His will is our peace.
I’ve given you 4 prayers for nursing homes, but feel free to customize them to your specific situation. Please leave any prayer requests in the comments so we can pray with you! Please pray for my grandma and my dad who is taking care of her as well!
Short Prayer For Nursing Homes
Lord, I lift up everyone who lives in a nursing home. They must be at a difficult point in their lives if they have ended up in a nursing home. Bless the hands and hearts of the staff who work to make the residents’ lives as comfortable as possible in their last days. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer For Nursing Home Staff
Heavenly Father, working in a nursing home cannot be easy. Nurses are constantly cleaning up messes of bodily fluids which I imagine gets old very quickly. Some facilities underpay their staff and don’t have the proper supplies for them to give the residents the quality of care they deserve.
Lord, we need these health care workers so please show them how grateful this world is for all they do. When they grow weary of their duties remind them that they are the face, hands, and feet of Jesus. Remind each staff member that Jesus is in each patient. Help them to know that when they are caring for the nursing home residents they are caring for Jesus.
People in nursing homes don’t often get visitors. They are a cast out and downtrodden population. However, Jesus didn’t shy away from the outcasts. When the nursing home staff is struggling, remind them of the lepers from Scripture:
“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy” (Matthew 8: 2-3, NIV).
May all nursing home staff be as generous with their time, patience, and love as Jesus was with the leper. Please provide opportunities for the staff to talk with residents about Jesus and how He has worked in their lives. Nursing homes can be a dark place, but only You, Lord, are the true light in the darkness.
Please bring more people who are dedicated to you and the elderly population to work in these nursing homes. Their words could change someone’s heart near their time of death. It could change many people’s paths in eternity. This is a difficult job, but I know you will raise up the right people to bring more people into Your Heavenly Kingdom. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer For Families With Loved Ones In Nursing Homes
Lord, having a loved one in a nursing home is a challenging cross to carry. It can be an emotionally draining experience and also a relief knowing your loved one is in good care. When the emotional weight of caring for a loved one in a nursing home, help them to look to Jesus’ words in Scripture for comfort, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV).
Help these family members to be what the nursing home residents need during this time. Help them to be supportive and have the right words to say to show love and encouragement. May they all strive to love like You, sacrificially.
Give all the family members taking care of loved ones the strength to endure this difficult cross. Help them to look to Your Son as an example of bearing suffering. In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus asked, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39, NIV). Help them to be comforted by these words, to know that even Jesus did things He didn’t want to do.
Ultimately, I pray caring for a loved one in a nursing home is an opportunity to glorify you and witness the faith of others. There are many people in the facility who don’t know Your love so I pray that each family member will have opportunities to talk about You, their hope in You, and Your will through all of this. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer For Those Dying In Nursing Homes
Lord, nursing homes are filled with people who are in their final months/years. Please comfort them as they prepare to enter your kingdom. Many of these people might not have had visitors for years. They probably feel alone and forgotten. Help them to know they are never alone or forgotten by You.
Help all those who are sick and dying to have a peaceful death. May they suffer as little as possible and be comforted knowing that they will meet You soon. When I think of those who will soon pass away in nursing homes I think of Jesus and the two criminals on Calvary.
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” “But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.
But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23: 39-43, NIV).
Some of the people in the nursing home are like the first criminal. They don’t believe in You or doubt Your power. Please place someone or something in their lives to soften their hearts become help them become believers. May all the residents have the same yearning for the kingdom of heaven as the “other criminal.” May they live each day striving to be with Jesus in paradise. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Concluding Thoughts
The Scriptures say, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25: 40, NIV). People in nursing homes are an overlooked population. They are “the least of these.”
Whether you have a loved one in a nursing home, you work at a nursing home, or you are just someone who cares for the elderly population, make sure that every word and action is intentional and loving. It can be extremely challenging, but remember that you are caring for Jesus when you are caring for those in a nursing home.