Last Updated on November 30, 2023 by Emma
Do you know someone with dementia and want to pray for them?
The 12 caring prayers about Alzheimer’s and dementia found below are written to help you pray about these devastating memory diseases. You can modify any of the prayers to suit your prayer needs more specifically.
Table of Contents
Although they both involve memory, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are not the same condition. Dementia involves damage to nerve cells and their connections in the brain. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease and includes memory loss and increasing confusion, disorientation, and suspicion.
As I watched my father-in-law digress into the black hole of memory loss that is Alzheimer’s, I was struck by how it steals the person away right before your eyes and leaves only the shell of the person.
Toward the end, he didn’t know anyone. He didn’t recognize his wife or children, which was heartbreaking for them. Before he got Alzheimer’s, Harry, the real Harry, had a gregarious personality and wonderful stories.
By the time he died, the real Harry had long since gone. The man before us all wasn’t the man we knew as Harry. We all sought comfort in remembering him before the disease, as well as placing our trust in God, who gives us strength.
“Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me” (Isaiah 46.9, NIV).
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Brief Prayer About Dementia
Dear God, my friend just told me that her mother has dementia. I pray for her and her mother and her whole family as they absorb this hard news. I pray that you will fill their minds with all of the good memories of their loved ones now so they can hold on to those memories.
I ask that you help them accept this and the long road ahead of them. In the name of Jesus, I lift this prayer to you, Amen.
Short Prayer About Alzheimer’s Disease
Dear God in Heaven, more than a few people I know are dealing with loved ones who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. I pray for them and for the care their loved ones will need. I pray you to protect my friends from bitterness as they watch their mother or father deteriorate in front of them.
Please surround them with your love and mercy. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.
This is my own prayer for my mother. I invite you into this prayer of vulnerability, as you pray for your own mother (or father) if they have dementia.
Prayer For My Mother With Dementia
Father God, I pray for my mom. She has had dementia for over four years now and I can see her slowly drifting away from the mom I once knew.
Shortly after she was diagnosed, I told my mother goodbye after a visit, as I departed to head back across the country to where I live. I knew then that it was likely the last time I would see her and interact with her as the mother who raised me. After this, she would be but a shadow of herself.
I hate this disease, Lord. I hate that it has sucked the life out of my dad as he cares for her. Even though she still knows who I am, as her youngest son, I hate that soon she won’t understand who I am. Please help me to get over that anger and focus on loving her as she is, and as she will be in the future.
I enjoyed talking with my mom, discussing topics, and debating things back and forth. Now that’s not possible because she can’t hold her attention on a conversation for more than a few minutes–she just checks out for moments at a time. “Too much-talking tires me out,” she says, as she takes another nap.
I am heartbroken that I am losing my mom over time, instead of just having her die in an accident or something. I would be heartbroken either way, but with dementia, it’s a long, drawn-out grief, because the essence of who she is dies a little bit at a time.
Please help me deal with this progressive grief, Lord. Help me to accept the reality of this situation. I pray for your comfort and your peace, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer For Alzheimer’s Caretakers
Lord, I give you thanks for the caretakers and health professionals who have helped care for my dear friend. They each must have a special calling in their lives to serve in this specific field because my friend can be quite antagonistic on his worst days with this disease.
They handled him with care and respect, gently redirecting him or distracting him so they could do what needed to be done. I never have seen them treat him with anything less than great love and dignity.
I pray for their own emotional, physical, and mental health because dealing with memory-loss patients cannot be easy, day after day. I pray you to give them a respite from negativity and provide special blessings in their lives to keep their spirits up. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For Relative With Alzheimer’s Disease
Dear Lord God, I just found out my grandmother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. There’s no way my grandad can care for her so he, and her children, are going to have to make some difficult decisions about her care.
I hate this for them, but it is what it is and they need to face it head-on. I pray that you give them guidance and direction as they research memory-care facilities in the area. Help them accept the reality of this woman who knows who they are one day not knowing them. I pray you surround them with your comfort and peace.
I pray for myself too, Lord. I’ve always enjoyed the time I spend with my grandmother and it is distressing to me to know that she has this disease. I pray for her, as she absorbs the hard truth of this and what it will mean for her. I lift this prayer to you in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For A Husband Caring For His Wife With Alzheimer’s
Dear Lord, I need what I don’t have today. I’m so tired I don’t even know what to ask for, besides rest for my body and strength for my muscles. I have been caring for my dear wife for two years now since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
I knew I was in for a hard journey but I don’t think I fully understood what would happen. She now yells at me for no reason because she thinks I’m trying to poison her food. Whenever I get back from the store she asks about my “mistress,” because she thinks I’m having an affair.
Lord, I grasp the memory loss part of this insidious disease, but this paranoia phase is most distressing. I try to remain calm and let her rant until she moves on to something else. But to watch this woman, whom I love with everything I am, accuse me of such wild things is so hurtful, even though I know it’s not really her saying it–it’s the disease.
Help me remember my wife before this disease. Help me to see her as the kindhearted woman she was prior to Alzheimer’s. Help me to love her and care for her despite the disease. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.
Prayer For A Wife Caring For Her Husband With Dementia
O God my Savior, I come to you in prayer for my husband, and for myself. My husband has had dementia for a couple of years now and until recently it was only seen with his memory fading about certain things.
But lately, he is growing even more confused about daily activities and seems to just blank out on me while we talk. I’m trying to adapt to this as best I can, but there are no easy, “Oh we’re in this stage of dementia” kind of markers. Digression just seems to happen and show up, whenever.
I am glad I have the time and we have the money set aside so I can care for my husband at home. I have developed a routine for our day that seems to work okay for him, and me. Sometimes, though, I feel like my own life is draining away as there isn’t much variety in my life.
Please help me to stay healthy and vibrant, even as I care for my husband. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer About A Dementia Diagnosis
Dear Lord Jesus, I pray for the doctors who are trying to diagnose my dad with dementia. They have given him a number of tests and health screenings to try and narrow down things.
I didn’t know there were different types of dementia, like Lewy body, vascular and frontotemporal. I just thought it was just memory loss. Help me to research and understand what is really happening with my father.
I pray for the diagnosis to be accurate and to come sooner rather than later, so we can try and plan for what we need to do to care for my dad. I pray for him so that he can understand what is happening to his brain now. I know there will be a time when he won’t, so I pray he will accept the reality of this dementia, as hard as it will be for him.
I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer For The Treatment Of Dementia
Dear God, I think I have early dementia and have just finished a lengthy exam with my doctor to help narrow down things. He said there are AChE inhibitors I can take that might slow it down a bit.
I’d like to have as much time as I can to get things in my life in order while I can still process information clearly and rationally. I pray for my children as I will have to share this information with them, once it is official. I know they are going to freak out to some degree. No one wants to hear what I’m going to have to tell them.
I give you thanks that I am in a good financial spot and otherwise in good physical health. I don’t like this at all, as I was really looking forward to a long rich life, with full mental capacity. Now that has changed. Help me to adapt accordingly, with your grace. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Prayer For Accepting Stages Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Dear God, one of my dear relatives has been officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and I’m trying to learn as much as I can about it. I guess I should be glad that there’s a real diagnosis so we all know what we’re dealing with and can prepare for what we are going to face in the coming months and years.
It’s a progressive disease that only gets worse and worse. The doctors told us to be prepared for my uncle to get disoriented and wander off because he couldn’t remember where he was or where he was going. At some point, we might have to deal with him being suspicious of us because he won’t recognize us and be afraid of us.
I don’t know how I am going to handle all of this but I turn to you to help me. I love my uncle and I hate that his wife and children are going to have to suffer through this. Help me to understand and be of help to them as we all go through the stages of this disease together.
Give us strength and patience we don’t have on our own, Lord. I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus, our Strength, Amen.
As I watched my wife help her mother care for Harry, I saw my wife slowly lose and let go of her dad in an agonizing dance of holding on to hope while embracing the reality of being recognized only as a stranger in her daddy’s eyes. The following prayer might be one you can use to pray if you are in a similar situation.
Prayer For Adult Children Whose Parent Has Alzheimer’s
Dear God, I pray for my wife and her sister and her brother. Their father has Alzheimer’s and they are all struggling with how to best care for him. Their mother is determined to care for him at home as long as possible because it is an environment that is familiar to him.
This has been a blow to them all. It’s likely my wife will be the main helper to her mother since my wife is not currently working outside the home and has more time availability. Give her emotional and physical strength to deal with the logistics of care and the whole spectrum of emotions that will rise up.
I thank you that my in-laws are in good financial shape and can access the care they need now, and the higher level of care they will need in the future. That is your provision and I give you praises for that.
Help prepare them for the time when their father won’t recognize who they are. That will be a tough time but I know you can guide them through with your mercy. I pray this prayer on their behalf, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I talk with my dad on a regular basis, as he is the primary caregiver for my mom, who has dementia. In just about every conversation, he reminds me that the road for someone with dementia is a long one. “It’s a marathon of caring and loving, not a short-term deal,” he told me once. The following prayer is written to be an encouragement as you handle a loved one with dementia.
Prayer For Long-Term Outlook About Dementia
Dear Lord, I am having a hard time accepting how long I am going to have to live with the reality that my mother has dementia. The doctors have told us that it just progresses as it progresses. She is not going to get better, only worse, slowly, over time.
We’re all going to have to know that this is her condition now and the mom, wife, aunt, and grandmother we once knew and had as a presence in our life is not going to be there anymore. Her physical presence will be, and some semblance of recognition, but the real person she is will fade away.
I pray that you help me, and all of us who love her, to love her as she is now, and as she will be in the near future. Enable our love to be strong, even when there comes a time when she won’t know who we are. Help us to comfort each other along the way and give each other the necessary grace and space to deal with this as we do.
I make this prayer on behalf of all of us, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Consider This
As I have shared part of my own journey in this article (italicized sections), I hope you have felt like you were not alone. As you deal with the reality of Alzheimer’s and dementia in your own life and family situation, I hope that what has been shared here, including the prayers, is helpful to you.
I encourage you to turn your heart toward God, who, really, is the only One who can get you through this situation you now face.
“I can do all this through (Christ) who gives me strength” (Philippians 4.13, NIV).
Let the Spirit of God surround you and fill you with strength that is not your own. May you remember that God is with you every day, in every way.