Before surgery

Please pray for me: I have surgery coming

If you have surgery coming and you are afraid, you can ask the family at The Living Bread to pray for you, free and with no account. Write the day and what you fear, and believers who agreed to pray for strangers can take your chair. We will ask how you are on day 3 and day 7. Prayer stands beside your medical team, never in place of it.

What the Bible says to someone who is afraid

Fear before an operation is not a lack of faith. The people of the Bible were afraid, said so, and were told they were not alone. These words are quoted from the King James Version as they are stored, not from memory.

A short prayer you may use tonight

These words are ours, not Scripture. Use them, change them, or say nothing at all and let the quiet be your prayer.

What to write when you ask

• The day and, if you like, the hour, so the believers who pray know when to remember you.
• What you are afraid of: the anaesthetic, the result, the recovery, leaving your children, the cost, being alone in the room.
• What you hope for, even if it is only that the night passes.
• Whether you would like prayer for the surgeon and the team. Many people do, and it is a good request.

What the Open Chair will and will not do

It will put your request in front of believers who chose to pray, tell you honestly whether any has, and let you read a short line from each if they leave one. On day 3 it will ask how you are, which for many people is the day after the operation, and on day 7 it will ask again.

It will not promise a good outcome. We cannot, and a page that did would be lying to you at the worst moment to be lied to. It will not give medical advice, and it is not a substitute for your surgeon, your anaesthetist or the nurse who answers your call button.

Other people to tell

• Your hospital chaplain. Many hospitals have one on call whatever your faith or none, and a nurse can ask for them for you.
• A friend or a family member who can be near the phone on the day. Ask them to do one thing, not everything.
• Your own pastor or priest, if you have one. Some will visit before a procedure or pray with you at the door.

After the surgery

If something good happens, you may tell the family on your private page. A steward reads it before anyone else does, and if you say it should be without your name, it will be. The believers who prayed for you are told that what they prayed for has happened. If it did not go the way you hoped, you may say that too, or nothing at all. The question on day 3 is not a test.

Questions people ask

Can I ask for prayer the night before?

Yes, at any hour. The request is offered to believers straight away, and your page says whether anyone has taken it. If nobody has in 20 minutes, a person who looks after the Open Chair is told.

Can I ask on behalf of someone else who is having surgery?

Yes, if you are 18 or older. Use their first name only and write what you are asking in your own words. It is kind to ask them first when you can.

Is it safe to put medical details in?

Write what you are comfortable with. A first name and the kind of operation is enough. Do not include your full name, date of birth, insurance, a hospital number or any link; believers do not need them and the form refuses links and long numbers.

Will someone pray during the operation?

We cannot promise the hour. Believers read your date and many will remember it, but we will not claim that anyone is praying at a moment unless your page shows that someone took your chair.

Do I need an account to ask?

No. You can ask with no account and no email. You are given a private link, and the page at that link is where you see who is praying and where the two gentle questions wait for you.

Is it free?

Yes. It is free to ask and free to pray, and there are no ads. The Living Bread does not sell your words or your attention.