If a patient asked you to pray with or for them at the bedside, would you?
I had this discussion with some other nurses and the responses were interesting. Some said they would have no problem, others said it was too personal a request for a patient to ask, and others said they would call the chaplain as they felt it is a chaplain function only.
I witnessed one occurence where a patient asked his nurse to pray with him. Without hesistation, she took his hand and prayed a very nice non-denominational prayer. I realize not everyone can or might not want to do this, but it really brought solace to that patient.
New to the scene, I am, but in 18 years of nursing, I have had this request many times and have always said yes. As a former Oncology nurse and now an ER nurse, sometimes prayer is all that gets me and the patient through a trying time.
I have and would again pray for and with patients - on some occasions (when I knew the patient was a Christian) I have offered to pray with them when they were feeling particularly miserable or scared.
Concerning praying for people of other faiths or no faith - possibly I would, but not without first letting them know what I believe. (i.e. "I'm a Christian, and I know that you're [buddhist or whatever] - do you still want me to pray for you?")
I would not / could not in good conscience pray to someone other than the God of the Bible, and would feel uncomfortable praying with someone who thought I was praying in a generic way or to a completely different god. (For that matter, I wouldn't be comfortable if I was the patient and the nurse was praying to someone other than the God I love).
If they were OK with that then I would pray, avoiding obviously Christian references.
I also agree wholeheartedly with you, micro, that giving time and an ear are frequently more support than we can possibly realise, and often the best thing we can do to show real caring.
Some of us have grown up feeling prayer is very private. It has been very difficult for me to break the habit of not being able to pray out loud with people. It has only been in the last few years that I can do it and even then I frequently feel awkward. Be gentle with those nurses who feel awkward. It doesn't mean they may not have deep spiritual beliefs or pray for their patients privately.
Now for the rest of the story. I am a Catholic, a Lay Eucharistic Minister in my church, also a trained Stephen Minister and the Parish Nurse. When I am really at a loss the Lord's Prayer seems to work. When I visit the sick in the hospital I usually leave a Holy Card (aka Prayer Card) If the person is not Catholic I have a supply with the 23rd Psalm on the back.
A friend of mine who is a physician and Hindu talks about the effect of an experience he had as an intern being asked to pray with a family over a sick child. He was at a total loss when the Senior Resident came to the rescue. The Senior Resident was Moslem. The prayer was addressed to "God as Allah". He says it was a wonderful experience, and a great help to the Christian family. It also helped my friend decide to become a Pediatrician.
:kiss Everyone has some good points. This is a tough subject but I feel that as a nurse we get to see the raw emotions of people at a time that is stressful or hard for them. We are the ones that spend the most time with them during this time. If someone asks for this help- it must be something that would comfort them and that's what we are here for! It can't hurt!
I guess it depends how you look at it. I am have my beliefs and in a moment of silence praying with the family is fine. I wouldn't want to lead in prayer simply because what they believe and I may be different and I would not want to offend anyone. I also would feel honored because it is such a personal ritual to most of us it reminds us that we are all one, one love!
Absolutly Though I do agree with many that I could not pray to a God other than my own. I can do all things throught him who give me strength. phil 4-13
I've prayed with patients many times. I find it an honor to be asked, because that is such a matter of -trust-. And certainly it can be done in a nice non-demon way--I like what a military chaplin said at the close of a prayer, something like "We pray to God by many names, but I pray in the name of Jesus" which acknowledges that some do not share his beliefs but states his own.
It can't hurt!
nanseatx
12 Posts
New to the scene, I am, but in 18 years of nursing, I have had this request many times and have always said yes. As a former Oncology nurse and now an ER nurse, sometimes prayer is all that gets me and the patient through a trying time.