Healing & Health

Ivf Prayer

Anyone who has been through IVF knows the vocabulary: retrieval, transfer, beta, the two-week wait. They also know the injections, the appointments, the money, and the way hope rises and falls with every phone call from the clinic. It is one of the most emotionally exhausting things a couple can go through.

3 minute read

The Bible is full of women who longed for children: Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth. Hannah prayed so intensely at the temple that the priest thought she was drunk. Their stories don’t promise that every prayer for a child will be answered the way we hope, but they do show that God takes this longing seriously.

Historical Context

Patron of mothers and the unborn: St Gerard Majella, 16 October

Also invoked: St Anne, 26 July; St Rita, 22 May

Scripture: Hannah’s prayer, 1 Samuel 1

Catholic readers should know that the Church teaches that children should be conceived through the marital act, and so does not approve of IVF; many Catholic couples look into restorative approaches such as NaProTechnology. Whatever road you’re on, God hears your prayer, and every child is a person loved by him from the very beginning.

A Prayer for Hope

Lord, you know how much we long for a child.
You know every test, every appointment and every tear.
Give us hope that doesn’t break,
and peace that doesn’t depend on the next result.
Hold our marriage together through this.
We place our desire for a family in your hands.
Amen.

During the Two-Week Wait

Father, this waiting is hard.
Calm my mind when I check and re-check and worry.
Whatever the answer is, help me trust you.
Amen.

After a Negative Test

Lord, it didn’t work.
I’m heartbroken.
Stay close to us tonight.
Give us time to grieve, and strength to decide what comes next.
Amen.

A Prayer to St Gerard

St Gerard, you have always cared for mothers and children.
Pray for us as we hope for a child,
and ask God to give us what is truly good.
Amen.

Best Times for This Prayer

Before starting treatment.
During the two-week wait.
After a loss or a negative result.
On 16 October, St Gerard’s feast.

Scripture Connection

“For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him.” — 1 Samuel 1:27

Hannah poured out her soul, and she was honest about her grief. Her story gives permission to pray boldly and to bring God our whole heart, including the parts that are angry or afraid.

Related prayers

For St Gerard, see the Prayer to St Gerard. For pregnancy, the Prayer to Prevent Miscarriage. For twins, the Prayer for Twins.

More healing & health prayers

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About Stephen S. Griffin

Stephen S. Griffin is the pen name of the person who runs Guided by Prayer, a reference library of prayers. How the prayers are written and sourced.