Prayer for Terminal Illness

When There Are No Words Left

There are no words for what you are facing. And yet here you are, looking for words anyway. That instinct to reach for Hashem, even now, is the purest form of emunah.

You do not need to be strong right now. You do not need to understand. You only need to open your mouth and let your heart speak. Whether you are davening for yourself or a loved one, Hashem is close to the brokenhearted. He is right here.

Kapitel 39 of Tehillim was composed b’ruach hakodesh by Dovid HaMelech, and its words reach into the place where a person stands face to face with the shortness of life. He asked Hashem to show him the measure of his days. Not because he wanted numbers, but because he needed meaning. This kapitel carries that same cry: Hashem, if my time is ending, let it matter. Let me face what comes with dignity, with faith, with You beside me.

Before You Say This Kapitel

Before you begin, take a breath. Close your eyes if you need to. You are standing before the Ribbono Shel Olam, who counts every tear and hears every whisper. You do not need fancy words. Just speak.

Master of the Universe, let me know my end — but I still ask for life. The doctors have said their piece, but the last word is Yours. If there is a cure — send it. And if not — give me peace, dignity, and faith until the last moment. God of Meir, answer me.

If giving tzedakah, add:

In the merit of the tzedakah I give in the merit of Rabbi Meir, may You guard my soul. Ribbono Shel Olam, I care for Your children — please care for me.

Kapitel 39: The Full Prayer

Dovid HaMelech composed this kapitel at a time when he was face to face with his own mortality. The Radak explains that Dovid wanted to know the length of his remaining days so he could face whatever was coming with clarity — whether to bear the suffering in hope of recovery, or to ask Hashem to take him quickly. That is the heart of this tefillah. Hashem, the time is Yours. Help me use it well.

What These Words Mean for You

Hoidi’eini Hashem kitzi umidas yomai mah hi “Tell me, O Hashem, what my term is, what is the measure of my days.”

The word middah means both “measure” and “quality.” Dovid is not asking how many days are left. He is asking Hashem: what should I do with them?

The Radak on this passuk writes that Dovid wanted to know the duration of his remaining days so he would know how to bear his suffering. When a person faces a terminal diagnosis, the world narrows down to what truly matters. This passuk gives voice to the cry every person in this situation feels: Hashem, help me fill whatever time I have with meaning. V’atoh mah kivisi Adonoi, toichalti l’cho hi “What, then, can I count on, O my Master? In You my hope lies.”

The word tocheles means deep, unshakable hope. Dovid reached a point where no human being could help him anymore.

The doctors, the advisors, the people closest to him. And in that place of helplessness, he found something solid: Hashem. You may be in that same place right now. The medicine has done what it can. The only real hope sits with the Ribbono Shel Olam. This passuk tells you: that hope is enough. Shim’oh t’filosi Hashem v’shav’osi ha’azinoh, el dim’osi al techerash “Hear my prayer, O Hashem; give ear to my cry; do not disregard my tears.”

Three words: tefillah, shav’ah, dim’ah. Prayer, cry, tears.

Dovid moves from words to raw sound to silent weeping. The Gemara in Berachos (32b) teaches that the gates of tears are never closed. When your words run out, when all you can do is cry, Hashem still hears. He hears the tears that fall on a hospital pillow at two in the morning. He hears the ones you hold back in front of your family. None of them are wasted. Ki geir onochi imoch, toishov k’chol avoisai “For like all my forebears I am an alien, resident with You.”

Dovid calls himself a ger, a stranger passing through. This world was never meant to be permanent.

Every one of our avos lived as a guest in Hashem’s world. Facing this truth brings clarity. You are a guest, but not an abandoned one. Dovid says imoch, “with You.” Even as a stranger in this world, you are with Hashem. He does not leave.

How to Say This Prayer

You can say this kapitel at any time, whether in the quiet of the early morning or at night. If you are lying in a hospital bed and cannot hold a sefer, say the words from memory, or in English, or just let someone read them to you. Hashem hears a tefillah in any language and in any position.

Before you begin, set your kavanah. You might say in your heart: “Hashem, I am facing the most terrifying moment of my life. The doctors gave me news I never wanted to hear. I am still begging You for a miracle. But if my time is ending, give me strength for dignity, for peace, for unwavering emunah.”

Tefillah and tzedakah together carry special power. When you daven this kapitel and also give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, you are joining your heart’s cry with an act of chesed. You are caring for another Yid while asking Hashem to care for you. That combination, tefillah and ma’asim tovim rising together, has carried Klal Yisrael through the darkest moments. This is not a prayer to Rabbi Meir. It is a cry to Hashem, in the zechus of a great tzaddik whose own tefillah split open the heavens. After the kapitel, say: Elokah d’Meir aneni!

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness was a great Tanna whose zechus is associated with yeshuos in times of distress. The Gemara in Avodah Zarah (18a-18b) tells how Bruria asked Rabbi Meir to rescue her sister, who was condemned by the Romans to a house of shame. Rabbi Meir approached the guard with a bribe, teaching him to say “Eloka d’Meir aneni!” — “God of Meir, answer me!” — if he was ever in danger. When the guard asked for proof, Rabbi Meir said the words and nearby dogs that had been ready to attack turned away. Convinced, the guard released Bruria’s sister. Later, when the Romans discovered what happened, the guard was sentenced to hang — but he said “Eloka d’Meir aneni!” and was saved.

When you face a terminal diagnosis, the world tells you there is nothing more to be done. But Hashem has ways we cannot see. Giving tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir is asking Hashem to hear your prayer in the merit of a tzaddik whose merit brought miraculous salvation.

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded 1799, supports talmidei chachamim and families in need in Eretz Yisrael. Give tzedakah for the poor of Eretz Yisrael in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, and let your chesed rise together with your tefillah.

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness

A Brachah for You

Turning to Hashem amidst fear and unanswered questions is a profound act of emunah.

May Hashem hear your tefillah and the tears behind it. If there is a refuah, may He send it swiftly and completely. And if the road ahead is short, may He fill every remaining day with peace, with dignity, with the people you love beside you, and with His presence closer than it has ever been. Know that not one tear, tefillah, or moment of faith is ever wasted.

You can submit a prayer request to the scholars at the kever of Rabbi Meir in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for your refuah by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your tefillah.

Submit a Free Prayer Request