4 Prayers for National Diabetes Awareness Month

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“It wasn’t supposed to be my kid,” I’ve told myself, my husband, God.

But it was, and it is. My three-year-old son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes two months ago, and now I carry a grief I’m certain will never go away. 

I get angry when I see another child eating an ice cream with all the carefree freedom a child should have, knowing all an ice cream means for my baby is a bolus check, insulin dose, and the risk of high blood sugar that won’t level out. 

My heart aches when I watch football on television as I wonder what sports my son will be afraid to play, unable to play, or have to work double time to play because his body won’t process sugar like other athletes’.

I fear the day that he’s old enough to understand what all of this means—the glucose reader on his arm, the insulin pump on his leg, and all the fingerpicks. Oh, the endless fingerpicks. Then there are the ketone urine samples every time he’s sick, the quarterly endocrinology appointments, and the constant insulin adjustments as his body grows and hormones surge. 

How will I explain all of this? What will I say when he says it’s not fair? 

Diabetes is a heavy burden that demands micro-managing so, so many things others take for granted. It takes a toll on a person’s mental health and requires faithful support from healthcare professionals and family and friends to endure. 

In honor of those fighting this disease, I would like to offer four prayers for National Diabetes Awareness Month:

1. A Prayer for the Highs and Lows (No Pun)

Before my son’s diagnosis, I didn’t understand how many things impact your blood sugar levels, causing severe highs and lows that, left untreated, are incredibly dangerous. 

It’s not just food that spikes your sugars. It’s the state of the liver, stress levels, sickness, growth spurts, hormone surges, weather changes, and even getting out of bed. Though there are rhythms and routines to control a diabetic’s average glucose range, treating diabetes isn’t a precise science. The disease demands daily adjustments—all without an instruction manual. 

So for those chasing the highs and lows of their blood sugar, I would like to offer this prayer: 

Father, you are the Lord of our hearts and the Lord of all of our moments. Our bodies were crafted by you and are sustained by you. No matter the highs or lows we chase to keep ourselves balanced, remind us of our safety in you. Grant us the wisdom to recognize our body’s warning signs, the courage to advocate for ourselves when a treatment plan or medical device isn’t what’s best, and the endurance to keep maintaining the temples you have given us with patience and grace. You are with us as we rise and fall, in all things, Jesus. Thank you for such goodness. Amen. 

2. A Prayer for the Emotional Heaviness

We have been told many times over that our son will never remember life before his diagnosis. He’s too young to recall life before counting carbs, changing pumps, and monitoring ketones. Watching him receive this diagnosis was and remains heartbreaking, but I’m thankful that he doesn’t have a “different” life to grieve. 

Meanwhile, he will one day grow old enough to understand the seriousness of this disease, that it requires ten extra steps for so many daily activities, and that it does, indeed, make him different. I pray that God gives my husband and me the right words as we enter the season when he begins to process his reality and ask hard questions. 

This finicky, time-consuming disease is so emotionally heavy, so I would like to offer a prayer of encouragement: 

Jesus, you took the weight of the universe, for all of time, and held it on your shoulders. You paid the price for our sins, and you bore the pain that we endure on this fallen, sick earth. You are no stranger to every ache, pain, and heartache we endure. Please give us the emotional endurance to navigate diabetes. Help us see the purpose and plan that you have beautifully woven for us, and remind us that our story is safe because you hold the pen. As your word says, we lie down, rest, and wake because you sustain us (Psalm 3:5). 

Come what may, we win in the end because of the hope and love you have given us. Thank you for sitting in our sadness and heartache so we are never alone. Thank you for the healing that our souls have through you. In your holy name, Father. Amen.

3. A Prayer for Healthcare Professionals

I’ve noticed that many Christians look for miracles in big, over-the-top places, failing to recognize the miracles that surround them every day. When we consider the Lord’s Prayer, that God gives us daily bread, we forget that these heavenly daily portions are miraculous. 

They come in the form of childlike specialists who bring your child Play-Doh in the emergency room, nurses who bend over backward to bring your favorite snack to your hospital room, doctors who truly listen when you advocate for yourself, pharmacists who push back their lunch break to fill your prescription, insurance representatives who fight to ensure you can afford your medical supplies, and researchers behind the scenes, tucked away in quiet labs, digging for answers to cure this disease. 

While I want God to snap His fingers and fix my boy right now, I would be remiss to disregard the miracles He offers and His footsteps that walk with me through these diabetic valleys and shadows of death. He keeps my head above water as I watch my son take on this disease, so with gratitude (though mingled with grief and anger, I admit), I pray something like this:

Lord, open up the floodgates of heaven. Bestow a cure on the healthcare professionals and researchers who have committed their professional lives to serving others. May you give them perseverance and endurance as they care for us and search for answers. Give them the money, patience, resources, and collaborative partnerships to care for those with diabetes, whether in the emergency room or the research lab. 

May they stay humble and may their priorities remain pure as they put patients above profit or vainglory. Thank you for their commitment, God-given talents, and willingness to serve others. We praise you, Jesus. In your almighty name, Amen. 

4. A Prayer for a Cure

Several clinical trials are underway that offer hope for a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, and several endocrinologists and diabetes educators have encouraged us that this cure will likely be available in five to ten years, but closer to five. 

As a mother, I can’t help but hold out for this hope. As a believer in Christ, I can’t help but ask God that my baby boy is allowed to experience a heaven-to-earth miracle, a total healing of the body that’s so grand that the soul has no choice but to rejoice in God’s goodness and declare that the Almighty is omnipotent and gracious. 

With such hope on the horizon, I would like to offer the prayer below for my son. I encourage you to use this as an outline as you craft your own prayer for those in your life who are impacted by this disease: 

Father God, I can’t help but marvel at how you speak to us in our darkest moments, and I am so grateful that shortly after my son’s diagnosis, you allowed me to read Psalm 77:14, “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." 

You, Lord, are no stranger to parting seas, feeding thousands, and saving the entire human race by incomparable self-sacrifice. You do the impossible—that’s what makes you God. You do nothing but grant us your favor and steadfast love—that’s what makes you a God I can’t help but commit my soul and babies to. 

Diabetes is already crushed under your feet, and I pray that you allow my son to see the moment you gift us a cure. Give us patience until that day, joy for all the moments before, and a faithful love for you and your goodness, no matter the cross we bear. We praise you for all you have done and all you will do, whether in this life or the next. In your strong, healing name, I pray. Amen. 

I pray that this month is a time for you to educate others, encourage those in your diabetic community, and lean into the promise of Psalm 77:19, “Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.”

Peyton Garland is an author, editor, and boy mama who lives in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee. Subscribe to her blog Uncured+Okay for more encouragement.