If your ailment requires the regular ingestion of prescribed medications, these have become an intimate part of your existence. This practice is intended to help you become aware of the medicines consciously and to bring them into prayer.

1. Begin by finding a comfortable position and by breathing gently.
2. Recall your medicines and their containers. Picture them in your imagination as they are arranged on a countertop, or at your bedside, or in a cabinet. Notice the variety of containers. As you reflect on the medication prescribed for your illness, what feelings do you notice? Your feelings may be contradictory, but pay attention to them anyway.
3. Bring one of these feelings into intentional prayer. Keep it simple: "Dear God, I resent taking this medicine." Or: "Thank you, Jesus, for the medicine that keeps me going." Be mindful about both the medicine and about how you relate to it.
4. Begin reflecting on others who take the same medication. Pray for them.
5. Recall the researchers whose efforts resulted in the medicine. Pray for them.
6. Recall the pharmacist who filled the prescription. Pray for her/him.
7. Recall those who need the medication and cannot afford it. Pray for them.

Mary C. Earle in Broken Body, Healing Spirit