Should we bless our medications?
Question
Gramps,
We ask Heavenly Father to bless our children, our food, the sacrament, our houses and the sick. I am an old man who takes a lot of medications daily for my various health problems. Do you think we should ask for Heavenly Father blessing on our daily medication, to help them do their jobs and to keep us healthy. Or am I just a silly old man?
George
Answer
George,
Why would you not pray that medicine would work?
However, you’ve lumped in a bunch of things that are not alike. Blessing the sacrament, blessing the sick, blessing our children, and even our houses, all qualify as priesthood blessings (See Handbook 2 Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings). Blessing our food before a meal does not. I’d say praying over our medicine should not be formalized, and certainly not to the level of the sacrament. But praying that it will work. Yes. We’d better be.
“But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”
“Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.”
Gramps
This is a good point.
Hmmm, Never thought of that. There is probably never any harm in praying over anything that can affect our health.
I have had a high level Church Leader “Santify” the meds that I take that they would work. So yes, it is part of doing all we can then trusting the Lord to do the rest. It is like Brigham Young saying “have you sought any remedies” talk. Many pharmaceutical companies are a part of secret combinations of the modern day and age and we need to remember this fact also.
I think there is a distinction between 1) asking a blessing regards the food we are about to eat. And, 2) a Priesthood blessing of the various kinds. ‘children, our food, the sacrament, our houses and the sick’ – 4 of 5 of these have a priesthood blessing applicable to them. Children – a Fathers blessing, The Sacrament – the blessing of the sacrament by those priesthood holders administering it. Our houses – by a priesthood holder through the way as set out in the Priesthood manual. The sick – by the Priesthood blessing of the sick and afflicted. I think that if any member of the church can pray and ask a blessing for the food they are about to eat, then any member of the church can do so for something else they are going to eat i.e medication. I reason that In a wicked world there is a need for sanctification of anything we eat as we don’t really know much about the products. For all we know they could have been sacrificed to idols, cursed, or created by companies involved in or infiltrated by conspiracy or secret combinations, tampered with, poisoned etc. And NO you are not just a silly old man George. It is a good, insightful, and worthwhile question you ask.