The names of God for healing start with one name God gave Himself: Jehovah Rapha, the LORD that healeth thee
. Around that name, the Bible gathers others that sick, tired and grieving people have called on for thousands of years. This page is for anyone facing an illness, waiting on test results, sitting beside someone in a hospital bed, or carrying a hurt inside that will not seem to close. It will not promise you a cure. It will show you who God says He is when you are hurting, and how to call on Him by name.
A word before we start: prayer and medicine go together
Turning to God and seeing a doctor are not opposites. Keep taking the medicine your doctor gave you. Keep your appointments. Tell a trusted adult, a nurse or a counselor how you are really doing. If you ever feel you might hurt yourself, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the United States, right away.
The Bible itself treats care for the body as good. Paul called his traveling friend Luke, the beloved physician
(Colossians 4:14), and Jesus said They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick
(Luke 5:31). When King Hezekiah was dying, he prayed and wept, and God answered him through the prophet Isaiah. Then Isaiah gave practical instructions too:
For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
Isaiah 38:21
A plaister is an old word for a soft dressing laid on a wound. Prayer, and a remedy. Both were part of how Hezekiah got well.
Jehovah Rapha: the God who heals, named at Marah
The first healing name in the Bible came very early in Israel's journey. The people had just walked through the Red Sea on dry ground and watched their enemies swept away. They sang about it. Then they walked three days into the wilderness of Shur and found no water at all. When they finally reached a spring, it was bitter.
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
Exodus 15:23-24
Marah means bitter. Moses cried out to God, and God showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became sweet. Then God spoke, and for the first time He described Himself with this word:
And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
Exodus 15:26
The Hebrew is YHWH Rophe'ekha, which means the LORD is your own healer. The verb rapha means to heal, and it also means to mend, the way you would fix something that was torn or broken. The same word shows up when Elijah rebuilt a wrecked altar: he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down
(1 Kings 18:30). So the name is about more than bodies. God mends what is broken: bodies, hearts, families and a people's trust in Him.
Notice what happened next. The very next verse says Israel came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees
(Exodus 15:27). Threescore and ten is seventy. The bitter spring was not the end of the road. The full story and the Hebrew are on the Jehovah Rapha page.
Other names to lean on when you are sick or hurting
Healing in the Bible is not only about the moment a fever breaks. It is also about strength to get through the night, courage at the next appointment, and comfort when the answer is slow. These names come from people who knew that kind of waiting.
The Health of My Countenance (Psalm 42 and 43)
Countenance means your face, the look you wear. The writer of Psalm 42 was far from home and so low that he said his tears had been his food day and night. He talked to his own soul like a coach talks to a tired player:
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Psalm 42:11
Disquieted means restless and stirred up. The Hebrew behind "health" is a word for help and rescue, so the name says God is the One who will bring the light back to your face. It fits depression, long illness, and grief. See The Health of My Countenance.
The Lifter Up of Mine Head (Psalm 3)
The heading of Psalm 3 says David wrote it when he fled from his own son Absalom, who had turned the kingdom against him. People said God would not help him. When you are ashamed, sick or defeated, your head goes down. David wrote:
But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Psalm 3:3
Picture a parent gently lifting a child's chin so the child can look up again. That is this name. See the Lifter of my head.
El Roi, the God who sees (Genesis 16)
Hagar, alone and pregnant in the desert, said Thou God seest me
(Genesis 16:13). Chronic pain, a hidden illness or a private grief can make you feel invisible. This name says you are noticed. See Thou God Seest Me (El Roi).
Our Refuge and Strength (Psalm 46)
A refuge is a safe place to run to. When the news hits all at once, this verse is short enough to say in a waiting room:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
Jehovah-shalom, the LORD is peace (Judges 6)
Fear often hurts as much as the sickness. Shalom means wholeness and well-being, not just calm. Gideon heard God say Peace be unto thee; fear not
(Judges 6:23) before he built his altar. See Jehovah-shalom.
When healing is slow, or does not come the way you asked
This is the hardest part, and it deserves an honest answer. Faithful people in the Bible were not always healed right away. Paul told Timothy to take care of his often upset stomach (1 Timothy 5:23), and he left a friend named Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20). Their faith was not the problem.
The names of God for healing are not magic words that force an outcome. They are ways of knowing who you are talking to. The LORD who heals is also the Shepherd who walks through the dark valley with you, and the God who sees every tear. Psalm 41 even speaks of God caring for the sick person in bed:
The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
Psalm 41:3
Languishing means growing weak. "Make all his bed" paints a picture of someone turning the sheets and making the sick person comfortable. Sometimes God's answer is a cure. Sometimes it is strength for one more day. Either way, He has not left the room.
A chart of healing names and where to find them
| Name | What it means in plain words | When it may help | Read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jehovah Rapha | The LORD who heals and mends | Illness, injury, recovery | Exodus 15:26 |
| The Health of My Countenance | God brings the light back to my face | Sadness, depression, grief | Psalm 42:11 |
| The Lifter Up of Mine Head | God lifts me when I am low | Shame, defeat, weakness | Psalm 3:3 |
| El Roi | The God who sees me | Hidden pain, loneliness | Genesis 16:13 |
| Our Refuge and Strength | A safe place and power to stand | Bad news, fear | Psalm 46:1 |
| Jehovah Rohi | The LORD my shepherd | Long treatments, the dark valley | Psalm 23:4 |
| The Fountain of Living Waters | God refreshes what is dry | Exhaustion, burnout | Jeremiah 2:13 |
How to use these names on a hard day
- Pick one name, not ten. Choose the one that matches today. If you are scared, Jehovah-shalom. If you are worn down, the Lifter of my head.
- Say it out loud with the verse. For example, tell Him: You are the God who heals. Please help my body, and help my doctors. Short is fine.
- Write it where you will see it. A sticky note on a pill bottle or a hospital tray is a good place for
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds
. - Pray for someone else too. Healing names are not only for your own needs. Pray them over a friend, a grandparent or the nurse on the night shift.
Praying for someone else who is sick
Sometimes the person hurting is not you. It is a grandmother after surgery, a friend in treatment, or a little brother with a fever that will not break. You may feel helpless sitting in the waiting room. Calling on God by name is something you can do right there. Pray Jehovah Rapha over the person's body, the Shepherd over the long nights, and the Refuge over the fear in the room. Then do the practical things love does: bring a meal, send a text, sit quietly and listen. In the Bible, the friends who carried a sick man to Jesus did both (Mark 2:3 to 5). They believed, and they carried.
If you would like a simple plan for praying a different name each day, see praying the names of God. To see the rest of the LORD's compound names, go to the Jehovah names of God.
Go deeper in the book
The Bible gives no official count of God's names. The book 70 Names of God chose seventy of them, and the healing names on this page each have a full chapter there, with the Greek words, the hard questions people ask about sickness and faith, and a prayer at the end. You can learn more about the book here. Many people also wear the 70 Names of God shirt with Proverbs 18:10 on it, as a reminder that the name of the LORD is a strong tower to run into.