I know I’ve got guest posts being posted, but I had to share something with you, something that I did tonight.
You see, my daughter’s little dog, Jack, was attacked in our yard by another dog that has been walking unattended through the neighborhood. Jack is a small dog, only about 12 pounds, and the dog that attacked him was a larger pit-bull mix. Ugly, too.
According to the vet to which my wife and daughter took Jack today, he had around 15 puncture wounds, torn skin, and possibly some muscle damage. Jack has been in a lot of pain, very weak, and very pitiful.
It’s been difficult for us, too.
So, this afternoon, before I came home from work, I told my wife that we would be praying for Jack this evening. She agreed. She also agreed with me that there was nothing unbiblical about doing so, either.
Have you ever prayed over a wounded pet? Have you ever anointed one with oil and prayed for one while being on Facebook Live? Well, that’s what I did tonight.
What do you think about praying for this little dog? Do you think it was silly thing to do? Do you think it was sacrilegious? If so, let give you some things to think about.
First, there is nothing too big or too small, nothing too important or insignificant, to keep us from praying to our Heavenly Father. Are you a parent? Tell me, when your little children drew a picture that made no sense, did it still thrill you when they brought it to you as a gift, all proud? Did you think it was beautiful, even though others may have thought is was scribble?
God is our Abba, our Father, so don’t you think it pleases Him when we bring ANYTHING to him in prayer? Of course it does! That shows Him we care about something and we want Him to care, too! It shows Him that we have faith in Him to take care of something, something we have no control over. It shows that we believe in Him enough to take our petitions to Him, not someone else.
Do you think a hurt little dog is insignificant? Guess what, how big do you think your biggest prayer request is in the light of Omnipotent God? EVERY need we have is small to Him!
Secondly, what do you think about praying for a dog? Do you think it is crazy to ask God to heal a dog? Do you think that matters nothing to Him? Well, what about how He takes note of every sparrow that falls (Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6)? What about the time He chastised Jonah for not even caring about the cattle that could have been killed (Jonah 4:11)? What about how one of the characteristics of a righteous man is how he cares for his animals (Proverbs 12:10)? Need I go on?
When the Lord created all living things, what did He say? He said, “It is good.” God cares for His creation, and that is why He expects us to take care of it and tend it. If God made our little dog, then He cares for our little dog.
Third, there’s this thing called faith. Are you aware that whenever we put our faith in the Lord for anything, that brings Him glory? Our trust in Him to do something we can’t shows our dependency on Him (Psalm 57:2).
Fourth, God cares about us. That’s the biggie. God, our Father in Heaven, is so much better of a father than we could ever be (Matt. 7:11; Luke 11:13). When our children hurt, that hurts us. Likewise, when we hurt, it must pain our Father. Does he not collect our tears (Psalm 56:8).
So, I prayed for our little dog. I even anointed him with oil when I prayed – as a symbol of faith (believe me, I understand the context of the passages, so you don’t have to offer any exegesis). I prayed, and I believe, that my Father, little Jack’s Creator, will heal him and raise him back up.
So, for my daughter’s sake, and for the glory of the Lord, will you say a pray for Jack, our little dog? He is in pain, has multiple wounds, some of which are down into the muscle. A large portion of his back had the skin pulled away from the muscle. He even has multiple tube protruding from his body in order to help his wounds to drain. He also has multiple staples all over his body.
Thank you for caring.
Poor little guy even has to endure a “cone of shame.”
The Recovering Legalist 
Ahhhh, I’ll pray for your little Jack. Sorry the family is going through this. We have a Jack, too.
Poor fur baby! I would be devastated if something like that happened to one of my three little dogs!
My thinking is that if pulling a sheep out of a pit on a Sabbath is a good activity, and we should not muzzle an oz, while making it work the field, then God cares about animals. Even if he didn’t, he cares about us, and if our happiness, doesn’t interfere with our holiness he wants us to be happy.
I said a prayer for Jack, and your family.
Thanks 🙂
Sure will pray!
So, is that other dog still running around loose? is something going to be done about that?
Working on it. If it comes back through and growls at me, there’s gonna be problems…for the dog.
I agree on that one for sure. Been there done that. A long time ago, there was a dog that would always corner my daughter as she walked to the place she played. I had asked the owner repeatedly to do something and he did not. So, one day I took a bat after the dog. I sort of got in trouble mostly because the owner ran out of his house and picked up the dog. I was so mad I sort of kept swinging at the dog. Oopsy. He ended up calling the police on me LOL. Luckily, it turned out this fellow had an outstanding warrant, so when they started checking things out, he ended up getting hauled away and they sort of forgot about my indiscretions.
Nothing wrong with caring for, caring about, praying for a creation of our Heavenly Father. God loves us sinners so much, that Jesus came and died for us. He could have just let us keep on in our wicked ways, ending up in hell. So why would He not want us do all we can for another creation of His.
I don’t have pets, but I have prayed for the pets of friends.
I recently came across Proverbs 12:10, which I think gives credence to praying for help. https://www.gotquestions.org/righteous-care-needs-animals.html Has a good answer to this for me, too.
Yep
I see it as no problem as gpd creayed us as guardians of nature and yes of course ill add my prayer for your daughter’s dog healing
God created sorry typo
I prayed for him. Because a sparrow’s death is noted by God, I know he loves his creatures. I don’t think he even wants us to eat animals, but after the flood he permitted it. I am hoping to see my dog, Maggie, in heaven. I have asked God for that and I think she will be there.
Maggie saved my daughter one when two men were hiding in her garage. They ran off when Maggie went berserk.
Cool!
Thanks for the great article. The Lord truly does answer prayer about animals, they are created with purpose and love. My elderly cat Maggie was near death in January and we prayed….see “The Lord Taketh Away”…Maggie! (3/5/17) and recent “You Lord, Care for People and Animals”…Maggie! (6/1/17) http://www.theburninglamp.com
I hope your little friend recovers well. We have two small dogs and it would be tragic if they were mauled like that. -kia
Thanks. I appreciate it 🙂
Wait, are you dead, or a car? I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. It’s Friday 😉
Actually, I have a kia soul, but am a former Christian/missionary/avocational minister whose faith in Christ was… Killed In Action. Glad you picked up on the pun. Lol. Have a wonderful day
But mostly, for the purposes of your post, I’m a lover of my family pets as you are yours.
I respect that. Thanks for the concern.
Anthony, I don’t know about you but my God is a loving God who cares for all sentient beings on this beautiful earth. Of course you did the right thing to pray for that darling, innocent little creature!
I also believe that God’s hand is in everything that happens in our lives and that no matter how painful or tragic a situation, it can be used to lift others into the light of His magnificent love. I am holding you, your family and Jack in my prayers and in my heart.
P.S. I went through a similar situation with our beloved kitten, Francesca who was viciously attacked by a dog a few years ago. It was heartbreaking but animals are a lot tougher than we realize and she is thriving today! I understand what you must be going through and send much love to you all!
so sorry that Jack was hurt. And you’re right, Nothing is too small or insignificant to pray about.Praying that he pulls through without any other complications.
Thank you very much! So, let me give you the good news… Jack is doing remarkably well! I took him just today to have his staples removed…he is showing little sign of any trauma and is practically back to normal – with the exception of several bald spots 😉
So sorry that your Jack was injured. Prayers for you and Jack. God bless.