Pray for Families (Placing in His Care)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

In talking with friends, relatives, and acquaintances, there is no shortage of prayer intentions for one’s family.  Most Christians worry more about their families than themselves. Spouses, parents, children (young and adult), nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, friends and neighbors - all weigh on our hearts as we want what’s best for them - to know and trust the Lord throughout whatever trial (short or extended) that they are going through. We desire that they experience His love and peace. 

While all of us here believe in the power of prayer, when we combine it with fasting, it becomes turbo-charged.  While I’m not so sure that is the terminology the Lord would use, scripture does show that in times of repentance or deep need, the petitioner both prayed and fasted.

I turned to the Lord God, to seek help, in prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel 9:3

So we fasted, seeking this from our God, and it was granted. Ezra 8:23

With prayer and fasting, [they] commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. Acts 14:23

When you feel your prayers are not bearing fruit (that you can see), consider adding fasting. Fasting comes in many forms.  It is a custom in the church to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Some people will choose a day and fast between certain hours.  Others may choose to abstain from meat.  Still others, from their favorite food. However, not all fasting has to be from food.  What is your guilty pleasure?  Perhaps you can fast from“screen time, video games, alcohol, gambling, pornography, or any other vice on behalf of your prayer intention. Then at least two people benefit!

Lord, our hearts are full of worry and sorrow regarding our loved ones. Help us to trust you more and place those we cherish into your loving arms.  We unite our prayers and sacrifices, however small, to your ultimate sacrifice.  Look kindly upon our petitions, and in your mercy, hear and answer us.  Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray and fast for one another. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Faith and Trust)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Those who are close to Christ know that joy can be found even amidst sorrows. Crosses can strengthen us, yet everyday we need to renew our commitment to love our crosses! But for many who struggle in marriage, the journey can be crushing, especially if they are unyoked spiritually. They can’t unite through Christ. The Lord shows us however, that even He fell 3 times from the weight of believers and unbelievers alike, but through faith, He understood that the Father would give Him (and us) the strength to continue the journey. And on that journey, He will put people in your path to assist you.

Spend a moment thinking about those who have unexpectedly entered into your journey for a moment or more.  Praise God for his tender love!  He has a plan for you that is beyond comprehension.  It just takes faith and trust.  

If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to go on living with him, he should not divorce her; and if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to go on living with her, she should not divorce her husband. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through the brother. Otherwise your children would be unclean, whereas in fact they are holy. 

1 Corinthians 7:12-14

Consider that with your assent, you may be an instrument of holiness!

If the unbeliever separates, however, let him separate. The brother or sister is not bound in such cases; God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband; or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? 1 Corinthians 7:15-16

Yet, even the unbeliever has free will. 

Lord, we pray that we may know your will, and surrender to it. Guide each one of us in our marriages, and make the good ones even better! Give light to the unbeliever. Grant us the wisdom and restraint we need in our words, behaviors, and actions. You are our strength, and in You we cannot fail.  Jesus, we trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray for fortitude in marriages. Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Surrender and Trust)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

Happy New Year! Another year where we can offer praise, adoration, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving before the Lord!

Regardless of your struggles, sorrows, and/or frustrations, focus on the positive and begin this year with praise.

“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.” Revelation 5:13

Praise will change how you view your sorrows, for when you place yourself in Christ’s presence, He will generously give you the graces you need in life. Your crosses will feel lighter, and your sorrow will transform into joy.

It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 

1 Corinthians 1:30

Lord, as we pray for family, help us to trust in your love and care for them. Help us see that it is not our job to change others, but YOURS. Instead of worry and fruitless efforts to control, help to surrender our loved ones to You and give us the grace to be steadfast in prayer and fasting on behalf of our loved ones. Jesus, we trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer is the answer. Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Gratitude and Prayer)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

As the year comes to an end, let us close this chapter, by filling our prayers with gratitude. Thank the Lord for your marital blessings. Thank Him for the crosses that kept you humble and for those that helped you grow in virtue. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Thank you, Father, for loving, reproving, and guiding us in the path to fulfillment. Thank you, Jesus, for the sacraments that feed us, cleanse us, and recharge us as we seek to live in your divine will. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for the nudges, encouragement, illumination, and peace that you continue to fill us with. Holy Trinity, we beg for an abundance of graces to help us deflect all that seeks to derail us. We trust in your unwavering love and care for us, so with deep gratitude as well as the help of your grace, pledge to surrender daily to your holy will. Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Ongoing gratitude and prayer are essential. Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Beseeching the Lord)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love,may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 14-19

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Play, pray, and pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages and Family

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

As Christmas approaches, I want to wish all of you a blessed 12 days!  My gift to you all will be praying for your intentions, but especially for your marriage and family.  

May you find greater peace, abounding joy, and endless love.  

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14

May His favor rest on you and your loved ones. Merry Christmas!  Keep on praying!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer is a gift.  Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Joy in Trials)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Ask anyone who has been married for decades, and they’ll tell you they didn’t get there without trials. For nothing of worth comes without effort.  So when frustrations or resentments creep in, know that your commitment is being refined and proven by fire. 

Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 1 James 2-4

May your prayer fuel your strength, purify your heart, and bring you surprising joy, especially in trials.   Pray without ceasing.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray. Repeat. Pass it on!