Pray for Families (Finding Peace in the Unknown)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

Everyone has a family member that is more challenging than others.  They might be called the black sheep of the family, or labeled the alcoholic, the drug addict, the one with mental health issues, or just the one who “chose their own path”. They may be a challenge not only due to their situation, but our situation of being uncomfortably challenged to still love them. They may curse you, steal from you, hate you, or maybe just ignore you completely. You may have spewed your own venom back or even just felt helpless in knowing the next step. It is time to pray for healing.  

“But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 

Luke 6:27-28

I don’t think any family is exempt. If the situation isn’t in the immediate family, it is in the extended family. For those who are struggling on either end, today we pray.

Lord, help us see with your eyes, love with your heart, serve with your hands. May we not only call for change, but begin with our own change, one of renewed love and compassion. Guide our paths.  For those battling such issues, help them to understand they don’t walk alone.  For you are always present and never fail to send assistance to those who seek change. Strengthen each step, increase their resolve, and chase away the demons. Lord, through the wealth of our prayers, keep families intact!

Blessed the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commands. His descendants shall be mighty in the land, a generation of the upright will be blessed. Psalm 112:1-2

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Encourage the downtrodden. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Finding the Still, Small Voice)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

In the years I have been writing this blog/these emails, it wasn’t unusual for me to write while on vacation, post-surgeries, even on birthdays. I was driven by the desire to remind people to pray, knowing how easy it is for well-intentioned people to get side-tracked. Even I get side-tracked. However, sometimes the Lord has other plans and does what he must to get your attention. 

For the first time I can remember, there was zero internet and zero cellphone service at our annual vacation destination. As I glanced at my phone, the 5G signal would teeter between 1 bar and SOS. The Spirit in the Sky knows how to wake me up. If it’s not a 2x4 to the head message, it is silencing everything until I hear. “Take time to listen to Me. It’s our relationship you should focus on”.

It makes one wonder,  how often are we so focused on what we need to do that we don’t pay attention to what we should do. I think that happens often in marriage. We focus on what needs to get done versus focusing on the relationship. 

Make some quiet time to converse with the Lord. Perhaps He’s been  trying to help you with your marriage but you are too focused on something else? (Negativity, detraction, chores, kids, projects, etc.)

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 1 King 9:11-12

Embrace the silence and have a quiet conversation with the Lord. That is the best kind of prayer. And then in the stillness, listen. All good relationships are built upon listening!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer should be a two-way conversation. Mute the distractions! Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Finding Respite)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

In just a few hours I’ll be leaving on vacation.  Trips are not an occasion to skip prayers, but to see God in everyone and everything, especially those things that inspire awe and wonder. It’s also a great time to thank the Lord for the family you have and to pray that they all may journey towards the Lord.

In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me he restores my soul. He guides me along right paths for the sake of his name. Psalm 23:2-3

Lord, as families depart on summer escape, bless them with peace. May the bumps in the road only serve to slow them down for a greater purpose. Give them eyes to see their blessings, that they may rejoice and praise you. Draw families closer together, that love may continue to flower and bear greater fruit. Jesus, we trust in you.

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Send someone a reprieve from the grind. Pass it on! 

 

Pray for Marriages (Tender Mercies)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

No matter whether you have been married one year or 50, there have been times when you have felt misunderstood, alone, taken for granted, and so on. You struggle with that gap. Too often though, you forget, or have never come to realize, the tenderness of God. He wants to console you, for hasn’t Jesus felt all those things and much, much more, even from you?! 

He is there to fill the void and let you know you are beloved. When you have wandered away from Him in anger and disappointment, when you are upset that He didn’t do things YOUR WAY, change your spouse, or resolve all your issues for you, He still continues to pursue you with love and compassion.

Therefore, behold I will allure her, and will lead her into the wilderness: and I will speak to her heart. Hosea 2:16

The wilderness is often for your good, for it is there that you can more easily hear His voice in the stillness and silence. He will guide you if you only place your trust in Him.

I will betroth you to me forever: I will betroth you to me with  justice and with judgment, with loyalty and with compassion; I will betroth you to me with fidelity, and you shall know the LORD. Hosea 2:21-22

What might the Lord be calling you to do to improve or strengthen your marriage? Perhaps there’s a virtue or two you need to grow in? Developing one’s virtues has the ability to change both one’s  perspectives and one’s reactions. Not a bad start.

Lord, help us to realize how much we need you. If you weren’t part of the marriage of anyone reading this, may they begin by inviting you in and welcoming your presence. If you were invited, but later dismissed, may your mercy and love be all the greater on that marriage. If you’ve always been welcomed in, make your presence known in a bold way amidst the chaos, for you keep your promise of, I will be with you: I will not leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:5 Lord, show us your tenderness, especially when we most need it. Triple your outpouring of grace upon marriages, as the Evil One seeks to tear each one apart. Send your angels to fight for the preservation of marriage, especially those we pray for. Amen.

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:50

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Your prayers will sustain you! Stay the course! Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Reclaiming True Freedom)

GreetingsPrayer Warriors,

Who doesn’t love the Independence Day holiday, where we can celebrate our freedom with great displays and fireworks! Yet the definition of freedom seems to be ever evolving in this culture which is quite concerning, as it is a freedom independent from God

There are those who incorrectly think “freedom” gives them license to do anything they please. For example:

• Killing their child in the womb
• Mutilating their bodies or those of others
• Destroying property and other forms of theft
• And so on, just to name a few!

Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God. 1 Peter 2:16

We may have “free will” to do such things, but there is a price to pay, and it’s a loss of freedom. Freedom is not for doing what you want, but doing what you ought. Freedom has a responsibility. We are to share our gifts with others to glorify God, for it is our Sovereign King who gives us our freedom, our beauty, our peace, and our rights.

For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. 

Galatians 5:13

Lord, we became “One nation under God” and were blessed bountifully, yet failed to see. We worked to heal our divisions to build unity for a while, but then, in the name of freedom, we allowed the dissolution of marriages, the breaking down of families, the loss of modesty, and the indoctrination of the masses with laws and behaviors that aren’t divine in origin. Jesus, begin our nation’s healing through the family and begin with each one of us. Cleanse our minds and open our eyes! Give us the grace to reclaim our voices, using them to speak truth. Enlarge our hearts and fill them with love and compassion, that we may pour ourselves out to one another in service.  Help us exhibit all the joy that freedom in you brings, giving hope to others! 

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

The one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does. James 1:25

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!* Pass it on!  ​

*2 Corinthians 3:17

Pray for Marriages (It Begins with Me)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Scripture is the living Word, and sometimes familiar passages can slap you awake.  

It is Christ in you, the hope for glory.  Colossians 1:27

I am the hope for His glory??  

In your marriage, is your spouse seeing Christ in you, so much so that she/he will glorify God?  What if everything rested on that?  Does your behavior, your speech, and your actions bring glory to God?  In a world that seeks to dim God’s Light, is the Light in you shining in the darkness? 

Though darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds, the peoples, upon you the LORD will dawn, and over you his glory will be seen.  Isaiah 60:2

While we look for blame “out there”, and often we pray for our spouse to change, the Lord is really calling each one of us to change first.  

But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.  Colossians 3:9-10

Lord, reflecting your image is both a high calling and a very difficult one.  We long to be your light!  Yet, we acknowledge there is still darkness within us.  We humbly pray for your help in seeing what we cling to that only serves to dim our light.  Help us to let go of any unforgiveness, resentment, or anger that lives in our hearts.  Seal our lips so that nothing is spoken that does not give life.  Weaken our memory of past hurts, but strengthen it to remember all kindnesses.  May we totally empty ourselves, so that you can augment our love that it might be abundantly shared.  For you have taught us:   

Love never fails.  1 Corinthians 13:8

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

He must increase; I must decrease!*  Pass it on! 

* John 3:30

Pray for Families (Discovering Christ)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

If I were to guess at the #1 prayer intention of most parents, it would be that their children (young or adult), would convert/revert, or begin to follow Christ more closely and grow in their faith. And soon!

Little do we contemplate how long one’s own faith journey took. Baby steps, blind walking, sand traps, detours, rest stops, desert tours, hiatuses, fireworks, and infernos. It certainly wasn’t a straight line. But once one truly discovers Christ, they desire it for everyone they know, especially their children. Who doesn’t want to compress the timeline?!

Yet, while you pray for your children, Christ helps you grow in the virtues of faith, hope, patience, and love. If our faith can move mountains, what might our collective faith do?  

May the LORD, your God, show us the way we should take and what we should do.”  Jeremiah 42:3

Lord, you know what weighs heavy on the hearts of each one reading this. Today we lift up to you as a beautiful bouquet, all of our children and even the grandchildren. Hear the yearning of each individual heart as it petitions on behalf of each child. Grant each the grace needed to open their hearts and minds to you. Penetrate the cracks in their lives and show them that in you, all things are possible. Lead them to the path you created for them, helping them over the hurdles that seek to discourage them from discovering your kingdom. Grant each parent an outpouring of love, that it may radiate through them to their progeny, a pure reflection of you, an irresistible light. You are our hope. As always, Jesus we trust in you!  Amen.  

“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.”

Acts 16:31

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Rejoice in hope, persevere in prayer and pass it on!