Pray for M.O.M. (Healing of Verbal Wounds)

Good Morning Prayer Warriors!

Marriage is tough in that it takes a lot of work and effort to make it good. The bible teaches us that “the two will become one flesh”. Wrapping our human minds around the reality of becoming “one” can be challenging. We know we must unify. In our frustration though, words are often used to wound our “other half.” It is amazing how much venom can be packed into a few words. Unfortunately, once bitten, the venom travels systemically, and additional words can never extract the venom. Although wounds may eventually heal, scars remain. As scars separate us, unity feels impossible.

So turn in prayer to Jesus the Divine Physician. Ask Him to heal your wounds or the wounds you created so that they won’t leave permanent scars. Ask forgiveness of the person you hurt, or forgive the one that hurt you. Then humbly call upon the Divine Physician to forgive you of the sin that caused you to use such weaponry. Give Him your burdens and trust in Him. Ask Him to teach you to love.

Bless the LORD, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God, who pardons all your sins, heals all your ills, delivers your life from the pit, surrounds you with love and compassion Ps 103: 2-4

Pray for all marriages, that love may become the only language used.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Pray for Families (To love and serve)

Good Morning Prayer Angels,

Any frustration seems easier to bear in the sunshine! Maybe because it seems to be more illuminated! So begin today by praying for families.

As much as we love our families, individual members can at times be challenging, testing our patience, love, optimism, and faith. So how do we respond and still honor the Lord? I recently read something that was simply profound, or perhaps it was profoundly simple. It said, when you love and serve your family, you love and serve God. Consecrate your home to God. Allow God to dwell in your home, and you will dwell in God.

Read that a few times and allow it to sink in. Pray for the grace to serve each family member, especially the one that challenges you the most. When you glorify the Lord with such acts, newfound joy will spring up within. And you will have taken the first step to strengthening your family.

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1Peter 5:5

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Pray for M.O.M. (Listen)

Good Morning Prayer Angels!

Summer is here! (Okay, here in the NW, it is summer by date only, not by weather!) So at least put on a sunny disposition before you begin to pray for marriages today!

It can seem very cute when we watch spouses start finishing each others sentences. Is it always positive though? What happens when we stop listening and start assuming? Does our spouse feel heard? What if we respond before they finish a sentence or vice versa? It is said that there is a reason God gave us two ears and one mouth! So this week, listen to your spouse twice as much as you talk. (If you’re not married, try this with an important person in your life.) See if listening makes a difference. Then as you pray for marriages, spend twice as much time listening for God’s response. See what happens.

"I will watch my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will set a curb on my mouth." (Ps 39:2)

“Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening” (1Sam 3:9)

Pray for all marriages, that through listening, all may see with new eyes.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Pray for Fathers

Greetings Prayer Angels!

The words father, daddy, papa, and “daaddd!” all conjure up various kinds of images: provider, worker, counselor, roughhouser, disciplinarian, & first love, just to name a few.

My favorite image though is “love”. Dad’s show their love in such a pure and simple ways: kind words, affirmations, acts of service, gifts of time, self-sacrifice, discipline, humor, financial support, and hugs. Fathers create such a beautiful and much needed balance to the family!

A perfect example of an earthly father’s love is that shown by St. Joseph. He was steadfast in his role as protector, leader, husband, and father. He showed great faith, obedience, and humility. Most importantly, he understood the greatest gift a father could give his child was to love their mother. He truly mirrored the love of our heavenly Father and that of his Son, the child Jesus! What a beautiful example he set for us all!

So in honor of all fathers, living or deceased, natural or spiritual, let us pour ourselves out in prayer for them. Let us shower the living with hugs, affection, and words of affirmation, and the deceased with heavenly prayers of love.

…may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all (1Thes 3:12)

Dear Lord, we ask that you bless, empower, and strengthen all men. Teach them to love as you’ve loved, and to spiritually lead their families by becoming a beacon of your great light. Amen!

Happy Fathers Day! Pass it on!

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Pray for M.O.M. (Marriage is an art!)

Good Morning Prayer Warriors,

Let us prime ourselves for another day of prayer for marriages.

Marriage isn’t just a covenant, it’s an art! Melding with another person, who is more often than not the exact opposite of you, is exhilarating at first and even magical when you are blending like pastels, creating a beautiful Monet. But what if your marriage looks more like a Picasso?

Keep in mind that He is the potter and we are the clay! The Lord appreciates and loves all of his compositions. It is up to us to find the beauty in them! For by succumbing to His will, we allow Him to mold us into His perfect creation. And through faith and hope and trust in Him, he can transform any marriage into a masterpiece.

"...like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand" (Jer 18:6)

Let us pray for all marriages, especially those that don’t look or feel like masterpieces. And for those who have exquisite marriages, may they have the courage to step out as powerful witnesses to encourage others in love, as to what is possible through the Lord.

"I waited, waited for the LORD; who bent down and heard my cry,
Drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp, Set my feet upon rock, steadied my steps, and put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God. Many shall look on in awe and they shall trust in the LORD." Ps 40:1-4

Peace, Love, and Joy,
Janet

Pray for Families (Unity)

All week long, whether I was reading or in conversation, the term “unity” kept coming up. What a beautiful word. Unity. It signifies never standing alone. How powerful. But its absence can be devastating.

Being able to grow in authentic love (Christ-like) is an important step toward unity. If we allow ourselves to be lead by the Holy Spirit, he will help us grow in the fruit of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, patient, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

If we each strive to grow in these “fruits” and change our interior dispositions, what might the ripple effect be in our families, jobs, and community?

live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Eph 4:1-6

Pray for increased unity in families. That each member may turn away from the “works of the flesh”(Gal 5:19-21) and grow in the fruit of the Spirit. (Gal5:22)

Peace, Love, and Joy,
Janet

Pray for M.O.M. (Suffering as prayer)

Good Morning Prayer Angels,

Sometimes it’s hard to pray. We can be so miserable that no words flow to form a prayer, only tears.

Perhaps our suffering can be our prayer. Sometimes song lyrics express it best.

“We pour our miseries, God just hears a melody,
Beautiful the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts,
Are better than a Hallelujah.”*

So let us offer up to God as a prayer, that which is causing us the most suffering. Then let us then ask Him to use our suffering for the purpose of healing marriages. If you know someone in particular who is struggling in their marriage, offer it up for them specifically.

Consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. Romans 8:18

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

* lyrics from Amy Grant’s “Better than a Hallelujah”

Introducing Simply Inspired Prayer

Feast of Corpus Christi

Dear friends in Christ,

Less than 8 months ago, I started what I thought was a reminder service--weekly email notifications to remind you to pray for “Marriages on Monday”. I even created a cute acronym, thinking that in a month or 2, you would remember without my help.

But then I got emails of encouragement asking me to continue. So I did.

On December 25, I felt called to add prayers for families, so I started the “Pray for Families on Friday” reminders. I reminded the Lord that I am not a writer, but all of you continued to send me words of encouragement, that felt like flower petals on my path.

Then a friend told me that I should start a blog “because people really do enjoy reading these Janet. Really! They even forward them sometimes.” When I said I doubted that, she instantly sent me a proof source. She continued saying I could promote it on Internet social sites such as Facebook. “I don’t blog” I told my friend. “I hardly go on my own Facebook page.” “Besides, “I told her, “these ‘posts’ aren’t about me.” I told her that it just felt too self-promotional, since the emails are all about prayer, not me.

However, the Holy Spirit had other plans. I mentioned in passing to another friend that someone thought I should start a blog. Within days, he emailed me saying he had created a blog for me, and what did I want to call it?

Warming up to the idea, but still not convinced, I started to pray about it. And pray... And pray...

So it is with both humility and excitement that I want to share my new blog with you on the Feast of Corpus Christi. I completed my blog on the actual Feast Day, and present it to you on the day it is celebrated in the U.S. May it in some way, build up the Body of Christ.

The name of my blog is Simply Inspired Prayer. I’ve provided a link for your convenience: http://simplyinspiredprayer.blogspot.com

I will continue with my twice-weekly emails unless you choose to opt-out of those and instead, receive reminders from the blog site. I am hoping the site will serve as an easy- access filing cabinet of my past emails should you want to re-read them. In addition, this should provide a simple way for you to share new or old posts with a friend or relative.

In Him, I remain your humble servant. It has been a privilege serving you thus far.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Pray for Families (Foundational Unit)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

It is Friday, so you all know what that means…. Pray for FAMILIES! If you stop reading here and kneel down and pray, I have already done my job!

To grasp why we pray weekly for families, it’s important to understand what makes them important in the first place.

The family is the foundational unit of society. It is the very first community that we experience. Several “firsts” occur within the family: love, stability, relationships, discipline (actions have consequences!), responsibility (Do I have too?!), and authority (Because I said so!) The family is our training grounds for the real world. We learn that men and women don’t think alike at all! We learn that you can argue and disagree with someone and still be loved! We learn about morality and right and wrong. Plus we learn the importance of taking care of, and being present for, our immediate and extended family. These learnings and best practices are then carried out into the society at large for the benefit of the greater good.

When the family crumbles however, the lesson plan often changes and both the family and society suffer.

So with Christian love, assist a family that is vulnerable or fractured. Offer to provide babysitting to a couple who needs time away from the children to work on their relationship. Offer to entertain the children of a single parent who would love an hour to get done whatever they haven’t had time for. Offer a few hours of respite care to the women/man who is a constant caregiver to their spouse and feels they can’t leave them home alone. Offer anything you can think of to help strengthen a family unit.

Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. 1John 3:18

Pray and take action.

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet