Pray for Marriages (Praise and Petition)

Greetings Prayer Angels,

As we close out the year, let us start with a heart-song of praise...  

Thank you Lord, for helping us to persevere in prayer.  Thank you Lord, for in prayer we became closer to you.  Thank you Lord, for honoring our prayer and using it in the most efficacious ways.  Thank you Holy Spirit for propelling us into action.  May we always be vessels of your love for the benefit of others! May we glorify you by our actions!

.... and then let us end it with a heavenly appeal for marriages!

Sweet Jesus, pour out an abundance of your grace, love, and mercy upon marriages.  Strengthen each one to withstand life’s constant storms that seek to rock, shake, twist, and destroy them.  Enflame the hearts of couples with the faith to believe that they can weather any storm, if only they secure themselves to You, the Rock.   Help couples in their unbelief, as they strive to believe that the storms impacting them will pass.  Reveal to them in your mercy, the radiant light of the Son. ☼  Give their marriages new life in You and bring them peace.  Amen, we believe!

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you.  2 Thessalonians 3:16

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

It’s all gift.  Pass it on throughout the New Year! 

Pray for Families (A gift of prayer)

Greetings Prayer Angels,

This will be the last time I remind you to pray for families this year.  But don’t worry; I will continue to remind you next year as well.  :)

I am so grateful for your commitment to prayer, especially praying for Families on Friday and Marriages on Monday, (aka Pray for M.O.M.).  Since I began requesting these prayers 3 years ago, I had no idea how truly great the need was and would become.  So I ask you on this fourth day of Christmas, to continue to give the gift of prayer.  Let someone know that you prayed or are still praying for them, their family, or a member of their family.  Perhaps this will bring them comfort or hope. Forward them a link to my blog and ask if they too will consider a gift of prayer.  They don’t even have to remember, as I will remind them to pray.  That is my gift to each of you. 

You are the light of the world.  A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.  Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.  Matthew 5:14-16

Thank you for sharing your light, His light shining through you.   Your prayers help to illuminate the hearts and minds of others, in ways we may never know.  Inspired by the Holy Family, I pray that each of you will receive the gift of praying with Mary’s pure heart, giving with Joseph’s selfless humility, and loving unconditionally, like the infant Jesus.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Give the gift that keeps giving.  Pass it on. 

Pray for Marriages (Fall on you knees)

Greetings Sweetest Prayer Angels,

“O Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth

Imagine the deepening of the marital bond between Joseph and Mary as they not only witnessed, but also participated in the birth of Christ.  Not only was He theirs to love, nurture, and guide, but they were His!  They were one in Him! 

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth”

Are you aware of your worth, true beauty, divine legacy in His eyes?  Your spouse’s worth? Allow your soul to feel it’s worth.  He so loved us, that he humbled himself to be born poor, in the bitter cold, in the stench of a stable, with the feeding trough as His crib.   

O Bread of Life feed us!  May we be one in you!

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees

O hear the angel voices
O night divine!

O night when Christ was born
O night divine!
O night, O night divine!

Say a prayer for marriages, that they may be inspired by the faith, humility, and love of Mary and Joseph.  May all realize that if Christ is the center of their marriage, they too may be one in Him.

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

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Share a gift of prayer.  Pass it on.   

Pray for Families (Gifts of Peace, Joy, and Love)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

I awoke this morning with that “Oh no!” feeling that comes with the realization that I forgot to remind all of you for pray for families yesterday.  Raise your hand if you remembered any way!  J  Let’s see if years of Pavlov conditioning has helped!  ;)   But then I smiled when I realized that the reason I forgot was that I was busy enjoying my family—all day and late into the evening—a lived out prayer.

So slow down and make your family time a prayer to Him.   Make special memories with your family that will eclipse any old hurts or disappointments.  Make this a Christmas where you experience the joy of the Holy Family.

Yes, in joy you shall go forth, in peace you shall be brought home; Is 55:12

I will leave you with a prayer a good friend sent me.  (Thank you dear friend!)  She must have sensed I would need some Simply Inspired Prayer support over Christmas.   Pray it now and on through to the Epiphany.  See if Peace, Joy, and Love then descend upon your family.

Prayer to the Holy Family

Jesus, in the midst of difficulties you experience the caring love of Mary your mother and Joseph your earthly father.  Look favorably on our family.  Protect us when we are troubled.  Let us care for one another, believe in one another, and hope in one another.  Increase our faith in each other and in You when doubts arise. Let us hope in Your support when we feel threatened by despair, and love each other boldly in those times when we feel hurt.

Mary Jesus gave you to us as our mother.  Intercede for us.  We desire to be a Holy Family modeled after your family.  Love us and care for us, your children. 

St. Joseph you protected Jesus from the evils of Herod and you provided for Jesus and Mary.  We ask you to protect our family and help us in our need by your powerful intercession.  Amen.                                        

Courtesy of the Capuchins

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,

May they be your gift at Christmas,

Janet

Send the gift that keeps on giving.  Pass it on.

Pray for Marriages (The intersection of Love and Mercy)

Greetings Prayer Angels,

As we enter in to the third week of Advent, it is easy to get distracted and stressed by the impending “deadlines” of buying gifts, wrapping, packaging, mailing, card-writing, home preparation, and so on, then distressed by the lack of help from family members which often results in impatience and arguments, and ultimately a loss of joy.  Others become depressed, when feelings of loneliness intensify over the holidays.  Perhaps this is the first Christmas alone.

When this happens, make a U-turn and return to the intersection of Love and Mercy.  Pause to reflect on the reason for the season.

“Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Luke 2:10

The Lord sent us a Savior so that we may know Love itself, in the form of a pure sweet innocent child.  That child would grow into a man that was Mercy outpoured.  It is precisely at the intersection of Love and Mercy that we will find Christmas Joy and heavenly Peace. 

We can find the extraordinary in the ordinary of our daily lives.  Just take a stroll to the intersection of Love and Mercy.  Bring your spouse and family with you.  

Turn stress into rest; Sweet heavenly Peace.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.  Jude 1:2 

Give it generously.  Pass it on. 

Pray for Families (Tragedy Prevention)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

When tragedy strikes our hearts sink.   Today’s top story was about the shooting and killing of children and adults at an elementary school.  This event received heavy media coverage, but I am sure that many other but no less significant murders occurred around the world today that we will never know about.

Lord come and be with the victims and their families to comfort them! 

While the media is focusing on a proposed government ban on automatic weapons as a result of this most recent tragedy, my mind wanders to the perpetrators of such crimes.   Shouldn’t we be focusing on the people, not the weapons?  What kind of anger or emotional pain must one be in to think that killing is going to relieve their pain, give them power, or bring them happiness?  What must be missing from a perpetrator’s life to get to that endpoint?

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.  Matthew 5:43-45

We will never know the answer to “the why or the what?”.  But we do know that we are called to pray for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let us pray for the families affected by this and other tragedies.  Let us pray for the victims.  And yes, let us pray for the love to be able to pray for the perpetrators.

Hug your children.  Hug your parents. Hug your relatives.  Hug your friends.  Cherish your time together.  Work together to heal old wounds.  Tell your family and friends that you love them.  Perhaps this is the best form of tragedy prevention.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Love is the answer.  Pass it on.