Pray for Marriages (Healing from Divorce)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

My heart is joyful knowing all of you treasure the Sacrament of Marriage.  But I know many of you have been hurt by divorce.   I praise God that you continue to pray for marriages and consider yourselves warriors!  For you know God’s perfect design, but it takes two willing spouses to hold it together. 

Today we pray for your continued healing.  May the Lord bring you close and continue to bless you.  May His grace be abundant, especially if you are parenting alone.  May you draw closer to Him in both your sorrows and your joys, for He will always be your True Love.

For your husband is your Maker; the LORD of hosts is his name, Your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth. The LORD calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, A wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back.  

Isaiah 54:5-7

Lord, our Divine Physician, we call upon you to shower healing grace upon those hurt by divorce.  Hold their heart tenderly, and heal its wounds.  Erase any memories that taunt them.   Help them release any lingering anger, resentment, or unforgiveness that keeps them distant from you.  Renew their trust in others, especially You.  In the name of Jesus, we humbly pray.  Amen.

“Behold, I make all things new.”  Revelation 21:5

Peace, Love, and Joy,

Janet

Share the good news!  Pass it on!  

Pray for Families (Parenthood)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

In a culture where a large percentage of babies never make it safely out of the womb, it may be hard for some to understand those who long not just for a child, but many children.  When a couple wanting to start or expand their family finds themselves infertile, their emotional pain is great.  The knowledge of infertility only seems to increase their longing.  But we know prayer is powerful, and great faith is often rewarded as seen in scripture with Abraham & Sarah and Jacob & Rachel, and Anne and Joachim, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.  Genesis 9:1

Let us join our prayers to those who are praying for fertility, pregnancy, and/or the ability to carry their baby to term.  Let us also pray for a blessing on all parents.

Lord, you commanded us and willed us to be fertile and increase in number.  Have mercy on those who are unable to conceive.  Look with compassion on those who long to be parents.  Remove their infertility. Open the woman’s womb and make it fertile to life.  Increase the man’s sperm and motility.  Join them as one, entwined in your love.  Bless them with a pregnancy that You will protect from gestation to birth.  Bless them as parents, and bless all of us as parents, that the burning embers of our love toward are children will continually be fanned into flame, just as Your love us never wavers.  Heavenly Father, hear our prayer!

He will love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb. Deuteronomy 7:13

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer is the answer.  Pass it on!  

Pray for Marriages (Support in Caregiving)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Nothing is more heartwarming and inspiring to me than watching someone tenderly care for a chronically ill spouse.  They are an absolute light to the world.  However, it is a most difficult and exhausting task, even for the most loving person.  It also can be incredibly lonely as social relationships fall to the wayside.

Today I ask that you pray for the caregiving spouse, that they may grow in fortitude, kindness, patience, and enduring love. 

In everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints…by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love.  2 Corinthians 6:4, 6

Lord, we ask a special blessing on the person who is in the role of caregiver to their spouse.  Consecrate their hands so that they are tender in their care.  Provide them the fortitude and patience to endure.  Help them to remain kind, especially when the response to their care feels taxing, and unappreciated. In the most difficult times, lend them your heart to love with.  Help them to see that in caring for another, they are caring for You.  Bring them helping hands, loving support, and good friends to listen.   May our prayers uplift them in their weariness and comfort them on the journey. May our loving presence in their lives bring them joy and may your unceasing presence bring them peace.  Amen.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

  

Befriend a caregiving spouse.  Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Tradition)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

There is something about family traditions that I just love. Perhaps it's that it brings the family together in a special way by providing deeper bonding opportunities while allowing the family to reminisce and laugh at cherished memories over a time continuum.  These memories last a lifetime and are often passed into future generations, which makes me wonder.  Are we creating positive memories that draw us closer together and closer to God?   Will the traditions we create be so enriching that we would be proud for future generations to carry them on? What will these traditions say about us to future generations?

Take some time to reflect on your traditions.  Is the Lord  any part of your gatherings? Perhaps you begin or end in prayer?  Consider making enhancements to your traditions where necessary so that the Lord is acknowledged, praised, and perpetually thanked.  And of course, don't forget to say some prayers for family.

"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Revelation 7:12

Peace, Joy, and Love,
Janet

Share a special tradition.  Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Newlyweds!)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Wedding season is here, and with the warm summer sun, love is in the air.  Our hearts sigh as we witness the joy of young love and our hopes join theirs as we wish them a happily ever after.  For love to last, it often takes the encouragement of a community, who can embrace, lift-up, and guide other couples through the twists and turns of married life.  Even the happiest of couples will share that the longevity of their marriages took hard work....and lots of grace!

My constant prayer is for everyone's marriage to last a lifetime.  Prayer can lift others when we can't be there.  Let us continue as warriors, joining our voices in prayer for marriages, especially for newlyweds.

Lord, help the two hearts joined in marriage to beat as one.  Teach them to compromise their wills, but not their values. Give them eyes to see the other's needs first.  Give them ears to not just hear, but to listen.  Give them the gift of understanding to realize that their spouse may prefer a different path to get to the same destination. Give them each the humility to know that they aren't always right and to admit to each other when they are wrong.  Give them the patience to deal with each other's imperfections.  Give them the wisdom to know that their marriage will be richer if they invite you into their union.  Help them realize that love is an action, not a feeling.  Most of all, give them your heart, that they may love purely, wholly, passionaltely, and eternally.)

May The Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you.  1 Thessalonians 3: 12

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Encourage a newlywed couple.  Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Light up the World)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Have you ever pondered the fact that God created you to be a gift for others and ultimately Himself?  You are a gift! Your entire family is a gift to be shared for the betterment of others!  Perhaps it’s time to rediscover our gift and reverse the culture of self-aggrandizement.  In our souls there rages the battle between sin and grace, evil and good.  Instead of asking, “what’s in it for me?” ask yourself “What loving gift of self can I share with others?” What would be the impact on our culture if we always sought the good of the other? Is it loss or gain?

[But] whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ. Philippians 3:7-9

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Oh Lord, who lights up the earth with the radiant sun, enlighten our darkened minds with the light of faith.  Give us eyes to see each of your children as gifts in our lives. Help us to share our gifts with them without seeking anything in return.  May our hearts never cease to love one another, for in loving one another we are not only sweetly loving you, but also bringing your face to many who may not know it. Continue to shower each family with grace, that good may always triumph over evil and that our faithfulness and love may illumine any darkness in this world.  We ask this in the precious name of your son, Jesus.  Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Light up the world! Pass it on!  

Pray for Marriages (Chains of Unforgiveness)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Have you ever been so hurt so badly by someone you loved that you screamed, seethed, totally withdrew, hated them with all your being, cursed them, and wallowed in bitterness?   Then you built up a wall, an amazing fortress, to forever protect your heart.  Yes, you surely got them!  Ha!  But the only left hurting became you as your resentment grew like a cancer.   You wanted relief from this pain, but the shackles of unforgiveness closed yourself off to God’s healing grace. Satan smiles. 

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Is there someone your need to forgive? Your spouse?

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27

Most people have experienced some level of unforgiveness in their lifetime, so our focus today will be to pray that married individuals choose to forgive, let go of the past they can’t rewrite, and allow heavenly healing to surround their hearts.  May they experience unspeakable joy as their chains fall, their fortress crumbles, and rays of love fill their hearts. 

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Share hope and healing.  Pass it on!  

Pray for Families (True Freedom)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Happy Independence Day!

As you connect with family and friends this weekend, celebrate your freedom and all the responsibility that goes with it. 

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. 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 5:1, 13

• Proclaim independence from your ego.  Put others first.
• End emotional starvation: Love freely and genuinely, with the heart of Christ
• Help others in need: Give freely and generously.  Your joy with increase!
• Boost morale, especially at home: Praise one another freely and frequently!
• Gather to thank the Lord, for we His family, are all beloved children; He has given us life, liberty, and the freedom to choose; Use it to pray, worship freely, and continue to seek the protection of that freedom.  

Give honor to all, love the community, fear God, honor the king.  

1 Peter 2:17

Let freedom ring!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Freedom:  Pass it on to the next generation!