Pray for Marriages (Strength in the Fire of Love)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all […] so as to strengthen your hearts.  1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.

1 Philippians 2:1-4

Lord, help us to live these words of empowerment and encouragement in our marriages and in our lives.  Your grace is enough, but may you always bestow it upon us in abundance!  Though many marriages burn with pain and heartache, may the flames of your Love weld them back into a oneness they thought was lost. Make their love as strong as iron. Forge them as torches of your Light, Love, and hope in this world for all.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Provide hope. Be the torch of his Light and Love.  Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Time-less)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Reflect back to your childhood.  Do you have memories of gathering together at the dinner table each night, discussing your day or hearing about a family member’s? Maybe it was spent teasing a sibling or complaining about the food, but either way, it was a daily time for togetherness.

Today with technology, we have even more ways to connect, but rather than bringing us closer together, it tends to separate us. Rather than free up our time, instead our time is consumed by it.  Family members never seem to have the time or ability to sit and engage fully.  Satan smiles knowingly, as once again he has found a way to take a good and use it to weaken the family.

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who despoil me. Psalm 17:8-9

Lord, help us to hold fast to our family rituals and long time traditions of togetherness.  May we grow in the desire to always put our family second, only after you. Protect us from the subtle snares of the devil and guard us as the apple of your eye. St. Michael, come with a legion of angels angels to guard and guide us always.  Jesus we trust in you!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Sharing is a form of togetherness.  Pass it on!  

Pray for Marriages (The Power of His Word)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you.  

John 15:12

The presider at every wedding should recite this!  These eight simple words clearly define the Lord’s expectations for us toward one another, and especially for marriage.

“How can one fulfill that commandment?” you may wonder.  The prayer I read next seemed to answer that question. , ”Make us grown in his likeness by the power of his word dwelling in our hearts.” How often we underestimate the power of his Word, the “sword of the Spirit”, I mused.

Lord, help us to prioritize our time so that each day we may be fortified and strengthened by your Word. Dwell in us and transform us by increasing our ability to love our spouses as you do.  Conform our hearts to yours so that our hearts might beat as one.  May we never forget to invite you into our marriage on a daily basis, for in you we will always remain one. 

Pray and read scripture to strengthen your marriage!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

We are never alone, but when feeling alone, the Lord always awaits us in his Word.  Eradicate loneliness and the inability to love adequately.  Commit to reading scripture 5 minutes a day to start.  Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Pray or Prey?)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Those who break the law are put into jails and prisons.  They seek clemency from a judge that they hope will be fair and upright.

Those who break God’s laws, His commandments, find themselves in self-made prisons resulting from following their own will, not God’s.  They think that following their desires is a form of freedom, but instead they unknowingly get caught in the snares of the Evil One.  They become enslaved by their sin and are not free at all.  Luckily though, they are guaranteed a Righteous Judge.  All they need to do is to amend their life and ask for God’s love and mercy. His mercy is as deep as the ocean and His love is without measure.  True clemency and freedom exist only in Him.

He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God. Isaiah 61:1-2

We are called to proclaim His mercy and to pray for each other, for we all fall prey to sin and imprisonment. The Lord even offers us a get out of jail free card.  Through our prayer and that of others, we are able to humble ourselves and with a contrite heart, ask for His mercy.

Pray for one another, so we will not fall prey.  Proclaim the liberty found in Christ Jesus.  Let freedom reign!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray or become prey. Pass it on. 

Pray for Marriages (Uncovering Hidden Greed)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

“Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”  Luke 12:15

Immediately our minds flash to the wealthy or at least well-off people that seem to have it all and don’t want to share it with us!  Unfortunately, it is way too easy to point our finger outward. However, greed can take less obvious forms other than acquiring possessions.  We can be greedy with our time as well as our talents.

Are we sharing our time with others, especially our spouse, who may crave nothing more than the gift of our time and attention?

Are we sharing our gifts of cooking, organizing, fixing, praying, encouraging, navigating, administrating, (just to name a few) with those who don’t have those talents, especially our spouse?

Where is the hidden greed in your marriage?  In your life?

Lord, help us each to be generous with all the blessings and talents you have given us. May we as a couple use our complementary talents to enhance our marriage.  Let us not crave material wealth, but rather the wealth of a loving spouse, family, and community. Most of all Lord, may we praise you for the sacrifice You made to make each of us eternally wealthy in You.  May we forever praise Your name, Jesus.  Thank you for making us rich in your love!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

When you pray for someone, the richness of your prayer makes his or her soul a little brighter.   Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Renewable Energy)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Sometimes it’s just too easy to get annoyed with someone or something.  Slowly a wave of negativity unfurls and bitching and complaining crescendo before crashing us back down upon the shore.  What a waste of our energy!  It’s self  depleting!  Isn’t it easier to just assume positive intent in everyone and love them where they’re at?  Isn’t that how we want to be treated?

If one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.  Colossians 3:13-14

Make a commitment to create a groundswell of positivity and love.  Genuinely show love to others, especially your family.  It’s a renewable energy for love begets love!  For a sustainable energy, PRAY!! 

Peace, Joy, and Love

Janet

Love always changes the recipient.  Love someone by passing it on!  

Pray for Marriages (Promises to Believe in)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

I will lead the blind on a way they do not know; by paths they do not know I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them, and make crooked ways straight. These are my promises: I made them, I will not forsake them.  Isaiah 42:16

This scripture reminds me of a young couple getting married.  Expectations are high, but does either spouse really have a clue about the hills and valleys of married life?  We each have an inherent blindness, perhaps even by design, however the Lord is there to support and guide each step of the way, each year, each decade. It is a promise He as made to us.  All we need to do is believe in His Word, His unfailing promises.

Lord, it is easy to believe in your promises when all goes well, but when our marriages start to stumble and our hopes start to crumble, and we are no longer humble, sadly our trust and faith in You weakens.  Lord, increase our faith and grant us the grace to have unwavering trust. Especially bless the engaged and newly married so that the cloud of disillusionment will never obscure the beauty of their blossoming love.  Collectively we pray, "May the abundance of your grace rain upon marriages!"

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

May our prayers prevent the stumble and the crumble and make us humble! Pass it on! 

Pray for Families. (The Prayer of Presence)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

When you are at a loss for words, sometimes the perfect prayer is to just be present for someone in need.  In prayer, ask the Lord to help you discern who might need the comfort of your presence, the compassion of an open ear, the encouragement of a warm smile. Then act.  It will be a most glorious prayer.

When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.  Jeremiah 29:12

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Give the gift of your presence. Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Imitators of God)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Love each other.  Even when you are too tired; even when you are angry; even when you have suffered insults; even when you are mocked; even when those you love the most hurt you’re the most.  Love, as Christ has loved and your world will change.  So will your marriage.

All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. [And] be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Ephesians 4:31-32

So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2

Lord, unconditional love can seem beyond our capacity.  Come dwell in us, so that you may love others through us.  You are our hope, our joy, and our strength.  Come eternal Love, that together we may reignite those who no longer know love., so that ultimately, they may embody Love.  

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray that all may have a greater capacity for love. Pass it on!