Pray for Marriages (A Good Lenten Practice)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

As we enter into Lent, some of you have all the 40 penitential days mapped out and others were caught off guard with the start of Lent and wonder if they missed the boat. (It’s never too late). Lent doesn’t have to be complicated. Allow me to offer some simple, yet challenging suggestions.

Pray more  Pray that you can surrender to God’s perfect will for your marriage, and then allow Him to lead the way. Ask that He help you grow in humility as you daily surrender to Him your own selfish desires.  

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves. Philippians 2:3

Fast  What gets in the way of you doing what you should do? What steals your time? What robs you of quality time with your spouse? TV? Video Games? Workaholic behavior? What creates tension in your marriage? Maybe you overindulge in food or drink? Maybe your overindulge in inactivity or too much activity? Consider a change here.

When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you. Matthew 6:17-18

Almsgiving  Perhaps you have more to give than give up? Are you sharing your treasures, plus a bit more? Unite with your spouse and be generous with people and organizations in need. Have lots of time? Give of your heart. Perhaps you and your spouse can volunteer at a food bank, soup kitchen, or shelter. Are you homebound? Give alms of prayer for those who have no one to pray for them, especially those in very difficult marriages.

During the battle they cried out to God, and he heard them because they had put their trust in him.  1 Chronicle 5:20

As we struggle through these 40 days, may we pray, Jesus, we trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray more and pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Lenten Transformations)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Three days into Lent and I am failing miserably. Yet, that in itself is helping me to see my brokenness and need for total reliance on God. Glad I have 40 days to work on surrendering my illusion of control!  

While we pray for family on Fridays, the best thing we can do for them is to work on our own relationship with the Lord. Family will always pay more attention to what we do than what we say.  

 If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.  Matthew 15:14

This Lent, work on witnessing through your sacrificial and loving behavior what you would like them to comprehend.

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye. Luke 6:42

 Don’t worry, we are all a work in progress. We are God’s beloved and intricately crafted handiwork. 

Lord, guide us on this journey of self-awareness, selflessness, surrender, and transformation. Give our families the eyes to see the power of  your transformative love. Help us to pray and fast for our perseverance this Lent, and accept our offering of sacrifice on behalf of our families. We believe and trust  that with you, all things are possible.  Amen.

Peace, Joy and Love,

Janet

Pray, fast, and give alms. Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Faith for the Long Haul)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Many may believe that the Lord doesn’t hear their prayers. Others believe He hears their prayers, but just chooses not to answer them. Discouragement comes easily when one is struggling, especially in their marriage. We want the Lord to come and fix all of our marital issues, eliminate the arguments and disagreements, make our spouses see from our point of view, and perfect THEM. While the Lord doesn’t like to see us struggle, He sees the bigger picture. His priority is not so much for our earthly happiness, but that all of His children can be eternally joyful in heaven with Him. By allowing us to work through challenges, He helps us grow in humility, perseverance, patience, and wisdom. He knows how to bring about in each of us a change of heart and a greater dependence on Him. When we surrender our will to His, He shatters the hardness of our hearts revealing a new softly beating heart capable of purer love.

I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

Never lose faith in God's love and promises, but nurture its growth through prayer, fasting, and praise. Let us look to the saints such as Abraham and pray that the faith of each one of us will grow to be like his! 

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body as [already] dead (for he was almost a hundred years old) and the dead womb of Sarah. He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God. Romans 4:19-20

Glory to our God on high, who cherishes us, delights in our prayers, want’s our happiness on earth, but trains us for the marathon to the Pearly Gates. May God forever be praised!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

The Lord loves your voice.  Keep praying and pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Hold Your Ground!)

Greetings Prayer Warriors!

When you get frustrated with the state of your family, or even individuals in it, take heart, even the first family of Adam and Eve was a mess. They began their time on earth by disobeying God, lying about it, and then blaming each other! Then one of their offspring murdered the other out of jealousy, pride, and envy! This was the beginning, but certainly not the worst of Jesus’ own family tree! 

We are blessed that we have a God of compassion, love, and forgiveness. While he reprimands us in different ways, He never stops loving us. He is the Supreme example of the perfection we are to strive for in relating to our family members.

I …urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received. Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift, …to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:1, 7,12-14

Now more than ever in this world that is full of deception, we must always have prayer on our lips. Time progresses, but just like in the garden, the Devil is still seeking the ruin of souls. We must stay close to the Truth, so that we won’t be fooled by the tricks and lies of the devil. We must examine our behavior daily and repent, seeking a path to holiness, thus being a witness to our family. We must hold tight to the Truth, helping others to recognize Him.

For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. Ephesians 6:12-13

Encircle your family in prayer to hold your ground! And LOVE them to death!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Anger Satan by holding your ground through love and prayer! Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Reevaluating Our Love)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

While we should celebrate love daily, this week in particular “love” can be seen everywhere. Unfortunately hearts and words aren’t the same as love in action and speech.  Perhaps now is a good time to reevaluate ourselves in this department.  Do we need to turn up the volume in our spouse’s love language?  Are we showing gratitude or attitude? 

Start each day with a kind word to your spouse. It will set the tone for the day.  Ask the Lord to help you see your spouse through His eyes.  He cherishes them as His beloved.

I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. John 13:34

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

Practice loving as God loves. Each day, pray for the necessary grace, and pray that your spouse too is given all the grace needed to love you back.

As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. John 15:9

Ah, the secret!  Remain in HIS love!

Keep praying for one another!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Sending my love and encouragement. Double it and pass it on!  

Pray for Families (Often and Much)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

This goes out to those who are feeling discouraged, beaten down, a little bit hopeless. It can be regarding your life, or perhaps your children or spouse.  

You are enough in God’s eyes. They are enough. God loves you. He loves them. Do you not realize the Lord’s greatest desire is to have all of you in heaven with Him?? It is not your job to change or convert someone. It is His alone. He wants it more than you. He knows their obstacles, their wounds, their sins (and yours). He wants to heal it all. The difficulty for you, is that the Lord does it in His perfect timing.  He beckons both us and them with gentleness and love. He alone knows exactly what each needs to hear.  He alone personalizes the pace of their journey.

If God can part the Red Sea, can He not change your path or that of a loved one? 

The cloud overshadowed their camp; and out of what had been water, dry land was seen emerging: Out of the Red Sea an unimpeded road, and a grassy plain out of the mighty flood. Over this crossed the whole nation sheltered by your hand, and they beheld stupendous wonders. 

Wisdom 19:7-8

Show us your stupendous wonders, Lord!

Lord, give us the patience to wait for your perfect timing. Chase away discouragement and renew all hope! Grant us an increase in faith, that it may never waver in prayer. Grant us the humility to admit that we control little, and are powerless over another person. However, give us the grace to control what we can; our “yes” to Your Divine Will and the frequency and quantity of our prayer for one another. Finally, help us to open our hearts to experience the love you so much want to give us, even when we feel most unworthy. We are grateful that you unconditionally love us and those we hold dear. Thank you for your merciful love!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Spread the love. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriage and Family (Always; All Ways)

Hello Faithful Prayer Warriors, 

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, so this is a double reminder to pray for marriage and family. 

The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. 

James 5:16

Let your voice be heard! 

Pray  without  ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 

Peace, Joy, and Love, 

Janet

Pump up the volume. Pass it on!