Pray for Marriages (Prepare for Impact)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

Imagery has a great impact on our lives: how we feel, how we think, how we act. Think of a time in your life where you observed someone, and were deeply moved by their positive actions. Remember a time where you heard words that uplifted your whole day. What about a time you perceived a situation in a negative light, only for someone to explain what was going on, and that conversation completely shifted your paradigm? 

Words and behaviors matter. Custody of our tongue matters. We could change the world if we changed our words and actions! So let’s begin in our own homes by becoming more focused on how we behave and speak toward family members, especially our spouses. We might even muster up the courage to gently point out to another as an observer, their harsh tone, their abrasive actions, and/or their cutting words, and how hard it is to hear them address another in that way. Ignorance of self is not bliss. Do your actions speak of love, mercy, caring? If so, they will ripple out and create positive energy. 

We are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them. Ephesians 2:10

Simple question. Do you praise God with your behaviors?

Put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth. 

Ephesians 4:22-24

Lord, once again we humbly crawl to you, our loving Father. You delight in picking us up and reminding us that we are loved.  Help us to imitate your compassion, mercy, charity, and patience. Remind us to pause and reflect before speaking and acting, asking ourselves, “Does what I am about to say/do glorify God? Uplift our marriages (or one we pray for). Pour out your grace upon us, so that we may positively impact those we love the most. 

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Ephesians 3:14-17

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Spread positivity. Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Your True Net Worth)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

From generation to generation, the family unit has evolved; Or should we say devolved?  More often than not, both parents work, children are being influenced by adults other than their parents and parents are chasing promotions that demand more of their time. Church attendance and prayer time is abandoned due to time constraints and selfish desires.  It’s a vicious cycle as most are just striving to pay the bills and make ends meet, while creating a better life for their family.  Adult children then repeat the pattern, but what/who is left in the wake?

The answer is multifaceted.  Sometimes it’s ourselves! Nothing comes without a price, be it health, relationships, availability, or loneliness. The culture will chew you up and spit you out! We must come to the realization that nothing can be achieved on our own. We need God. Yet, dense as a forest, we still stubbornly seek to be clothed with worldly glory and honor. We must discover that Christ did not receive glory and honor until he suffered death for us. In imitation, we are called to die to self.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. Hebrews 2:10

For most of us, it may take years to discover that our worth is not in the money we make nor the title we hold, rather, it can only be found in a relationship with the Lord. There we will discover that we are beloved sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and that His Spirit dwells within us. All peace, joy, and love resides there. He only asks that we unwrap  the gifts of our salvation.

Do you not know that your body is a temple  of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Corinthians 6:19-20

You are loved and treasured beyond measure by our Lord, made for a specific  purpose that only you can uniquely fulfill. Let us pray for the grace to surrender to His Holy Will, to be good stewards of the gifts bestowed upon us, to be bold witnesses of the Truth, and to see our “net worth” in Him. Let us also pray for each of our family members, that they too may discover their true net worth.

Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Mathew 10:31

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Help another discover their worth. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Send in the Flame of Love)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

Each marriage is special, because each partner is as unique as a snowflake. It is never fair to compare one marriage to another, as each spouse has unique gifts, unquestionable faults, and a spiritual journey all their own. The challenge is, sometimes one spouse hasn’t even begun their faith walk, when the other is doing sprints! This can add unimagined tensions to a marriage. 

So this week, let’s pray for the spouses who are atheist, agnostic, lukewarm, off-course, or have hit a rough patch in their faith. Perhaps they are grieving a loss, and are questioning God’s love for them. Maybe they cling to a particular sin, and keep justifying it as okay. Maybe they became lukewarm in the practice of their faith through Covid. Whatever the circumstance, let’s lift up these individuals in prayer. 

“I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Revelation 3:15-17

Lord, as we petition you on behalf of marriages, hear our unique prayers this week, focused on spiritual renewal, reset, or jumpstart. Perhaps some of us will pray on behalf of ourselves, acknowledging that we may need to look in the mirror first. We stand before you, Lord, with humble hearts, for we are weak, prone to spiritual sloth, and often slip in our love and devotion of You. Similarly, we may have spouses that aren’t evenly yoked to us. Lord, stand in the gap! Adorn us with your grace!  Send us your flame of love and be the fire that eliminates lukewarmness, and fires our desire of You.  For the unbeliever, grant them eyes to see and a heart to feel your presence. Grant us all wisdom. Take the aspects of our relationship that are disordered and plait them together in a more unified way, with You being our third strand. Then with confidence, we will praise your blessing of marriages, and be the witnesses so desperately needed in this world. Amen.

Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:19-20

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Be humble and pass this on!

Pray for Families (Fulfillment through the Cross)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Sometimes people ask me how I keep blogging, and don’t I run out of things to write about?  The reality is, I never know what to write about, but it isn’t because there is a shortage of topics. In this world, there is too much that is in need of prayer. As any parent can attest to, regardless of the age of their offspring (or their spouses), they never run out of prayer intentions! 

Both the world and our lives are in constant flux. Thus, the Lord gives us crosses and then later replaces them with different ones depending on our newest worldly attachments. Sometimes we embrace our crosses,, but for the most part, we grumble about them. 

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

If this is difficult for someone who loves the Lord, but how much harder is it for someone who gives no thought to God?

The cross is our means of salvation and the source of all the treasures that await us in heaven. Most will admit, we cannot walk this path without copious prayers. Nor can our family members!  So let us continue in our commitment to prayer, for our families and each other.

With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6:18-19

Loving Father, you know our weaknesses, so please have mercy upon us. Hear the plea of your Son, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. For our desire to love and follow you is great, however, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38. Help us not to fear the cross, but to embrace it. Pour your redeeming grace upon all of our families, and fortify each of us to be an example of truth and mercy both in our homes and out. Help us grow in the virtues of humility, patience, and charity, and grant us the grace to let go of pride, impatience, bitterness, and unforgiveness. Come be our Light. Continue to be our Hope. Embrace us with your Love! Help us persevere in prayer!! Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

A better world begins with you. Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Securing Heavenly Riches)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

From the time we are young, we are taught to work toward “the dream.” Work hard, get good grades, become involved in lots of activities, go to college, get a job, get married, have children, buy the house, upgrade to the dream home, retire, and then travel the world and live the life you’ve worked toward!! There are probably more than a few variations to this, but isn’t this what we heard and what we tell our children??

The challenge is, you can’t find all these instructions in scripture. We are to work hard, marry, and be fruitful, but acquiring all the trappings? Seeking wealth? What does scripture say about that?  

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.  Matthew 6:20

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?  Matthew 16:25-26

Then there was the rich man who would daily ignore and walk past the beggar, Lazarus, at his doorstep. He appears surprised at his judgment.

‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Luke 16:25

The Lord doesn’t condemn those who have wealth or comfort; for he often richly blesses the faithful.  He does, however, judge harshly those who don’t put Him first, don't share their blessings, and don't live their lives according to His plan.

Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. John 3:21

While we may begin on the right path, how easily we are easily led astray!  Many may remember when businesses were closed on Sundays and no sports league, be it pee-wee or professional, would have games on Sunday?  Everyone was at church!  

Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.  You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter....  

Exodus 20:8-10

Now that Sunday has many options (distractions), are you choosing God or mammon?  

No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.  Luke 16:13

“Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.  Luke 13:24

Lord, you know how weak we are. How quickly we justify behaviors that are not worthy of you. Without your grace, we could never even find the narrow gate. Have mercy on us and guide our families onto the path to everlasting life. Thank you for never tiring of redirecting us. We are not our own; we have been purchased for a price. We praise you for your merciful love and compassion!  

Blessed are all who fear the LORD, and who walk in his ways. What your hands provide you will enjoy; you will be blessed and prosper: Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your home, your children like young olive plants around your table. Just so will the man be blessed who fears the LORD.  Psalm 128:1-2

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

There is no such thing as too much encouragement. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Faith during Hardship and Loss)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

The vocation of marriage is a very special one as the mystery of God is reflected through this communion of persons through which offspring come forth, reflecting the love of God. Thus we collectively pray for marriages, since anything that reflects God's image and likeness is a target of Satan.

The most difficult part of marriage is when you feel you are being faithful to God’s plan in big ways and in small, and  then out of nowhere, all the good comes crashing down, and issues arise with your finances, your children, and/or your health. I am reminded of St. Teresa of Avila, who said to Jesus after she slipped down an embankment into the mud during one of her journeys home to her convent, “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so many enemies.” 

Even Moses had his doubts and queried the Lord:

“Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Numbers 11:11

With us, it can be much the same.“ Lord, why are you causing so much pain, grief, and hardship in our marriage, in our family? Are we not faithful?!!”  

Yet, I derive the most inspiration from Job, a faithful, upright, and very wealthy man (land, herds, children, etc.). His sons would host feasts and then Job would offer the Lord sacrifices on behalf of each one of them. Then one day, out of the blue, all of his herds, servants, and children died. (Read the book of Job). While the response of most might be more in line with Moses or St. Teresa, Job’s response remained pious:

“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!”

What is even more remarkable, is that Job had no idea of why the Lord did this to him, nor did he question it. (See Job 1). Do we have the faith and trust to respond to our hardships as Job did?

Lord, you know we are very weak, even when we think we are strong. When our faithfulness feels like it is being punished rather than rewarded, grant us the piety and trust of Job. May we accept all you desire to bestow on us, be it hardship or blessings.  Increase our faith, open our hearts, and conform our will to Yours. May we find joy in You as our constant companion, for we never walk alone. St. Job, pray for us!  St. Teresa de Jesus, pray for us!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Encourage and support others in their marriage. Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Patience in the Journey)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

You’ve probably heard the saying, “If  you want to make the Lord laugh, tell him YOUR plans!” I’m not so sure I like the sound of that laughter, because who doesn’t think they know what’s best for them and their family?! The Lord knows each of us intimately probably is greatly amused by what WE think we need. However, He KNOWS what we need, and His plan is to guide us to heaven to be with Him throughout eternity.

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. 

Jeremiah 29:11-12

However, no road to total fulfillment is ever gained by walking on a bed of roses. Some of the most joyful people endured incredible hardship to get there, yet their light shines so brightly.

Thus He gives us crosses big and small, usually much smaller than we would describe them. Oh how we hate suffering! Yet, we are ALWAYS assured of His love, for we are His beloved. With great difficulty, we try to reconcile in our heads His gifts of consolations and desolations. Eventually, we come to discover that they will primarily be revealed to us in our hearts, for it is there that the Lord wants to conform us. 

In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will. 

Ephesians 1:11

All He asks for is your hand so that He can lead you, and also provide assurance, comfort, and respite along the way. 

Even there your hand guides me, your right hand holds me fast.  

Psalms 139:10

As you become anxious about your journey or that of a family member, ask for the gifts of faith and patient trust. Surrender yourself like a child, into the Father’s arms. 

Lord, we pray that our desire to conform to this world lessens, and that our desire to be conformed to your Will increases. We ask this for our family members as well, for as “the world” grows in strength, they need your loving protection all the more. Show them your abundant love in unexpected ways, and expose all the alluring false promises and lies of the world.  Grant us the grace to endure our thorns and crosses, in total love for You. With child-like trust, we take your hand and place all of our trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Be child-like, but with more patience! Pass it on!