Pray for Marriages (A Special Calling)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Being in the workforce has its challenges. One must deal with a plethora of trying personalities, learn to collaborate, yet strive to separate and highlight your accomplishments for advancement. No matter how difficult the day is, you always know you can leave that environment once your shift ends or the work is done.  

Marriage, however, is uniquely different. Those who the Lord designates for marriage are called to a special vocation through which they are serving the Lord. While you may also serve the Lord through your profession, in marriage you serve the Lord by honoring your spouse. It’s not a 9:00-5:00 shift,  but a 24/7 lifetime. It is not a space where you brag about your accomplishments, but rather one where you humble yourself, and unify as a team in collaborative harmony. This is in spite of any disagreements, snarky remarks, or self-serving behaviors.

My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of adversity. Cling to him, do not leave him, that you may prosper in your last days. Accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation be patient. Sirach 2:1-4

Anyone who has been married for any length of time knows that self-denial on behalf of another can be both challenging and rewarding. Serving another is difficult when you are not in the mood, tired, and you too are in need of nurturing. You can easily expand the list, but could you endure and persist without collective prayer on your behalf?  

Woe to timid hearts and drooping hands, to the sinner who walks a double path! Woe to the faint of heart! For they do not trust, and therefore have no shelter! Woe to you that have lost hope! What will you do at the Lord’s visitation? Sirach 2:12-14

Raise your hands in prayer, kneel in humility, and simply pray for marriages. You will be blessed with a daily refreshment of grace, that will embolden you in faith, and hope, and shelter you in love!! 🙏🏻

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Each prayer matters. Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Divine Guidance)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Life is a series of decisions. Some bring joy, some bring regret. With spiritual maturity, we eventually learn that if we wait on God, listen to His voice, and follow His will, we will have peace with our decisions. 

Of course that sounds so easy, but it definitely has a learning curve. We may hear the Lord’s voice within our hearts, in scripture, or through others, or even in other ways. However, sometimes we  hear the wrong voice and are misdirected. 

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

So when personal or family decisions go haywire, don’t self-flagellate, but humble yourself and return to prayer.  In time, your discernment will improve and God’s voice will become more recognizable. 

Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. 1 John 4:3

Lord, help us to hear your voice. Shepherd us as we attempt to guide and lead our loved ones towards holiness, toward You. As we read your Word, help us to be attentive to your voice. May our own voice decrease, and may Yours increase. When we are seeking affirmation, awaken us to the many ways you speak to us. Bless us and our families, and may we find peace knowing you always accompany us on this journey. Jesus, we trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Be still, listen, and ask Him who to share this with. Then, pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Facing “Climate Change”)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

When one marries, they are in awe of the love they’ve found. Their new love continues to blossom and grow as they nestle into a home and lovingly dote on one another. Then change enters in, perhaps after the birth of a child, or 2 or more. The focus is redirected, but  love broadens, and the roots go deeper.  However, unexpected climate shifts such as droughts (financial strains), monsoons (external family demands, sickness, deaths), and earthquakes (trust issues) can pressure test the relationship and make one question whether there is unity or division.   

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus. Romans 15:5 

In time, the house empties again. Some look at their spouse and question why they didn’t nurture that relationship like they did in the beginning. Others look in the mirror and realize they lost themselves somewhere along the way. Still others so wholly embraced their parental role at the expense of their spousal role, that they feel lost and alone as an empty-nester.  

At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. 

1 Corinthians 13:12

Yet there are still those marriages who are a beacon of light, who kept their number one their number one, and are subsequently having fun and enjoying new adventures with their spouse. Praise God for their witness!

Wherever you are on the journey, know that the Lord walks with you, guides you, and will renew and refresh you. He will be your joy and your peace if you let Him.

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. Jeremiah 29:11

Lord, you always bestow special graces on marriages, because they are designed to reflect the love of the Trinity. Bless all newlyweds and help them build a firm foundation of love in You. Grant the virtues of endurance and perseverance to parents of expanding families. With every climate shift in marriages, send your angels to soften the soil to allow for the roots of their love to grow even deeper. Help empty-nesters to rediscover their true identity in You. Finally, bless those marriages that so deeply reflect your love, while nurturing back to health those marriages that have lost their way. Amen.

For nothing will be impossible for God. Luke 1:37

Peace, Joy, and Love, 

Janet

Shelter in place in His loving arms. Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Igniting Faith)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

As I watch the MLB play-offs, I stumble upon these passages, and how I want to believe!

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

On so many levels we are called to faith! While I await for the realization of my hoped for outcome in the play-offs, I have even greater hopes for my family members. 

Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:9

Lord, help us to never lose faith and be the spark that ignites those family members without faith. Keep our hopes high, especially when we tire of knocking. Grant us the grace to persevere in prayer, seek your will, and never tire of interceding for our family members (and ourselves)! For it is by faith, we may know of your love, compassion, and mercy. Be our strength, every second, minute and hour, for without you, we can do nothing. We praise your enduring love! Hear and answer our prayers! Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Ignite the faith of another. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Making Room to Love and Pray)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

While I took a week off from blogging, I hope that you didn’t take a week off of praying!  

Praying takes commitment. Praying for marriages takes desire! It seems easy enough, but without a routine, it easily gets delayed, pushed aside, or forgotten. We must ask ourselves, when we miss our prayer time, what is truly filling that space? Of our time stealers, can any of it be considered useless baggage? 

Next, what is taking time away from investing in your marital relationship? Material baggage? Emotional baggage?  Frivolous activities? Ask the Lord to help you see what needs to be tossed aside, because it may be less obvious than you think. Maybe it’s your lack of faith, your frustration in prayer, that makes you gravitate towards the “useless baggage”?

How long, O LORD, must I cry for help and you do not listen? Habakkuk 1:2

The Lord’s timing is never ours. We pray for one another’s marriages because everyone hits a dry spell every now and then. We pray that all  persevere in prayer and become more virtuous spouses. 

 I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone. 1 Timothy 2:1

Lord, abundantly bless this group who has been praying for such a beautifully long time. We praise you for the many fruits received as a result of our collective  prayers, yet still  petition you for an avalanche of graces, especially in those marriages most in need. Strengthen us for the journey, that our commitment may not waver in prayer or in marriage! Help each of us to become a beacon of hope for others, as we lift our voices to you in endless thanksgiving. 

May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones. Ephesians 1:18

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Your prayers delight the Lord! Pass it on! https://simplyinspiredprayer.blogspot.com/