Pray for Families (The Power of Fasting)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Discouragement in prayer is not at all unusual. How many of you have become frustrated because you have been praying for a particular intention for so long, that it feels like God is ignoring you? How many of you decry the advance of evil in the world, the loss of morality, and its cultural impact on society (and your family)? What can you do?!

“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” The people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. Jonah 3:4-5

Are you willing to respond to today’s evils in the world (and your own personal orbit) like the Ninevites did?

Fasting is a powerful spiritual weapon in our arsenal that we often forget to use. With God’s grace, it has the power to conquer evil, in our lives, in our family, and in the world. Collectively, our fasting can crush the forces of evil.

Thus, it is encouraging that Bishop Strickland is calling all to participate in a Nineveh Fast in reparation for grave sin.  

While I rarely share such things in my blog, I find this call to fasting very timely and  important, especially in these times.

Per the details in this link, this effort will begin on Friday, March 27th, and will continue on the fourth Friday of each month, for the next eight months – for a total of nine days of fasting. *

Please prayerfully consider participating in this, not just for the intentions as listed, but in reparation for the generational sin seen and unseen within your family.

This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:29

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Call upon others to join the Nineveh Fast! Pass it on!

* More information, along with prayers and reminders can be found here.

Pray for Families (It Begins with Us)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

We all seek to do good. It is the execution of that good that is difficult!

‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:31

Loving others can be easy when the “other” is sweet, kind, and loving. But if they are cranky, rude, sick, needy, belligerent, lack a filter, or just plain evil, this command becomes challenging.

So let us draw upon the many graces the Lord offers us. First, let’s empty ourselves of all evil intent, malice, judgement, grudges, pride, and discontent.  Then let us ask for an abundance of His grace to fill us, for how can we give if we aren’t first filled? Then let us pray that His goodness works through us, allowing Him our hands, feet, and heart. 

“Empty me, fill me, use me.”

I love you, LORD, my strength, LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock of refuge, my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold. Psalms 18:2-3

In Him, we can do all things. Let’s pray for one another's “yes” to God, and for the strength and perseverance to do His will. May God be praised!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Make a small sacrifice on behalf of another. Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Suffering for the Beloved)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Marriage can be paradoxical. When one marries, they think they will never have to struggle alone again. But partnership takes on many forms and they aren’t all glorious. Thus, the faithful expectantly  turn to prayer.

When marital  struggles occur, be they fleeting, cyclical, or daily, offer your suffering as a gift to the Lord, for who better knows suffering? 

When the Lord was betrayed by one in His inner circle, His heart was crushed. Unite your heart with the Lord’s when you experience heartache. He will seek to heal it.

When Christ brought friends to accompany him and pray for him, he was left alone as they slept.  Offer up your times of emotional loneliness. 

When Jesus  was arrested, those he trusted the most, fled.  Offer up the times in marriage you’ve felt abandoned to handle things on your own. 

 It was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured. Isaiah 53:4

When Christ endured His excruciating Passion, only the beloved disciple remained to affirm their union. Know that Jesus considers YOU beloved too. 

He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed. 

Isaiah 53:5

Thank you, Jesus, for taking on our woundedness, brokenness, and sufferings. As we pray for your intercession, may your precious blood continue to heal our past and preserve our future. Jesus, we trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

With humility and gratitude, pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Let Go, LET GO, Let God!)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

As parents we try to do the best we can for our children and hope that the Lord makes up for our ignorance, lapses, and mistakes. Our instincts are always to protect our children physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yet, once they grow up and leave home, we hope the seeds we have planted will bear fruit. 

One can worry or one can trust and pray. All one has to do is look back on their early life and see how far they have come, not on their own, but by the Lord's grace and mercy. Just as the Lord was patient and loving towards us we must trust that he will be no different with our children.

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another. But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7

Lord, renew our faith in your eternal and merciful love. Boost our hope in your promises!

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit. Romans 5:5

Thank you, Heavenly Father.  Help us to be patient and wait upon You. Saint Joseph, Pillar of Families, pray for us! 

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray for an outpouring of faith. Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Discern to Love)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Scripture speaks a lot about judgement. But it also esteems discernment. 

Judgment is about criticizing and forming negative opinions, lowering others, and in essence, elevating ourselves. Whereas discernment is more thoughtful, focusing on what is right, appropriate, or beneficial to an individual, seeking understanding while retaining boundaries.

Thus, we should not judge, especially in our marriages (where it can come too easily)!

Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37

Wise words. However, marriage does call for discernment, so that we may respond and act in a manner appropriate to the situation.

The wise of heart is esteemed for discernment. Proverbs 16:21

Wisdom can remain silent in the discerning heart, but among fools she must make herself known. Proverbs 14:33

In marriage, focus on discerning while seeking to mitigate any judgement. Be gentle with your spouse and yourself, pondering each situation in life, just as our Blessed Mother did.  

Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. 

Psalm 19:12

Lord, bless us in our marriages, that we may reflect more our own actions rather than those of others. In prayer, help us see the way. Take us by the hand and guide us.

It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself. 1 Corinthians 4:3

Love remains the answer!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Love, pray, and pass it on!