Pray for Families (Eyes to see His Mercy)

National Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Today is designated as a “Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn.”

Since Roe v. Wade, at least 58 million unborn babies have been killed. Those are children that will never know a family. The media is virtually silent as to this holocaust of the unborn, yet often, so are we.  According to Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life, “America will not reject abortion until America sees abortion.”

Do we see it??  Where have we had blinders on?  Are we allowing ourselves to be cognizant that babies are God’s creation and thus His?  Do we stop to think that each baby has a heart and soul and that while we can stop the heartbeat, the soul lives on?

I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. Luke 15:18

• Let us pray for the healing of all women who regret their abortion(s).
• Let us pray for each man who encouraged their girlfriend and/or wife to get an abortion or who remained silent, secretly relieved that they were released from any fatherly obligation.
• Let us pray for those who face an unplanned pregnancy and are scared or panicked; may they be surrounded by supportive love and thus choose life. 
• Let us pray that all each and every one be given eyes to see, a voice to speak up, and the heart to love with compassion.
• Let us pray that we are shaken from our apathetic silence, empowering us to support laws to protect the unborn.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19

Fortunately, we are blessed to have a God of MERCY!!!  Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy and Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

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

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray for healing and a restoration of legal protection to the unborn. Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (Invited Guests)

Greeting Prayer Warriors,

Most of you are quite familiar with Jesus' first miracle, which occurred during the wedding feast at Cana. A mother was teaching this story to her young son. "There was a wedding feast and the bride and groom ran out of wine at the reception. The Blessed Mother upon noting this, went to her son, Jesus, and said, 'They have no wine.' She then looked at the servant and said, 'Do whatever He tell you.' Unable to refuse any request from His mother, Jesus then changed the water into wine." Upon finishing this story, the mom then asked her young son, what he learned from this story. Thinking about it, the young son suddenly exclaimed, "Well, if anyone is going to get married, they should invite Jesus and Mary to the wedding!"

Amen!

When difficulties arise in marriage, perhaps only then do we see our true reliance on God. It is only in our need that we can be more cognizant of what he does in our lives and how much we need His grace. Let us the Lord for abundant grace while asking His mother to intercede and pray for us as well. In the quiet, let us hear her gentle voice, "Do whatever He tells you."

Obedience is better than sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15:22

Lord, we pray for those who are planning to marry or are married and haven’t yet invited You into their relationship.  Lord, stir their hearts.  As they feel your nearness, may they beckon You to come closer. As they seek to know You, may they yearn to welcome You into their marriages and seek Your blessing.   Bless them and all married couples so that the life they live and the life they build is one that glorifies you.   Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Help someone to build a marriage upon the Rock. Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (A Strong Beginning)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Marriage we know to be good, as it’s creator is God.  It was designed for the good of the couple and the good of their offspring, as its indissolubility would be the foundation for a stable family life. Yet many men and women, separated from Divine Love and steeped in self-love, seek relationships and children outside of marriage, seeing little need for a life-long commitment.

With this in mind, do you know what the #1 cause of childhood poverty is?   It’s the absence of married fathers in the home.  The culture has made it easy to have intimate relationships and childbearing sans marriage.  But those with the largest price to pay are the children.  They are either killed through abortion or are statistically more likely to be raised in poverty. 

We need divine assistance, as we are a fallen people.  Let us pray for a return to God’s perfect design. 

Lord, help men order their passions so that women are not just the object of their pleasures. Help men see the wisdom of marriage as a foundation for a stable family life for their children. Give fathers the grace and the heart to be available, invested, and committed to their children.

Lord, you designed women to be the life-bearers.  Give them loving hearts that seek to protect life.  Give them the wisdom to know the importance of fathers in their children’s life. Give women the grace to delay motherhood until after marriage, yet help them to also be accepting of children after marriage.  Open everyone’s eyes to your plan, one of union with a spouse, through You. 

Finally, protect your children in the midst of our dysfunction. Send them family, friends, and teachers whom know You, so that they may be introduced to your enduring love and kindness. 

As for me, I trust in Your merciful love. Let my heart rejoice in your saving help. Psalm 13

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Everyone needs encouragement.  Let us rejoice in His saving help!  Pass it on.  

Pray for Marriages (A Visible Sign?)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Marriage is a visible sign of Christ’s love for his Church.  Are you seeing much love out there these days?  Would someone look at your marriage and see Christ’s love?

You are not alone. This is why we pray!

Be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9

Begin with a few steps.

• We need to make God our Love, versus “love” our god. 
• Instead of loving things and using people, we need to use things and love people. 
• Instead of constantly seeking to alter our lives, we need to altar our lives.
• Instead of living to work, we need to work to live as Christ wills us to.
• Make a commitment to pray daily and your prayers will lead you to a deeper commitment to your marriage each day.

 I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, give you counsel with my eye upon you.  Psalm 32:8

Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer is an immeasurable gift that brings about change.  Pray for a marriage and pass it on!  

Pray for Families (Rising from Depression)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

On the road of life, the terrain differs widely.  We never really know what to expect on the journey, except the unexpected.  As we travel life’s daily path of mountains and valleys, the highs are spectacular and the low can seem endless.  One might be depressed for hours, days, weeks, or chronically. Almost everyone knows someone in his or her family suffering from depression. 

Why are you downcast, my soul; why do you groan within me? Psalm 42:6

Thus, when I stumbled upon this prayer that a friend sent me a while back, I decided it was worth sharing.  Let us pray for family, friends, or self, seeking the Lord’s intervention.   

O Christ Jesus, when all is darkness and we feel our weakness and helplessness, give us the sense of Your presence, Your love, and Your strength. Help us to have perfect trust in Your protecting love and strengthening power, so that nothing may frighten or worry us, for living close to You, we shall see Your hand, Your purpose, Your will through all things.

-Prayer Against Depression: St. Ignatius of Loyola

When praying this prayer for someone, ask the Spirit of the Lord to be upon that person, lifting them into His joy. 

Fill your servant's heart with joy, Lord, for to you I raise up my heart.  Lord, you are kind and forgiving, rich in faithful love for all who call upon you. Psalm 86:4-5

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Help someone to experience Joy.  Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Hard to Love?)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Those reading this blog must have asked themselves at least once, "Why is marriage so hard!?"  I've asked myself that question many times, but today I began reflecting on Christ as Bridegroom and each of us as the bride. "Is He, the heavenly Bridegroom, hard to love?" I asked myself. He certainly wasn't the object of widespread devotion and adoration while here on earth. Rather, He had to suffer, die, and rise again before He was given much heed.  Today, we treat Him more as a utility broom to clean up our messes than a heavenly Bridegroom to love. If we can't appropriately love Love Himself, is it any wonder there is so much difficulty in our marriages today?

Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. 1 John 3:18

He is the Bridegroom, we are the bride.

He came to save us from self-love and pride.

Surrender self-love to the powers above

And ask to be strengthened by the Spirit, the Dove.

Let go of pride to be a good spouse,

And welcome humility into your house.

Serve, teach, and love with docility,

Then claim Christ as the gate to eternity.

For as a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you. Isaiah 62:5

Lord, we seek your hand to assist us. Help us to surrender ourselves to your will and be docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Strengthen marriages, especially those in the hearts and minds of each prayer warrior. Teach each one of us to love and serve you through others. We promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. We promise to love and honor you all the days of our lives. Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Learn to love more easily.  Begin with prayer. Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Love, Strength, Forgiveness)

Blessings of the New Year, Prayer Warriors!

Peace to your heart, as you begin anew.  Rest in the Lord and learn to love the treasures in His heart.  Bring this peace into your family.  Pray with them and for them. Together, pray for the preservation of family as Christ intended it.

No one should ignore or underestimate the decisive role of the family, which is the basic cell of society from the demographic, ethical, pedagogical, economic and political standpoints. The family has a natural vocation to promote life: it accompanies individuals as they mature and it encourages mutual growth and enrichment through caring and sharing. The Christian family in particular serves as a seedbed for personal maturation according to the standards of divine love. The family is one of the indispensable social subjects for the achievement of a culture of peace.  ...Without the family humanity has no future; young people in particular need to learn the values that give meaning to life, they need to be born into and grow up in that community of life and love which God Himself desired for men and women. -Pope Benedict

All families need God. Every single one. We need His help, His strength, His blessing, His mercy and His forgiveness.  It takes simplicity to pray as a family, simplicity is needed…. -Pope Francis

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; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Start the year off right.  Pass it on!