Pray for Families (The Tides of Life)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

People from every generation can tell you stories of their youth and all the crazy things they did as they followed the cultural trends of their time.  You are probably chuckling right now as you reminisce on the wild things you did.  Today is no different in that many embrace the current boundary-shifting culture and don’t seem to notice the undercurrent that is pulling them in.   But today is very different from yesteryears.  Historically, our country embraced Judeo-Christian values as its foundation, and thus most who were pulled out into the cultural sea eventually found themselves washed back ashore.   They may have become a little saltier as a result, but their core values eventually resurfaced.

Today many children are raised without a knowledge of Christ or God because they are no longer learning about Him at home or in school. Even public places have erased all signs of Him.  As many youth and young adults either actively or passively succumb to the cultural undercurrent, is there any hope that they will ever reach shore again?    Of course there is, because God loves His children and we will be praying for them!

As a shepherd examines his flock while he himself is among his scattered sheep, so will I examine my sheep. I will deliver them from every place where they were scattered on the day of dark clouds. The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal. Ezekiel 34:12,16

Lord, protect your children from the tidal wave of desires that are counter-cultural to you. Give them a greater sense of you as they seek to fill the voids in their lives.  May our prayers for them be the protective armor they need in the battle against evil.  Put us in their daily path and use us as your buoys, lighthouses, and life rings.  In your death, you showed us how great your love was for us. May your ocean of mercy wash all of us to higher ground.  Jesus, we trust in You!

More powerful than the roar of many waters, more powerful than the breakers of the sea, powerful in the heavens is the LORD. Psalms 93:4

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Create a tidal wave of prayer.  Pass it on!

Pray for Marriages (The Consequence of Ignorance)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Nothing is worse than being surprised by a marriage breakup of a friend, not even realizing that the couple was in trouble.   Let’s pray this week for marriages that are silently suffering, nearing the breaking point, often with one spouse being totally clueless. 

Pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing.  
1 Thessalonians 5:17 x 3

Lord, help us to attune ourselves to the needs of our spouse and be open to meeting those needs. Help us also to sense the marital struggles of others.  Lord, we ask that through our prayers, you rescue those who don’t know, don’t see, or are apathetic to the internal marital struggles of their spouse.  May our prayers be the balm that soothes the pain of those not being understood, not being listened to, and who feel the gnawing ache of loneliness.  Jesus, we trust in your mercy and love.  Make haste and save marriages!  All glory and honor be yours, now and forever!  Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Encourage both the lonely and the apathetic. Pass it on!

Pray for Families (To Never Walk Alone)

Greeting Prayer Warriors,

Life is a journey that is never in a straight line.  We are born into a family and then propelled onto an unknown path. It can be tortuous at times, but we are never meant to walk it alone. We are meant to walk with others and to also be open to allowing others to walk with us. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ’s sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.  2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Let us pray for those struggling on the path of life.

Lord, help us to remember that in our greatest struggles, there you are.  You so often send family, friends, and even strangers to support us.  Thank you! May we return your kindness by bringing your love and support to others.  We pray for those with family members battling health issues, those crushed by other family issues, and those feeling let down by their life’s circumstances.  We especially pray for those who fear that you have abandoned them. Hear the pleas of each of our hearts, and lift or lighten the physical, emotional, or spiritual burdens of those in most need.  We trust in your mercy and love! Amen.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed. Psalm 34:19

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Everyone needs encouragement and to feel the love of Christ through others.  Share his love by passing it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Rest and Hope for the Weary)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

How many people do you know who are struggling to hold their marriages together? Next ponder how great the number of all those who are struggling and you have no idea. 

Blessed are those who persevere in marriages, even when their effort is not mutual. May they always place their hope and trust in God, and know He will do the heavy lifting when they can’t.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

Let us pray that they never lose hope and nor give way to despair.  May their blessings be abundant and may the Lord be their foundation, their source of love, and their protective shield.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer changes everything.  Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Viral Love)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was known around the world and loved by people of all races and religion.  She was a shining light of God’s mercy and love.  In honor of the fact that she will be canonized as a saint on Sunday, I thought it relevant to share her wisdom on the family.

“How can we love Jesus in the world today? By loving Him in my husband, my wife, my children, my brothers and sisters, my parents, my neighbors, the poor.”

"If we really want to love others, we must first begin to love one another in our own home. Love begins at home, and so from here - from our own home - love will spread to my neighbor, in the street I live, in the town I live, in the whole world."

"True peace comes only from loving and caring and respecting each person as a child of God – my brother, my sister. I know how trying it must be at times. If you find it hard to see Jesus in the distressing disguise of someone, see that person in the Heart of Jesus. He loves (him)/her with the same love with which He loves you. This will help you to greater love – especially to the one most in need of it.”

Keep the joy of loving Jesus in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family.

Lord, remind us how to love and infuse us with the grace to do so

.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Heavenly Father, bless our families and clothe us with the love of Christ so that by acts of simple kindnesses, words of encouragement, or a welcoming physical presence we may be the vessel with which you inoculate others with your love.  May this Love then spread like a virus among us, transforming the world one person at a time.  Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

May the fire of His love in you go forth like an inferno. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Purging the Me-Monster)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Do you remember as a child, or perhaps experienced with your own children, that your/their focus was all about "me".  "Mommy, daddy, look at me!" children scream in a nonstop loop.  While it’s somewhat endearing in the young child, it’s not so much with an adult. Unfortunately in today's culture some adults seem to have never outgrown the "look at me!" phase.  "Look at my cool car!  Look at my custom home! Look at my amazing vacation pictures! Look at my new title! Look at my new hot wife/husband!"

If we are hyper-focused on our material and professional success, seeking to glorify ourselves, how can we truly ever enter in to a marital relationship of self-giving with our spouse, let alone Jesus?  Jesus must be the one we glorify.  It should not be look at me, but rather, look at Him.  It is only by looking at the cross that one can understand what real love and who should be the focus of our love.

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

By imitating Christ’s sacrificial love, a complete giving of self for the beloved, your marriage will be transformed.

Lord, help us to let go of all the excesses that steal our love and attention from our spouse and from you.   Please fill us with your grace!  Help us to turn from our self-love and focus outward rather than inward. For in loving you, we will learn to love selflessly. May we glorify you by loving our spouse as you loved the church.  All glory and honor is yours, now and forever!

He must increase; I must decrease! John 3:30

All is possible when you begin and end with prayer! 

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Help others purge the Me-Monster.  Pass it on!

Pray for Families (Peace during Separation)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

We live in a day and age where it is increasingly frequent that family members both nuclear and extended move away from each other.  It may be a temporary move such as leaving for  a camp or college, or a more permanent move like a relocation or retirement.  Knowing family members are far away and have less support, we tend to worry more about them or perhaps ourselves if we are the one left behind! 

To ease our minds, we need to trust and realize that the Lord loves them even more than we do!  In thanksgiving for the gift they are, prayerfully hand them over to the loving protection of our Lord.

Heavenly Father, You ask us to be as trusting as children, yet such vulnerability is scary not just for us, but as we think of our young children adult children, our aging parents, aunts and uncle, and grandparents. Lord, we place our family members under your loving gaze. Help us to trust in your care and protection as we are separated from those we love. Hear our prayer as we speak the words Jesus prayed to You on our behalf. … Keep them from the evil one. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. John 15, 17-19

For you are my rock and my fortress; for your name’s sake lead [them] and guide [them]. Psalm 31:4

Prayer will bring you and your family peace.  Remember to pray for other families too.

With compassion I will guide them; I will lead them to streams of water, on a level road, without stumbling.  Jeremiah 31:9

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Prayer brings peace to the soul and peace to those you love.  So why not pray and pass it on?!