Pray for Marriages (Labor of Love)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Marriage is a labor of love. One quickly learns that love is a daily decision, an action that makes the desire to love visible. Note I didn’t say “makes the feeling visible”. Feelings come and go. If marriages ended any time the feeling disappeared, there wouldn’t be many marriages! It is grace that propels us in love and grace that diminishes the desire to avoid love.

 

Hatred stirs up disputes, but love covers all offenses. Proverbs 10:12

 

Loving another is very difficult if we don’t love God first. For it is in uniting with him that we are made strong. Like him, we will make merry at the wedding feast, but also be given a personal Calvary in which to glorify him. 

 

The eyes of the Lord are upon those who love him; he is their mighty shield and strong support, a shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, a guard against stumbling, a help against falling. Sirach 34:16

 

Jesus, you bring us the joy of Cana, the understanding and need for prayer in our Garden of Gethsemane, and the strength to walk our Via Crucis. You have a special love for married couples and we pray that your grace will be especially abundant throughout each marriage. Lift each spouse up lest they stumble, and show them the narrow path, that they may enjoy peace, love, and happiness. Nourish them with your Word, strengthen them in the sacraments, and secure them with unshakable faith that they may forever praise your merciful love! Amen.

 

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

 

Make a decision to first love, He who is Love. Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Protect and Guide)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

 

As we glide into September, many are sending their children off to new jobs, away to college, or maybe just keeping their children home for school. For me, having kids far away (even if they are “adults”) seems more difficult now. Others may not have children, but worry about their aging parent(s). As riots continue to spring up all around, as hate speech increases, as conservative views are muzzled, and as a presidential election approaches which will result in riots regardless of the outcome, my parental heart is heavier as I reflect on the state of this country and our world. 

 

Let us pray, not only for children who live far away from us, but for parents and other relatives who may feel more vulnerable in these times. 

 

You, O LORD, protect us always; preserve us from this generation.  

Psalm 12:8

 

Gracious God, you shelter all who call out to you. Please also shelter those we pray for. Send them additional angels to protect and guard them. Send the Light of Truth to guide them. Replace our own worry with trust. It is for these times you have made us and for these times you have equipped us. Enlighten our minds that we may discern the truth. Open our ears that we may hear the gentle voice of your Blessed Mother, asking us to take her hand that she may show us the way and lead us to You. Amen.

 

Jesus, we trust in You! 

 

Peace, Joy, and Love, 

Janet

 

Prayer for others brings uscloser to God. Pass it on!  

Pray for Marriages (From Seed to Blossom)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

Marriage provides a landscape that needs a lot of TLC and continuous work. However, it also provides rich soil for personal growth. When tended regularly, one’s marriage will eventually flourish. But what if one spouse has a green thumb and the other isn’t much interested in “gardening”?

When polarities of the spouses become pronounced, it is difficult to make the marriage bloom without some 3-in-1 Trinity “fertilizer".  Thus, being the warriors that we are, let us lift these couples in prayer.   

Heavenly Father, change the pH of all marital soil that does not encourage growth. Plant the seeds of faith, hope, and love, and provide ample Son-shine to chase away the chill. May new roots sprout, drawing deeply from your living water to rehydrate the will which has withered. May the winds of the Spirit refresh the air, and re-oxygenate love which has become hypoxic.

Like the crocus it shall bloom abundantly, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Say to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.  Isaiah 35:4

Just as flowers reach for the sun as if to say thank you, so too in time will you give Him all the glory!

Let us go early to the vineyards, and see if the vines are in bloom, If the buds have opened, if the pomegranates have blossomed. There will I give you my love.  Song of Songs 7:13

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

God causes the growth!  Pass it on!

Pray for Families (In Full View)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Do you ever reflect on the fact that nothing that you do, think, or say is hidden from God? Ponder that!

LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. You sift through my travels and my rest; with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all. Psalm 139:1-4

Lord, help us that we might be more mindful of you in our ways! You made us in your image and likeness, yet how often we fail to reflect your essence of purity and love!  Help us, that we may be a good example for our family members.  May we pray for each one of them in this manner:

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

Heavenly Father, help us all to be more pleasing to you!  For "every saint has a past and every sinner has a future!"*

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Ongoing prayer can lead all to a holy transformation. Pass it on! 

*Oscar Wilde

Pray for Marriages (More Gifts Please!)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

"Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they will not. So each is inevitably disappointed."- Albert Einstein  Who knew a physicist could be this spot on about marriage?!

Marriage is a gift from God. But so is faith, wisdom, knowledge, fortitude, understanding, counsel, and fear of the Lord. Perhaps we just need to pray for more wedding gifts from God!!

While it’s fun to joke about marriage, living it as God ordains and asks can be really tough. When marriage begins to feel like a cross, whether it be for a moment or for years, Jesus is directly calling you to “pick up your cross and follow me.” The Lord embraced His cross out of love, for He knew His sacrifice would save His beloved. In marriage, we are each called to do the same.  

Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:38

As you struggle, the Lord hears the groanings of your heart, the pleas that slip from your lips, and senses the fatigue of your will. If you trust in Him and you will not lose hope.

The eyes of the LORD are directed toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The righteous cry out, the LORD hears and he rescues them from all their afflictions. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed. Psalm 34:16, 18- 19

Lord, hear the collective prayers of these worthy warriors, and bless all marriages with an outpouring of gifts and grace!

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Peace, Joy, and Love, 

Janet

May our prayers encourage anyone who feels crushed by the weight of their cross. May they soon sense He who walks beside them! Pass it on!  

Pray for Families (Vessels of Hope)

Greeting Prayer Warriors,

No one likes adversity; however, it actually has a purpose in life in that it strengthens us. Those who grew up during the Great Depression had no choice but to quickly learn coping mechanisms and become very resourceful. Those who experienced WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, or any other war, whether on the front line or the home front were initiated by fire (figuratively) and quickly had to adapt to circumstances they had never faced before, as did their children. But decades later, many of our youth have lived the charmed life. Most never had to worry about being drafted or whether they had shelter, food, or clothing, but rather were more concerned how much they could buy. The only poverty most have experienced is poverty of spirit.  

It is thus not very surprising that they have immature coping mechanisms. What is alarming though and still quite shocking is that according to the CDC, 1 in 4 young adults aged 18-24 have contemplated suicide during this pandemic. A whopping 75% eave reported anxiety and depression. This is the real pandemic affecting our youth! 

So, let’s do what we do best. Pray! Fewer and fewer of our young adults know the Lord, and even if they do, these are the years in which they have walked away from Him. As a result, they begin to despair during a crisis, for they fail to understand the power of his compassion, love, and mercy. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. Psalm 23:4

Lord, you love each and every one of your children. Come Good Shepherd and lead the lost and anxious to places of repose. Bring them into the shelter of your Sacred Heart. With your protective staff, pull them from despair and pour your love into their hearts. Make them vessels of hope for others and renew them with your peace. May we be used as your instruments for the common good, helping our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!

The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. 

Psalm 23:1-3

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Be a vessel of hope. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (The Money Trap)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

One of the most common themes that couples argue over is money. While one or both spouses being unemployed can add financial (and other types of) stress, how one spends or manages their money, how much disposable income is available, and the freedom or lack thereof that if offers, can also lead to discord. Conflicts usually aren’t just the about the money, but the shifts in power, feelings of failure, increasing financial and emotional insecurity, and fear of an unknown future. The arguments that ensue can begin to feel like a circular trap with no way out.

Perhaps the Lord calls each to strive for increasing charity of heart. Maybe it’s a nudge to grow in the virtues of patience, kindness, courage, and prudence. Growth indeed comes with a price and is always difficult, but even bones don’t get stronger unless they are stressed!

[Love] is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury. 1 Corinthians 13:5

Precious Jesus, hear the prayers of your faithful warriors and may your saving grace flood the lives of couples most in need. Do not allow what you have joined together ever to be torn apart! Lord, when financial arguments escalate, may your peace be a grounding force. When one feels the pain of doing without, may they praise you for your generosity and all the blessings which they have taken for granted. When they begin to doubt, may hope triumph. When they want to lash out at each other, may your love be the bridge to increased patience and perseverance. Grant them the grace necessary to keep the doors of communication open even when they are tempted to slam them shut. Cushion their shared words with kindness, compassion and love, giving way to a path forward. Give them the will to forge ahead united, believing in your eternal promises. 

Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Mark 9:23

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Avoid the money trap. Find eternal security in the Lord. Pass it on!