Pray for Families (The Perpetual Parent of Prayer)

Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

When I had young children, and then teenagers, I dreamed of the day I would become an empty-nester and get “my” life back. Then I became an empty-nester, and thought I had freedom at last. Yet, I soon began to count the days until my children would come home and visit.

In their absence, it really hits home how important family is. It becomes clear how much joy they continue to bring to your life. They helped to mold you and define you as much as you molded them and helped them find their true identity, (hopefully, as beloved children of God). Not just that, each one challenged you, strengthened you, brought discipline to your schedule, and helped you grow in the virtues, especially patience, just to name a few.   

Now is the time to pray that the holy seeds you planted in them will germinate. If their faith is but the size of a mustard seed, pray that it will quickly grow.  

Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:7

Pray for their spouses or future spouses. Pray for your grandchildren or future grandchildren. Pray for those still at home adjusting to a quieter, more still home in the absence of older siblings. Pray that you will never tire of praying. Be a living witness to your faith.

What we have heard and know; things our ancestors have recounted to us. We do not keep them from our children; we recount them to the next generation, the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD and his strength, the wonders that he performed. God made a decree in Jacob, established a law in Israel: Which he commanded our ancestors, they were to teach their children; That the next generation might come to know, children yet to be born. In turn they were to recount them to their children, that they too might put their confidence in God, and not forget God’s deeds, but keep his commandments. Psalms 78:3-7

Trust in the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness as you pray for this generation and the next.   

“I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

The need for a praying parent never changes. Keep the faith and pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Keeping Pride in Check)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

By nature we are prone to disagree, spar with, and challenge people, especially our spouse. Challenging another can help them grow, but we get into trouble when our pride is greater than our humility. [Or so I hear.  ;-) ]  When a vice outweighs a virtue, it is a wake up call that WE need to grow, and this begins with reassessing our relationship to God. Perhaps we’ve been relying more on our will than His. 

When pride comes, disgrace comes; but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

Are you lacking in wisdom? Need to nourish your humility? Here is a sampling of suggestions from an expert, St. Teresa of Calcutta, aka Mother Teresa.

• Accept small irritations with good humor
• Do not dwell on the faults of others
• Give in to the will of others
• Accept insults and injuries
• Be courteous and delicate even when provoked by someone
• Give in, in discussions, even when you are right

Plus a pearl that can help with the growth of humility, “Sacrifice is the inversion of malice.” Show love through sacrifice.

Swallowing one’s pride is not an easy task, but much more palatable when one starts with prayer. Pray, then ask the Lord to help you imitate him so that you may grow in virtue.

The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. Psalm 145:8

Please note, none of the above should imply that you suffer abuse, verbally or physically, but rather, you humbly tolerate and become less reactive to provocation and insults.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. Colossians 3:12-13

Peace, Joy, and Love, 

Janet

Help one another grow in virtue. Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (The Living and the Dead)

Greetings Prayer Warriors,

On All Souls Day, I went to Mass to pray for my departed relatives and ancestors.  When sharing this with a Protestant relative, I was asked, “Why are you praying for the dead, aren’t they already in heaven?” That was a sincere question, and one many Protestants would have. 

If he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. 1 Maccabees 12:44-45

No one can assume that everyone goes to heaven. The Lord didn’t teach that otherwise there would have been no need for the Gospel to spread. Christ did atone for our sins during His Passion, and our sins are forgiven.  But that doesn’t mean we have a free entrance ticket to heaven. If we break a window the owner may forgive us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to pay to replace the window. Christ gave us a free gift of love and mercy, however, we need to accept that gift and the price is high.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments”. John 14:15

Everyone knows that following in the way of the Lord is difficult. However, He has compassion for our missteps as long as we humbly return to Him and ask for His mercy. He never denies his mercy to a humble and contrite heart. 

Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” Mark 7:15

Prayer, sacrifice, humility, and reconciliation help to restore our purity.  Thus, it should be no surprise, that if offered for another soul, our prayers may be purgative for them.

He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:10, 26-27

Pray for the living and the dead and your reward will be great in heaven. 

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray without ceasing! Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (Unification Found in Him)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

Each of you is in a unique marriage, (or perhaps you are unmarried and dedicated to praying for them, so thank you!) If the Lord could unite Jews and Gentiles thousands of years ago, heal the sick, drive out demons, give sight to the blind, and raise the dead, can he not bring renewed life and vitality to any marriage? 

He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 

He meets each individual where they are at, for no matter how disparate we are, we are all His children.

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. 

We may walk different paths, but we have one Father, and are members of His household  through our baptism.  If we look to the apostles, we see that they were much like us: unsure, imperfect, prone to doubt, disagreement, etc. Yet, through their “yes” and His grace, they were transformed.

Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:17-22

The Lord is the great Unifier. If we trust and are faithful in prayer, He will continue to transform our marriages, sanctify us, and will knit us together as a perfect dwelling place for Him, for his greatest desire is to dwell with us.

To boost the efficacy of our prayers, let’s collectively offer them for marriage, trusting in all His promises and freely accepting all that He wants to give us.

Jesus, we trust in You!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Make prayer a habit: Daily, hourly, minute by minute. Then, pass it on! 

Pray for Families (A Daily Act of the Will)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors,

God presented us with a great challenge. He made in His image and likeness, gave us free will, and then made what seemed on the surface to be a simple request. “Follow me.” And how did we respond?

What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:15-17

Sin gets in the way all the time! It pushes us down the road to perdition. We don’t know why we sin.  Our family doesn’t know why they sin. They just do! Yet Jesus reassures us that we don’t walk alone. We are strengthened by prayer and the sacraments to resist sin. With the help of His grace, we must make a daily act of the will to sin no more and to follow Him.

If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. So speak and so act as people who will be judged by the law of freedom. For the judgment is merciless to one who has not shown mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. 

James 2:8, 12-13

Show mercy. Be patient with one another. Be quick to forgive an offense. Be compassionate and loving. Affirm good. Renounce evil. This is following Jesus. 

The LORD, the LORD, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity, continuing his love for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.  Exodus 34:6-7

Lord, we pray that your grace and guiding hand may lead our families down the narrow path. Be our “bumpers” that we may not fall into the gutters of life. Hear our prayers for one another, and in your delight, hear and answer us. Amen.

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Mercy triumphs over judgment. Pass it on! 

Pray for Marriages (The Faith of Moses)

 Greetings Prayer Warriors, 

How easy it is to say, “Jesus, I trust in You!”  How truly difficult it is to trust in Jesus, especially when the going gets tough. The Lord’s ways are not our ways. The Lord’s timing rarely coincides with our timeline. Just when we want Him to change our spouse, He instead tries to change us. He reassures us:

“Be still and know that I am God! Psalm 46:11

It is the LORD who goes before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8

Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.  Hebrews 13:5

Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  Mark 10:9

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Fear not, for I am with you.  Isaiah 43:5

“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20

Let us pray that we can have the faith of Moses. Petition the Lord in prayer to bless all marriages, and trust in Him to do so. 

He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do. That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” But it was not for him alone that it was written that “it was credited to him”; it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead Romans 4:20-24

“I do believe, help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Pray for the gift of faith! Pass it on! 

Pray for Families (Walking with Others)

 Greeting Prayer Warriors,

Life is such a series of joys and sorrows! Have you not experienced the sorrow of hearing of the death of a friend or relative, only to soon transition to joy as you hear of a new birth, and vice versa?  Luckily for most, the Lord helps to keep us on the balance beam, steadying us continuously as we look at life not as a circle but linear!

We are never meant to walk alone, thus He sends others to accompany us in our life’s journey while also calling upon us to assist others. Such action should alway begin with prayer, otherwise we are prone to hearing the Evil One dissuade us from our good intentions and deeds!

So let us begin our prayers by focusing first on both ends of life. Pray for the expectant mom and offer support as she experiences the trials of labor, joys of birth, and the reality of life with a newborn. 

When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. John 16:21

Pray for and comfort those who mourn, and help them as they transition to a life living with the absence of a loved one.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

We are His hands and feet, His voice, His touch, His embrace. WE are to bring Christ into this world each day. WE are to bring peace, joy, and love.

Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:16

Pray for family each step of the way and encourage them to accompany others as they walk the middle ground. It changes both the giver and receiver. All glory to God!

Peace, Joy, and Love,

Janet

Glorify God in your prayers and in your works. Pass it on!