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A new Christian prayer thread for Autumn and Advent... All welcome!

589 replies

Tuo · 06/11/2013 00:03

Starting a new thread as we head from Autumn into Winter... This is a safe and supportive place of prayer, where regulars, occasional visitors and lurkers, committed Christians and those just dipping a toe into the water are all equally welcome. Come and leave a prayer, tell us what’s going on in your life, bring your worries, hopes, fears and joys to God, and know that you will be prayed for.

We pray, in particular, for...

... amberlight, for her work raising awareness of autism in churches, and for her to know love and acceptance wherever she goes;

... Badvoc and her family, as they grieve the loss of her dad; we pray too for her aunt, who’s very ill, and for all those affected by the death of Badvoc’s uncle who was estranged from the rest of the family;

... BlackEyedSusan, for all the many things which she has to juggle in her life as a single parent; in particular, we pray for her mum's health and for BES to know how best to help and support her, for strength to deal with her DS’s meltdowns, and for both her DC to receive the support that they need at school;

... Bluetinkerbell, in her new job and as she explores her vocation;

... bountyicecream, who is in a very difficult relationship situation and needs our prayers – may she find strength and support and self-belief;

... CharlotteCollinsisinherownplace, giving thanks that she has had the strength to get out of an emotionally abusive relationship, and praying for a happy future for her and for her DC;

... cloutiedumpling, thanking God that her DS doesn’t need surgery, and praying for his continued good health;

... Don'tsteponthemomeraths, for her niece, little Grace, born prematurely – may she continue to grow in strength; also for Mome’s health, and in particular her persistent headaches – may they turn out to be easily treatable; and for Mome’s DS to receive the support he needs at school;

... DutchOma and Bob, for health for Bob and for good support (moral and practical) for Oma as she cares for him day by day; for Oma’s eyes – giving thanks for good sight in the one already treated, and praying for the one still to be done;

... EasyCompadre, for a healthy pregnancy, and for the strength to do what she needs to do for her business while waiting to meet her baby;

... fluffyduckie, that her terminally ill relative is well looked-after and as well as is possible in the circumstances, without too much pain; and that fluffy find a church where she feels comfortable and where she finds a supportive community to sustain her faith;

... FriendOfDorothy, grieving for the loss of her mum – may she know love and support at this difficult time;

... Gingercurl, for the successful completion and examination of her thesis; for strength and discernment for A; for Ginger’s nephew, who has health concerns and is suffering bullying – may he know health and strength and love; and for Ginger’s MIL who has been diagnosed with cancer;

... HadALittleFaith, for her to feel happier now that she has been prescribed anti-depressants; for rest and peace of mind; and for her to find a church where she feels comfortable and welcomed;

... JugglingFromHereToThere, for a job which interests and fulfils her, and for peace and love in her immediate and broader family;

... Kaykat, as she continues to deal with the breakdown of her marriage, giving thanks for the support she has already received and the strength which she has found, and praying that she is soon settled in her own home with her DS;

... LollipopViolet, as she mourns her grandad, and as she explores her faith;

... MadHairDay, for health as she lives with chronic illness - may she be well enough to spend this Christmas at home with her family and not in hospital; praying too for health and love and friendship for MHD’s DD;

... MaryBS, for her work as a Reader, for her DS, and for her friend who was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer;

... niminypiminy, as she begins ordination training; and praying also for her mum’s health, following a recent fall;

... PositiveAttitude and her family; in particular for her parents’ health and for PA and her sister as they take care of them; for her DD1, thanking God that her depression has lifted and that she is enjoying university, and praying for a job for her; for her DD3 who is pregnant, due in February – may she have a trouble-free pregnancy and birth and may she know the joy of being a mother; praying also for PA as her DD3’s pregnancy brings to her mind her DD, Emma, sadly born too soon; and for her DS who is struggling with settling back in the UK, for his studies and for a job for him; and finally praying for PA’s DH and DD4 in Cambodia – may they stay safe and well;

... RoomForALittleOne, for the whole family as her DH embarks on an exciting new curacy placement;

... tunnocksteacake and family, as they cope with Mr Tunnocks’ illness; and

... youretoastmildred, for her friend, R, for a swift recovery from her operation.

We pray also for more occasional visitors and those we haven’t seen for a while: for BoxOfDelights, for thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts, for JakeBullet, for jan and her DD, for notquiteagrownup, for SES, for Soozi, and for weegiemum. And we pray for those who read and pray but don’t post, for those who need our prayers but are afraid or too uncertain to post them, and for all those known to us in our own lives who need God’s love.

Calm us, O Lord, as You stilled the storm.
Still us, O Lord, keep us from harm.
Let all the tumult within us cease.
Enfold us, Lord, in Your peace. Amen

OP posts:
BlessedAssurance · 19/11/2013 20:59

DO,yes i do realise that the Muslims regard Jesus as a prophet,only as not the son of God.interestingly 90 percent of my workmates are muslims so we have these interesting discussions.What i find humorous is they say i would make a perfect Muslim since i do not drink and i pray often.GrinThere is a chapel at my workplace so i tend to pop in there when having a bad day or just need to talk to my Lord for a fem minutes.Will be praying for everybody in there now.Thank You all DD loves to talk about Jesus,sing and dance.

BlessedAssurance · 19/11/2013 21:13

octopuswelcome.It is human nature to sant to seek for answers and those Whois seek shall find.Explore away,and i can say from personal experience that one day i woke up,decided i wanted more out of life spiritually,went to church,began reading the bible without understanding everything,but there was too much good in it for me to ignore.it took a while for me to get it,but once i did there was no turning back,i did not want to og back.We are all here for You and Will be praying that the knocking that is going on in your heart will get louderGrin and that one day You Will be able to open the doors wide.

BlessedAssurance · 19/11/2013 21:13

Human nature to want not sant

BlessedAssurance · 19/11/2013 21:19

juggling all the best with the job interview tomorrow.Praying for favour and that You Will stand out amongst the others being interviewed.

JugglingFromHereToThere · 19/11/2013 21:26

Thanks blessed but actually my interview is not until the 27th - but I'll hopefully be handing in an application for another job tomorrow. Generally I'm feeling a little encouraged by the situation - so encouraging when you get an interview I think.

Dutchoma · 19/11/2013 22:16

Welcome Octopus Thinking about your Nickname, I wonder if you feel like that: an octopus with everything poking out and not really making sense of your environment. Or am I being too fanciful? Welcome anyway and we'll gladly help you explore. Most of us think that faith and science are not mutually exclusive at all and some of us are so clever that they can argue the toss. Not me...

Tuo · 19/11/2013 23:59

Welcome Octopus. Were you brought up with any kind of faith, or is this something completely new? I was brought up as a Christian and went to church till my late teens, and then wandered away and had a long period of agnosticism before finally coming back to faith. I felt drawn back for a long time before I was able properly to commit to it, and for a while I worked on the basis of 'Well, I have lived for 25 years or so assuming that there is no God and I'm still not sure, so what if I try assuming that there is a God instead and just see what happens?'. Well, I'm still here over 3 years after I decided to run with that working hypothesis, and I am happier and stronger than I was before. I pray that you find what you are looking for. Please do hang around and talk to us. As I said in my OP, this is a 'safe' place and a supportive one. We come from a range of Christian traditions but that's not important here - what is important is that this is a community of people who look out for one another and are mindful of each other's needs. (I also have no problem reconciling faith and science, btw, though - or perhaps because - in both cases there are things that I don't really understand.)

Praying for the plumbing (human and otherwise) in the BES household. Get well soon all of you! I heard on the radio this morning that today was the first International Day of the Toilet. Maybe your loo heard and took the day off to celebrate? Hope all's working again tomorrow.

Praying also for Juggling - wishing you luck with the job applications.

And praying, in particular, for Oma and Bob - for continuity, for a swift recovery, for tact and gentle loving care, for support, and for some peace in your lives at this time.

Lord, graciously hear us...

OP posts:
BlackeyedSusan · 20/11/2013 00:12

that is what you get for leaving the radio on... toilets bogging off on holiday ...

i think it is as stroppy as me. it has been on strike and is now working to rule. i m still stuck with the problem of disposing the contents of potties.

on the plus side, I have cold, which means my nose is not working either..

octopusinastringbag · 20/11/2013 06:00

Thanks. I do feel that in a way, you are very perceptive because I didn't realise that I did. I was brought up as an atheist, had a brief association with faith as a teen and as an adult but then rejected it after a bad experience involving the Catholic church and was very anti-religion. I don't particularly want to be religious but something is pulling me in that direction.

Dutchoma · 20/11/2013 06:36

Churches can be such dreadful places. I think Jesus would weep over the church much as He did over Jerusalem.
But I do believe that 'our hearts are restless within us until they find rest in Thee, o Lord.' I think that's St Augustine and it is certainly true for me. When the chips are down, there is Jesus. How you find that connection is a matter of seeking, pulling out a strand of the spaghetti and seeing where it leads you, with or without the church.
As TUO* says, stick around, there are some wonderful people on this thread.

octopusinastringbag · 20/11/2013 07:15

Thank you. I fell out with the catholic church over their views on a couple of things that I'd had personal experience of.
I'll stick around and see what happens.

Tuo · 20/11/2013 07:54

Forgot to say... thanks to anyone who prayed about my work situation. Something happened that made the pathway that would have led to me having to make a difficult decision (for myself and for my family) no longer a feasible one. I don't feel disappointed; I feel relieved: it wasn't the right time or place for me, and I have a lot more clarity and peace of mind now.

OP posts:
JugglingFromHereToThere · 20/11/2013 08:57

LOL @ bess toilets taking the day off to celebrate their big day!
And "praying for the plumbing (human and otherwise)" in the bes household.
This is such a lovely thread!

Glad you have more clarity and peace about things now Tuo

  • praying for that for us all x
cloutiedumpling · 20/11/2013 12:49

Urgh. Stressing about family stuff again. Need to get off my backside though and clean the house. Please give me a kick!

BlackeyedSusan · 20/11/2013 12:50

oh heck. i need prayer to help decide whether to change church or keep on trying to break into the groups. there is a families goup, but it is set up for couples, i can not go to the housegroup meetings as ds will not be left, we do not have babysitters, oh and as I am not in a church group and can not get out much i do not meet many people who i could ask.

I have been at this church for nearly two years and hardly know anyone to speak to. it does not help that I am away for weeks at a time looking after mum. ds does not help. I can not concentrate on conversations when tired and watching that he does not run off.

BlackeyedSusan · 20/11/2013 12:53

i am trying to compose an email. I need to calm down though because so far i can not think much futher that "united in love" (one thing I did get to read on the screen duing the sermon.) bullshit and a bunch of hypocrits. (possibly bunch of hypocrits is unfair)5

JugglingFromHereToThere · 20/11/2013 13:04

Are you sure you want to say that bes ?
Might it be better to just think after trying to engage with them for 2 years maybe another church might do much better at meeting your needs? and making you feel welcome?

cloutiedumpling · 20/11/2013 13:06

I'd start looking for another church, one with good kids activities so that DS could go to junior church or something similar while you get a chance to concentrate on the service. And I'd look for a church where people hang around after the service for coffee too - give you a chance to meet people. A pram praise service or something similar during the day would be good too. Is that enough of a shopping list?

GingerCurl · 20/11/2013 13:16

Oh BES that sound rubbish. I find too that church can be so difficult to break into beyond the superficial "hello, nice to see you". Praying.

My friends lost their mother to cancer yesterday morning. It's a tricky situation as they only just reconciled with her after not seeing or speaking to her for more than 15 years as a result of their parents' divorce.

MIL is supposed to go in for exploratory surgery either Thursday or Friday this week.

Dutchoma · 20/11/2013 13:44

If you feeel bullshit and hypocrites BES you need to be in a different fellowship. But t is going to be hard. Maybe Amber has a clue where in your vicinity there might be a church to accommodate your ds?

BlackeyedSusan · 20/11/2013 17:25

I do not have the energy to start again. 5 dd is settled. ds will go with one of the ss teches to colou in so progress has been mde with the childen. but even so I may as well be a visitor as most things are on a superficial level. it would be wro1ng to say that no-one cares. one couple make a point of talking to me. another lady made a point of finding me after the service to see how I was. it is just tht there isno opportunity to share with people. they have family meal everymonth or so. they all know each otherr from house groups though and it can be difficult to break into the group. I feel the outsider all the flippin time.

we never really got settled in the last church as we were unable to attend housegroup. they showed lcak of concern about me when we split up. they would only agree to meet for a chat, but as I had ds it was not possible. they refused to correspond by email. exh met with them but did not tell them why I had left him at the side of the road, running away in fear of my life

JugglingFromHereToThere · 20/11/2013 18:47

I wonder whether it could be possible to find a babysitter and get to the family meal once a month, or to join a housegroup, and perhaps go twice a month to that, or even once a month to that too (or instead) ?
I really think you'd benefit so much from the break bes - I know I always do. Parenting 24/7 can be pretty relentless can't it?
And sounds like it would help you get to know people so much better too, and feel much more included in things.
Can you ask at church and see if someone could support you in this way?

BlackeyedSusan · 21/11/2013 07:51

there is no-one. Sad I have not been in house group for 5 years. all the people have scattered to different churches. no-one knows ds well enough. I have one friend who is willing to have them in the day in an emergency but she has her own three ( 2 nt, 1 asd) in the evening. neighbour has been very ill and is not capable anymore. another friend moved and we have lost touch. I spent a good part of the last 3-4 years just surviving.

we go to the family meal as a family. anything in the evening is not possible.

Dutchoma · 21/11/2013 08:08

Praying BES

JugglingFromHereToThere · 21/11/2013 08:51

I'm sorry there is no-one. Am praying there will be someone there for you to give you a small break sometimes, even if evenings don't seem possible for now. Am glad you have a friend who can help out in an emergency during the day, at least that's something. Feel you do need more support now that some previous sources of support have been lost. That must be possible x