Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Philosophy/religion

Join our Philosophy forum to discuss religion and spirituality.

A new Christian prayer thread, just in time for Easter!

992 replies

Tuo · 09/04/2014 23:44

Welcome to our new prayer thread... just in time for Holy Week and Easter.

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 the ways in which we can work to make life easier for our autistic friends, and for her to know love and acceptance wherever she goes;

... Badvoc and her family, as they grieve for her dad and for her aunt - this has been a very tough time for the family... may spring bring them happier times;

... 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 both her DC to receive the support that they need at school, and for her to feel welcomed, accepted and supported at her church;

... BlessedAssurance, for breast-feeding to settle down for her following the birth of her baby son, for her relationship with her extended family (and in particular her MIL and her bonkers baby-naming ideas ), and for her parents who are far away;

... CharlotteCollins, for her new life as a single mum - may she be happy and fulfilled and supported in it;

... DontstepontheMomeRaths, for her life as a single mum, for support for her to do all the things she'd like to be able to do, for her DC, for difficult relationships at work, and for the wonderful work she does through her church supporting people going through separation and divorce;

... DutchOma, as she grieves for Bob, that she may find peace of mind, love and support at this time;

... Gingercurl, for her relationship with her DH, for the final 'tweaks' to her thesis, and for friendship for her DS;

... ALittleFaith, for baby Faithlet as she approaches her first birthday, for Faith's work to bring her joy and not exhaustion, and for her to find happiness and fulfilment in her church;

... jan2014 for her to understand what the right thing to do is vis-a-vis her relationship with her DH, and for her to have the courage to do what needs to be done, and to find support in doing it; also for her new church to be a place where she finds love and support and welcome;

... JugglingFromHereToThere, for her sister and her family as they grieve the loss of Juggling's nephew;

... Kaykat, giving thanks that she is now settled and happy in her new home with her DS, and continuing to pray for her situation, that she receive the moral and practical support she needs for herself and her DS

... MadHairDay, for her health to improve this spring and for her to stay out of hospital, and for health, friendship, and freedom from bullying for MHD's DD;

... PandaG, as she and her family grieve the loss of her mum; and for

... PositiveAttitude, praying for the right outcome for PA's DH as he decides between a career opportunity at home and a return to Cambodia; also praying for PA's parents health, for her DD3 and DGS as they move into their own home, and for her other three DDs and one DS in their various situations; and finally praying for peace for PA herself and - whatever happens work-wise in the UK and/or abroad - for God to provide for her and her family.

We pray also for all regular and occasional visitors, and those we haven't seen for a while, including: boxofdelights, bountyicecream Bluetinkerbell, CheerfulYank, cloutiedumpling, EasyCompadre, FairPhyllis, fluffieduckie, FriendOfDorothy, GoodbyeRubyTuesday, harbinger, JakeBullet, ktef, LollipopViolet, MaryBS, NeverKnowinglyUnderstood, niminypiminy, notquiteagrownup, PloddingDaily, revivingshower, RoomForALittleOne, saintsalive, SchrodingersFerret, SEStheBrave, Soozi, SunshinemMum, thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts, thehorridestmumintheworld, trish5000, weegiemum, youretoastmildred, ZingSweetApple, and zulubump, and for anyone I've forgotten to name-check (don't take it personally, please!). 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.

Keep Your people, Lord, in the arms of Your embrace.
Shelter them under Your wings.
Be their light in darkness.
Be their hope in distress.
Be their calm in anxiety.
Be strength in their weakness.
Be their comfort in pain.
Be their song in the night. Amen

OP posts:
Questionoffaith · 06/05/2014 20:26

Hi everyone I hope you don't mind me gate crashing your tea party Smile. I am a namechanger, have been a regular on mn for years and a regular lurker and occasional poster on the religion boards. I am coming to you guys in the hope someone can help me with a question I have re faith and prayer. I haven't wanted to post a new thread as I am hoping here I will find a safe place after seeing how many threads questioning faith end up as a believer v atheist bun fight and I am feeling way too emotionally fragile to deal with that at the moment. To give you some background, I am a Christian, I have faith and belief in God and Jesus and can never remember not having that faith. However I find myself at a very difficult time, knowing I should pray, knowing I should trust in God and turn everything over to him but I keep coming up against the same voice which is basically asking me how can you pray and ask for something to happen and have that belief God will hear and act and reconcile that with the idea that your prayer wont be necessarily answered in the way you want. I feel my belief in the latter part of my statement is stronger, namely that prayers are answered but often not as you want and instead of giving me comfort it is just leaving me asking then why pray? I feel the latter thought is negating my faith in the first action, that of asking for something through prayer.
Again apologies for my intrusion and also the namechanging and lack of detail. I have quite a few friends and family members on these boards and I don't want to be recognised.

Dutchoma · 06/05/2014 20:47

Of course you are welcome QuestionofFaith. More than welcome. I think we all go through times when we feel that our belief in God is called into question. Why pray if God knows what we need, why pray when we don't get what we want...etc.
And in the end there is only one answer: God is. And because God is, because he cares for us, we can come into His presence and be with Him. Not to ask, probably not even to say anything, just to be in His presence.

'Be still and know that I am God'. Try for a little while to sit in the sunshine of God's love, hand over your problems to Him in the secure knowledge that he will deal with them as He thinks best.

cloutiedumpling · 06/05/2014 21:11

Am I too late for cake?

Welcome Question. Oma speaks wise words.

DontstepontheMomeRaths · 06/05/2014 21:38

Hello

Too late to join the tea party?

Question welcome. That voice of doubt can be rather good at drowning out what we know. I sometimes think it's the enemy. I try and shut down voices like that. Almost like the eject button on a cd. I pray that God will take captive any thoughts that are not from him at times like that too.

There's some great books out there. Philip Yancey's for instance. I'm not a Theologian but his books are so helpful.

Flying visit sorry. My boy has a funny rash on him now. Never rains...

Questionoffaith · 06/05/2014 22:06

Thanks so much for the welcome and your thoughts which I will be thinking over before I sleep tonight in more detail. Be still and know I am God has always been one of the phrases I go back to and I have lost sight of it recently so thanks for the reminder. And yes I agree I do often think that voice must be the enemy but at the moment I am finding it hard to distinguish which voice is from who! Can I ask you to pray for me? That I will find peace and courage in God at this time and that my faith and knowledge of God will deepen at this testing time. I don't have any other Christian friends but I have some very supportive, wonderful ones who are all giving me the same advice. It all involves faith that things will work out as I want and need, patience and Hope and I feel very lacking in them all at the moment. I do feel the consistency of the messages from all these different people means God is working through them but I am scared to hope if that makes sense.

Dutchoma · 06/05/2014 22:12

I can't pray that things will work out as you want, but I can (and will) pray that you will be at peace with however things work out for you. Be assured that God holds you firmly and securely; if you can, fall asleep with that thought uppermost in your mind. Sleep well.

jan2014 · 07/05/2014 06:04

hands out more coffee and cake :) :) lovely that we can have a tea party and that God really is here even though we are not actually here together.

hi questionoffaith welcome, i got your message last night and have been praying for you and everyone else here.

when i got up this morning i got these scriptures and messages delivered to my inbox and thought they might be relevant to you -

PSALM 18:30 NIV
30 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
(God is perfect in all He does. When we have full information and see the complete picture, we will not be able to find any fault in God. )

1 CORINTHIANS 13:12 NLT
12 Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
(When you are tempted to think God is not doing what He should be doing, look around you at what God has created. Although we live in a fallen world where the devil's forces are intent on stealing, killing, and destroying, the genius of God still shines brightly in all He created. Remember that death is an enemy, and storms are something that Jesus rebuked. Look at the precision and beauty in all God created. Then realize that God never changes, and the precise way He perfectly created things is the same way He is working now to create your future.
God loves you. God knows more than you do. God is perfect. So trust Him!)

I guess for me i did love and trust God but i felt for a long time that i couldn't handle God not answering my prayers the way i wanted him to. Now i feel more that I can surrender the prayer to him and trust him to answer it the way thats best for me, as i have seen in my life that he really does work everything out for my good, and so i do trust him, but he had to earn my trust. but still, as i am stubborn there are still a few things that i don't think i can handle him not answering the way i want him to. and i am just honest with God and say things like 'Lord i really want this, but i trust you and i know you want the best for me, but i really can't take it if this happens...please don't let that happen' or whatever. i think God wants us to be honest with him, he knows and understands how we feel anyway. sorry for rambling on... dd up now, she has had me up from 5 flip sake!

DontstepontheMomeRaths · 07/05/2014 06:49

Yes DS woke horribly early. Time for me to get the black out blind out. I think it's the light.

PositiveAttitude · 07/05/2014 08:08

I have been reading and praying but please forgive the lack of personal responses. My brain is not functioning. All I can say is " Owwwwwwwww " toothache!!!!!! Dentist appointment tomorrow, so only 28 hours and 4 minutes to go!!!!!

Not helped by the fact that dad is being particularly hard work and does not understand that I do have 3 jobs and a life that take some of my time!

28 hours and 2 minutes now!! Grin

Dutchoma · 07/05/2014 09:02

Oh PA, I feel your pain, I know you fear the dentist more than I do and that's saying something. Only 27 hours and 7 mins to go. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Prayers for your father and mother too.

DontstepontheMomeRaths · 07/05/2014 09:40

Oh PA Sad you'll feel so much better once they've fixed it. Prayers that God will take away the fear and fill you so deeply with peace that they'll be no room for fear and worry!

My dentist appointment is on Monday for yet another small filling. I'm only 35. Seems so unfair. Since children it's all gone wrong teeth wise.

jan2014 · 07/05/2014 10:23

PA that sounds awful. i complained for toothache for months and the dentist didn't do anything, then half my tooth fell out and it absolutely killed and i had to get it fixed. i hate anything to do with teeth.

one tip, which you probably won't want to try, is that rubbing raw garlic on your toothache helps - but if you have lots of people you are trying to stay on good terms with this might not be the best plan. it actually does work.

jan2014 · 07/05/2014 10:25

i need a kick up the backside. i am usually good with my money but lately i have been getting more and more careless. this morning i went for some groceries and came back with a whole pile of stuff. this is happening too often. need to get motivated to be good again!

Dutchoma · 07/05/2014 10:33

Kicking on any part of the anatomy is not allowed on the prayer thread. Smile.

Questionoffaith · 07/05/2014 13:04

thanks for your prayers everyone and Jan those messages helped. I do know I need to enter a deeper relationship with God and the things that are happening in my life at the moment are making me reevaluate so much so maybe it is all for a reason. It is just sooo hard to let go and trust. I went for a run this morning (part of the New Me Smile ) and my head felt clearer for about 20 minutes after and then the doubts and fear creep in.
PA I hope you have managed to find something to ease the toothache a bit and good luck tomorrow. And Jan I know that feeling of coming back from buying a pint of milk with a load of stuff and a light wallet...

madhairday · 07/05/2014 17:27

Welcome question - you are in good company here! We are all very real here about our doubts and struggles which are a very normal part of faith. Doubt and faith are like 2 sides of a coin really. Just wanted to welcome you.

Prayers for all.

BlessedAssurance · 07/05/2014 19:36

ei everyone and welcome question. I didn't think I could get any more down than i already am but i am. The breastfeeding was getting so much better and this last week i had managed to breastfeed without crying. Yesterday I noticed that my right breast was a bit smaller than usual. Well, it turns out that my milk supply is running out. After all the pain i have been through? I know it's not the end of the world but if I had known that the milk would just dry out i would have just FF from day one. What do I do now? One breast is overflowing whilst the other has gone dry. Anybody with a solution for me? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for my me me post.. I feel a bit sore really.

ZingWatermelon · 07/05/2014 20:06

BA

try to feed more from the "running out" side
or use breastpump

I can pm you the number of a good friend of mine if you want - she is a bf counsellor or whatever they are called, I'm sure she'll be happy to advise you.

(and I got your pm x)

are you sure baby hasn't got tongue tie? ( posterior, anterior or upper lip)

Questionoffaith · 07/05/2014 20:11

sorry to hear you are having such a tough time Blessed. Breastfeeding can be tough. I am no expert but hopefully someone will be able to help. Have you posted on the Breastfeeding threads for help?
Am feeling some glimmer of comfort tonight, situation hasnt changed but maybe the prayers are helping. God bless you all and I will be repaying the favour tonight.

DontstepontheMomeRaths · 07/05/2014 20:47

Blessed I would start a thread in breast feeding, you'll soon have great advice.

Kellymom website has great advice on low supply and how to improve it. I used to visit it all the time.

Kaykat · 07/05/2014 21:42

Poor you BA, sorry no advice but really hope you can find a solution.

Welcome Question. It sounds like you have some difficult troubles at the moment.

I'm pretty good at tightly controlling money, actually that's an understatement I am very strict with myself over spending. Feel free to message me if you want me to explain how I do it. Too long and boring to put here.

Tomorrow madhairday will come out of hospital and PA will get her tooth fixed. That's a prayer but I just wanted to say it like its definite.

ZingWatermelon · 07/05/2014 21:48

BA

just been in touch with my friend - she is a bit busy tomorrow, but can talk on Friday.
I have her work number - let me know and I will PM you it.

x

BlessedAssurance · 07/05/2014 22:41

Hei iing hi. I am a bit far from you guys. I'm in good old Norway. Can your friend only be reached by phone or its possible to email her? Everyone thank you. Baby has no tongue tie Zing. Apparently i was doing it wrong and so the latching was also wrong. I have been reading anything and everything to do with breastfeeding but don't seem to find anything that helps. Anyway thanks everyone and its about time I stopped moaning about this breastfeeding thing.

Yay to PA getting her tooth fixedand MHD getting out of hospital. Kaykat I am too but my Dh might need your help. He is really terrible with money. I am very careful having lived over half of my life without, while he likes to spend. Question so glad you are getting some comfort. I read your post, started answering you but was not making sense so stopped. Forgive my brainsSmile although what the others say is pretty much what I would have said. :)

ZingWatermelon · 07/05/2014 22:52

BA

I'm sure she has an email address - I'll PM you when I have it.

Don't be silly - of course you can "moan" about it!
(I had a trouble with all but one of them, especially DD so I really sympathise!)

hopefully it will get sorted soon. x

JugglingFromHereToThere · 07/05/2014 23:43

Even though I've put getting a new job on the back burner recently, I had a bit of encouragement with something today - a good conversation with someone who's already met me (from a previous application/interview) and seems to think a new opportunity she has might quite suit me. Of course I did call her about it, not the other way round, but still .....

Thinking all those prayers for me and dh yesterday (seems so long ago!) must have been super charged ones Smile - especially touched to think of you praying for us all from hospital mhd Thanks

Swipe left for the next trending thread