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Philosophy/religion

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A Christian prayer thread for Autumn/Winter

990 replies

Tuo · 30/10/2014 01:17

Welcome to our new prayer thread for autumn/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 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; also thanking God for her recent 'all-clear' at her annual cancer check-up;

... BlackEyedSusan, for all the many things which she has to juggle in her life as a single parent; in particular, for her DS to get adequate support so that he is less stressed at school; also for her DD and for her mum, and for BES to find the RL support that she needs;

... BlessedAssurance, for life with her two LOs, and for her family who are far away;

... DontstepontheMomeRaths, for her life as a single mum, for God to provide if her XH is successful in training for a new role, and for the wonderful work she does through her church supporting people going through separation and divorce;

... DutchOma, as she continues to miss Bob; thanking God for the wonderful support that she provides for so many on here; and praying for her relationship with her DD, in particular;

... Gingercurl, for her work situation; and for the relationship between her brother and sister to improve;

... howtoapproachthis for physical and emotional healing; and for a good bond between her and her DD;

... Kaykat, continuing to pray for her as she goes through the stressful and painful process of divorce; praying, in particular, that she is able to find good ways of supporting her DS, and for him to find renewed happiness in the coming weeks;

... MadHairDay, for her health; for peace of mind about the choice of secondary school for her DS; and for her DD to find friendship and acceptance;

... MrsPixieMoo, thanking God for her baby DD; and praying for a new home where the family can be really happy;

... Pipbin, for her IVF treatment - for her to find support and a positive way forward, whatever the outcome;

... PositiveAttitude, for her new studies and her work as a Deacon in her church; for her mum, who has dementia; and for her DD1 to find one or more special friends;

... PurplePidjin, for a more peaceful life;

... QuestionofFaith, for her and for her DH - for his depression to lift and for them to find ways to rebuild their lives;

... and for a poster we won't name but whose situation is known to God, praying that she is safe and supported.

We pray also for all regular and occasional visitors including: ALittleFaith, Badvoc, BlueTinkerbell, CharlotteCollins, cloutiedumpling, JugglingFromHereToThere, ktef, MaryBS, niminypiminy, PandaG, RoomForALittleOne, SEStheBrave, thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts, tunnocksteacake, weegiemum, 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

[post edited by MNHQ]

OP posts:
Dutchoma · 21/01/2015 06:52

Oh my dear Anjelica, so sorry you have had to go through another long night before any of us picked your prayer request up. I do hope you got some sleep. Of course it is alright to ask here for prayer. Do you want to share a little bit more? How old is your son? Any other children? You'll find a safe place to 'talk' here.

Kay, yes he has a lot to lose and I think you are so right not to want to speak to a bully who can turn on the mr Nice mr Nasty at will.

Praying for all.

We had a second practice for the ecumenical service at the cathedral. Not as many men there as the first time as there was also a pratice for the male voice choir in the town. And very unfortunately, the cathedral organist tripped over a couple of steps just where I was standing and broke a finger. He managed to guide us through the Hallelujah chorus but had then got to be taken to A&E. Please pray that the situation can be solved without too much pain for the poor man and we can find an organist for the evening. It sounds such a wonderful service.

innerstrength100 · 21/01/2015 10:33

Hello all, doing a lot better here and finally making good progress. I am absolutely determined that I will be a stronger person and a better person coming out of my trials.

Kay - sorry to hear things are difficult for you right now. Praying for you.

Anjelica yes, as Dutchoma says above, please do tell us as much or as little as you are comfortable with and we will help if we can.

Pipbin - how are you feeling? So so sorry to read your news.

Dutchoma · 21/01/2015 13:24

Excellent news Innerstrength. You are already so much stronger than you were.

Anjelica27 · 21/01/2015 19:19

Thank you for your kindness, you've no idea how much it helps. Ds is 17 and in a very dark place. Refusing to accept any help since before Christmas. There are just the two of us. At the moment, just watching and keeping him safe and grateful every day that he hasn't hurt himself in the night. Letting him know how much I love him and how precious he is to me and ever hopeful that one day soon he will be willing to talk to someone.

madhairday · 21/01/2015 19:20

Pipbin I'm so sorry to hear your news.

innerstrength so pleased to hear things are a little better.

prayers for you all.

madhairday · 21/01/2015 19:22

Cross posted Anjelica - praying for you and your ds, what a hard time this must be for you Flowers praying peace and safety for you both.

QofF · 21/01/2015 20:40

inner I have been wondering how you were doing, so good to read your post.
angelica been praying for you and your ds through the day and will continue to do so.
DO hope your organist is ok.
kay must be the hardest thing ever to contemplate letting ds and ex sort themselves out when you know what ex is like. praying ds will see through his dad sooner rather than later. And that you will feel God is with him when he deals with your ex so you don't have to feel as if he is facing him alone.
mad how have you been feeling?

Kaykat · 21/01/2015 22:19

QofF that's a lovely message I will remember that thank you. I think what has happened is that ex likes DS to do whatever he wants him to do and if DS doesn't want to do that particular thing he will put the blame onto me rather than have to say no to his dad. He says no very easily to me!

Anjelica my DS was in a similar dark place and also refusing help a while ago. He recovered within a few weeks but I did have to make some big changes. Do you know if anything has caused it?

ALittleFaith · 21/01/2015 22:27

Evening ladies.

Continuing to pray for you Pipbin.

Kay I can't begin to imagine how tough it is for you. I just want to say (as someone who has been away for a while) - you have come so far! You are so strong now. Keep going. Praying for strength.

Sorry to hear how difficult things are for you Anjelica. No words of wisdom but praying for you and your DS.

Thank you for the prayers for my Dad. 3 weeks after starting his medication he is significantly better. 3 people (outside of family) have told me he seems better. His voice is stronger, he's got more energy and his painful back is easing. I do wonder about the future but I just need to trust The Lord.

Dutchoma · 21/01/2015 22:28

We had the most amazing evening. The organist was ok-ish, I think. The finger wasn't broken, there was a problem with the ligament I thin they said, but he did play and we did sing. How we sang!

Shame we can't do it every week.

Praying for all tonight. For peaceful sleep and safety

"I will lay me down and take my rest, for it is Thou, Lord, only that makest me dwell in safety"

Anjelica27 · 21/01/2015 22:28

As far as I know there was nothing, did really well with GCSEs exams, went into 6th form and loved it, helping to plan his older brothers wedding. Obviously I am rubbish because this must have been going on for such a long time but I really didn't see it. Afraid to challenge him because he will hurt himself if I do. What did you change

Dutchoma · 21/01/2015 22:32

You are most certainly not 'rubbish' *Anjelica. Teenage boys are difficult to understand. Does his brother have a clue as to what is wrong? Have you spoken to the school?

Anjelica27 · 21/01/2015 23:46

School have been very supportive and deferred a year. Brother very critical which is fine, he's a lot older and just about to get married very caught up in his lif e which is fine. Just looking for some respite

Tuo · 22/01/2015 00:49

I am just doing a quick 'fly by' as I seem to be going down with a cold and have got very bogged down in work stuff this week (all a bit complicated, covering for someone else, who hasn't been able to do various things through no fault of their own... just juggling more than usual).

I couldn't not post though, just to say that I am thinking of you and adding prayers, Anjelica. I discovered my DD had been self-harming a few months ago. She is only 12. She has done it again more recently (on her feet, where she thought I wouldn't think to look) but not as badly. There is no obvious reason here either. She says she is happy at school (though she has got in with a rather 'Emo'-y crowd, but she says that she likes the music rather than the whole 'I'm so miserable' ethos, and in fact she is not fundamentally a miserable person. She doesn't seem able to tell me why she has done this, and in fact the advice I've had is not to push this too much but simply to be there for her. I'm back to checking her (all over now) every night and she seems happy... but I am hyper vigilant. Please please don't blame yourself. I know - really I do - how easy it is, but this is not your fault and all you can do is be there for your DS and constantly ensure that he knows how loved he is. Blaming yourself merely gives your DS the idea that this is something bad, something for which someone must take the blame (iyswim), and he will blame himself just as much as you're blaming yourself. I have had to force myself to be cheery with DD, and I try to keep her busy, doing things that she enjoys, as I am convinced that she's better the busier she is. But I really do understand your pain and I am holding your hand virtually and praying for you and for your DS.

Kay - I think you are doing everything right... You cannot just abandon your DS and say 'go and live with your dad, then', knowing what his dad is like. Yes, teenagers have their moments (understatement!) but the way they get past those moments and learn to be the kind of adults we would want them to be is by seeing love, consistency, boundaries and yet more love modelled in the adults around them. I am not convinced your DS would get that from his dad. And I know for sure that he's getting it from you. Equally, you have to accept that your ex will be saying things to your DS that you're not happy about, and you will need to trust that your DS eventually will be able to see through all this... as he is already starting to do. Praying for you both.

Faith - yes, it is worth it... but I think that it helps to try to learn to live with that sense of never having done enough. Unfortunately, this is not a job where you can clock in and clock out. The 'work' is never done... I could always read more, write more, write better, think harder. In a way it's a bit like being a mother... you can only ever do your best; you'll never be the perfect parent/researcher that you want to be - you can only be 'good enough'... but that is good enough. And there are upsides - flexibility and the ability to work on something you care deeply about. PM me if you want to talk more about this.

Prayers for everyone else too. Sorry not to go through everyone. Oma - it's so good that you're singing again. Hope your organist's finger is better soon. MHD - prayers for health. ALittleFaith - good to hear about your dad. Innerstrength - good to see you, and to hear you sounding so strong.

Adding this prayer, for Anjelica and her DS and for all who are ill, worried, depressed, anxious or lonely tonight:

A prayer of St Augustine

Watch, dear Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and let your angels protect those who sleep. Tend the sick. Refresh the weary. Sustain the dying. Calm the suffering. Pity the distressed. We ask this for the sake of your love. Amen

OP posts:
BlackeyedSusan · 22/01/2015 07:34

I have an appointment today to fill in the childrens DLA forms. eek.

Kaykat · 22/01/2015 16:06

Thank all I am certain ex wouldn't want DS living with him except for a short time to get a better divorce settlement it would get in the way of his womanising social life and when DS stays with him he wants to come home after a couple of days.

Anjelica I will message you if I say what the changes were it will totally out me.

FaithLoveandGrace · 22/01/2015 21:42

Praying through the thread. Not in a good place right now, really struggling with the changeover of my ADs. Sorry I can't be of more support to everyone.

FaithLoveandGrace · 22/01/2015 21:43

Praying for you Anjelica. Have only read your first post but I really hope an pray things get better for your DS.

Anjelica27 · 22/01/2015 22:08

I'm sorry things are difficult for you at the moment, thank you for your kindness, thinking of you and hope you have a peaceful night.

Kaykat · 22/01/2015 22:21

Prayers tonight for Faith, Anjelica and her DS and Tuo's lovely DD.

innerstrength100 · 23/01/2015 09:31

Joining in with prayers for Faith, Anjelica and DS and Tuo's DD.

Also wanted to share with you all an extract which helped me hugely a few weeks ago when I was at a real all time desperate state, and spending so much time asking God "why? why? what is the purpose in this?"

Hope this helps someone else today. I found it on the ucg.org website.

The Teacup

There is a story of a couple who went to England to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery—especially teacups. Spotting an exceptional cup in one shop, they asked, "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."

As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand," it said. "I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me, pounded and patted me over and over, and I yelled out, 'Don't do that! I don't like it! Let me alone!' But he only smiled, and gently said, 'Not yet!'

"Then WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly, 'Not yet.'

"He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then… he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. 'Help! Get me out of here!' I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet.'

"When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! 'Ah, this is much better,' I thought.

"But, after I cooled, he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Oh, please stop it. Stop it!' I cried. He only shook his head and said, 'Not yet!'

"Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot, and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up…

"Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering, 'What's he going to do to me next?'

"An hour later, he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.'

"And I did. I said, 'That's not me. That couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!'

"Quietly he spoke, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up.

"'I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.

"'I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.

"'I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life. If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held.

"'Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'"

The moral of the story is this:

God knows what He's doing in each of us. He is the potter and we are His clay. He will mold us and shape us and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will. UN

Dutchoma · 23/01/2015 10:44

Yep, that!, Thank you for sharing Innerstength

MaryBS · 23/01/2015 13:48

Not had chance to read everything, and frankly I'm shattered after a 2 1/2 hour meeting with my vicar, but would welcome prayers please as she is about to put forward my name to the DDO (Diocesan Director of Ordinands) with a recommendation for my being considered for ordination. oo eck!

Dutchoma · 23/01/2015 14:53

You have my prayers, have had for a long time, as you know!

FaithLoveandGrace · 23/01/2015 20:30

Thanks all for your prayers last night. Things have been tough today. My friend passed away. Spent some time with another friend, just chatting about normal things and then spent a while in the university chapel praying which made me feel much calmer.

inner that's lovely, thanks for sharing that.

mary that's very exciting :) keeping you in my prayers as you explore this pathway.