Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Philosophy/religion

Join our Philosophy forum to discuss religion and spirituality.

Hands together and eyes closed: a new Christian prayer thread (May 2015)

958 replies

Tuo · 19/05/2015 10:32

Welcome to a new prayer thread to take us into the summer. 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...

... ALittleFaith, especially for her dad, who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease;

... 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;

... Anjelica27, as she tries to find ways to support her DS through his mental health problems and self-harm;

... AnxiousKeziah, following the loss of her baby DS;

... BlackEyedSusan, for all the many things which she has to juggle in her life as a single parent; for good support for her DD and DS; and for her mum;

... BlueTinkerbell, thanking God for the safe arrival of her beautiful DD4;

... Bsshbosh, who has terminal cancer, for the best possible quality of life for her for as long as possible; also for her DH and DD as they travel this road with her;

... DizzyDaffodil, who is struggling, asking God to be with her and for her to find RL support at this time;

... DontstepontheMomeRaths, for her busy life as a single mum, and for the wonderful work she does through her church supporting people going through separation and divorce;

... DutchOma, thanking God for the wonderful support that she provides for so many on here;

... FaithLoveandHope, for her mental health; for decisions about her academic work; for her STB-FIL who has been diagnosed with cancer; and for her relationship with her DP;

... fakenamefornow, thanking God that things have taken a turn for the better for her;

... howtoapproachthis, for her health, following her diagnosis with CFS and for her to find support for herself and her DD;

... HydrochloricTulip, for stresses at home and at work;

... innerstrength100, for strength to decide what to do in the aftermath of the break-up of her relationship last year and the unexpected coming back into her life of her ex;

... 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 continue to support her DS through this process;

... LegallyBlonde77, as she goes through the adoption process - praying for a match very soon and for her family to be complete;

... LifeofBriony, for problems in her relationship with her DH;

... littlehouseinthebigwoods, for problems in her relationship with her controlling DH;

... MadHairDay, for her ongoing health issues;

... PositiveAttitude, especially for her mum who has dementia and for her dad, who finds it hard to accept help; for her DD2 recovering from a scary reaction to a dog-bite overseas, and for her whole family; for her studies and her role within her church; and for her and her DH as they plan new and exciting ways of working with the people of Cambodia;

... QuestionofFaith, as she tries to rebuild her life with her DH following his mental health problems and withdrawal from her;

... SESthebrave, for problems at work; also for her MIL who has had a cancer diagnosis;

... TooBusyByHalf, as she explores and hopefully rediscovers her faith;

... weegiemum, for her continued recovery from her very scary infection and septicaemia, and also for her DD's continued progress in overcoming her anorexia;

... ZipadiSoozi, for her dad who has dementia and for her mum and the whole family as they find ways to support him in this; also for her BIL who has cancer;

We pray also for all regular and occasional visitors including: Badvoc, BlessedAssurance, BlueSkies80, CaulkheadUpNorth, CharlotteCollins, chocolateteapot, cloutiedumpling, CocoaBean, DeladionInch, EilisCitron, FlabbyMummy, Gingercurl, JugglingFromHereToThere, ktef, legohurtswhenyoustandonit, LollipopViolet, LostinChilli, MaryBS, MrsPixieMoo, niminypiminy, ninetynineonehundred, PandaG, Pipbin, RoomForALittleOne, ScarletDancer, thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts, weegiemum, WobblyRainbow, Zing and for anyone I've forgotten to name-check (don't take it personally, please!). We pray for our muslim sisters over in the tea-room, at a time when many feel afraid in a world which seems suspicious of their faith, praying for peace and understanding between all faiths. 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:
BlackeyedSusan · 28/05/2015 16:04

I am getting packing day cranky now. I am off to mums but trying to leave the place with the basics done. (washingup, clean bathroom, clothes drying to wear when we get home. bed mended.) I feel cranky at going to do shopping for mum. it really annoys me more than it is worth. I do like having time to watch tv and do gardening though. I feel guilty for not getting on with my own flat. I can not semm to get the balance right of enjoying life a bit and cleaning up the crap here.

amberlight · 28/05/2015 16:26

Reading through and praying...

BlackeyedSusan · 28/05/2015 17:29

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhh... mothers. she has been gardening and got herself in a state. she may be having a reaction to some plant or other but it is diffficult ot tell. she has of course run out of antihistamines. she has been given two options. either she is well enough to wait for tow hours til I come, or call 111.

so we start the trip with a crisis already.

BsshBosh · 28/05/2015 22:16

Thanks for the lovely new thread. Still here, still trying to pray. xxx

Tuo · 28/05/2015 22:25

Prayers for all tonight, but especially for:

wirrinboffin's sister - praying for a swift and full recovery from the operation;

SES's mum - thanking God that it's not as bad as was feared;

PA's DD1 - for her to continue to make progress in overcoming her depression;

BES - for as peaceful as possible a visit to her mum;

Bsshbosh - good to see you; how are you feeling?

TooBusy - on her journey to faith;

and for all who read this thread.

A prayer of St Ignatius

Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labour and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will. Amen

OP posts:
BlackeyedSusan · 28/05/2015 22:49

at mothers. the paramedics came and checked her out and rang me while I was travelling. all are, I hope, sleeping.

BlackeyedSusan · 29/05/2015 13:19

well, I managed til 12 before buckling under the pressure. the relentless negative commentry really, really pushes me under, what with a stropping hungry dc thrown in the mix. It pisses me off that I ask repeatedly to stop and no notice is taken until it is pushed too hard and I shout. I can not walk away from the house as I have the children and if I go out for some peace I get followed to whichever part of the garden I am in.

There is a tense peace at the moment.

elizabethsmum · 29/05/2015 19:50

prayers to all those needing them today. to those dealing with ill health, caring for those who are ill or infirm. prayers for everyone going through family, relationship difficulties. thinking of those with work, business, money difficulties. Thank you for this thread tuo and yours and everyones continued prayers for those on the thread who need them.
toobusy I too am fairly early on in my re-discovered faith journey. it has bubbled under the surface for a long time but family circumstances (3 youngish dc including dt's, finance and child care issues, meaning a lot of weekend working and my dh"s lack of Faith - meaning I have found it hard to go to church with dc's alone while very young) , have got in the way for the past few years. I am lucky that my church is extremely supportive and welcoming and I now feel much more able to go with the dc. I feel guilty asking for prayers for many very minor family / work issues when so many of you have much more difficult situations to deal with, however I can honestly say that a weight has somewhat been lifted from my shoulders lately since I have fully welcomed Christ in my life following my recent confirmation. just as this prayer thread allows us all to spread the burden of problems for each other. Smile

QofF · 30/05/2015 07:05

Lovely to read your post elizabeth, am another one who has relatively recently rediscovered faith. As with you it was always under the surface and it has been a revelation to discover how fully embracing faith and trying to make it the central point of my life has had such a huge effect on my life and how I approach and react to things. Have been reading through and praying for you all this morning. It doesn't matter how big or small the issues are, I pray you feel God near to you all through it all and that you all keep bringing your requests here for us to pray for.
inner I hope you are doing ok. Whatever decision you made re ex know that you are being prayed for.
mad how are you feeling? I hope there have been improvements.
pa reading your posts, the depth of your faith and the way you and your dh live by that is inspirational. Am praying for you in your latest leap of faith.
bes praying for a more peaceful day for you.

TooBusyByHalf · 30/05/2015 07:50

Morning everyone, reading through and praying for all.

Elizabeth and QoF it has been wonderfully reassuring on all the threads I've started and been on here, that so many people have told me how they have recently (re-)discovered their faith. In a society that looked almost exclusively secular from where I was standing a few months ago it is really amazing that people are still beating down a path to the church door at all. I'm really happy to be joining you all. Smile

Special thanks to Tuo who is a rock.

FaithLoveandHope · 30/05/2015 10:02

Morning all, it's so good to read about others re-discovering their faith. I only discovered faith a few years ago and I'm amazed by how much it has helped my life.

I agree with you Toobusy that Tuo is like a rock. I was thinking yesterday that a few years ago, when I was in the midst of dealing with a very difficult breakup and trying to accept that the relationship was abusive, there was another site I sought support on. That site doesn't exist any more but I received such amazing support from so many wonderful people online. Since joining mumsnet I've found Ive had just as good support here. It's amazing how so many essentially strangers can come together and show such love and support to one another and build such a good community. Thanking God for all the lovely people here today, particularly for Tuo and Oma who always offer such amazing words of wisdom.

I've had a bit of a slow start to my day and should really get to work but I pray that all have a very blessed day. For those who really need God's love and support today I pray his light shines upon you and surrounds & uplifts you, those whom you love and those whom you pray for.

QofF · 30/05/2015 15:43

I agree Toobusy and FLaG- I love reading about others and their path to faith. The world I inhabit is pretty much totally secular as well and the general message I come across seems always to be that faith is outdated, irrelevant and on the path to being obsolete. It is great to discover that it is far from being the case and to start learning about what knowing the Living God actually means in practice and exactly how relevant it is in my day to day life.
I also agree with the special thanks to Tuo and Oma. I hope you both know how appreciated you both are Flowers

FaithLoveandHope · 30/05/2015 15:57

QofF I know what you mean about it being increasingly secular and faith being irrelevant. I'm a scientist and found it quite hard a few years back when the people I worked with were very anti-faith. It's great coming here and hearing about so many people with faith. I found it quite hard at the start of my phd too when people were very, actively anti-faith. It seemed a huge challenge to "admit" as such that I was a Christian. I think I'm gradually becoming more open about it and caring less what others think. Too how is your DP being about it all? I think others have already said this but I think it can be good to be quite open about the fact you don't know all the answers, even experienced people of faith vicars etc don't know the answers to everything. Hope your DP is being open and accepting about it all.

Dutchoma · 30/05/2015 16:29

QoF and FLaH, thank you both very much. I too, have had such amazing support from MN over many years.
Sharing faith, love and hope is a two way process and I feel I have received as much in giving as in receiving iykwim.

BlackeyedSusan · 30/05/2015 17:53

we have got to five really peacefully. low bloodsugar on ds's part (not fed sufficiently when asked) and on m ine. (someone nicked my toast, and then I was supervising ds's needs) have led to a bit of a rumble on my part. I am hiding on mumsnet waiting for the toast to finally kick in and be more human. (shame I hate snickers)

i need to think about cooking tea for everyone soon.

SESthebrave · 30/05/2015 20:49

Hello all!

BES - are you back home now or still at your mother's? Hope the toast kicked in ok.

I too find the whole area of faith journeys fascinating. Everyone has a wonderfully unique story and sometimes it is only when looking back that you can see God's hand in shaping and guiding us.

Here, I am feeling very grateful for a really enjoyable half term. Even though DH was away with work, the DC were lovely and we had some great days out without breaking the bank Smile

TooBusyByHalf · 30/05/2015 21:25

FLaH awful actually thanks for asking Smile. I thought we were getting somewhere because yesterday she said she it was ok. Then tonight I said I was going to go to church tomorrow - deliberately choosing the early service to have no impact on our day - and she reacted really badly. Said she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to handle it, and then said this is what happened to her sister and she and her XH split up over him getting religious. It felt a bit threatening like she was saying if you carry on I'll leave (though surely not??) and said it was a complete change of personality for me. I'd have liked to have talked to her about it but she said she'd be too angry, and is now watching a film with DD1 while I have 'gone to bed'. If I were anywhere than the prayer thread a string of profanities would follow here!!

I am thinking of you all, and praying for all who are dealing with their own and their loved ones ill health especially tonight.

Dutchoma · 30/05/2015 21:44

There are quite a few people on here where one half of a couple is 'religious' and the other half not. The best yo can hope for is a quiet acceptance of each other's views, but if she is getting so upset then that will make it really hard. Se may come round if you keep on being considerate (like going to the early service) and she sees that you are actually a nicer person who does not make demands on her to see things from your point of view.

Tuo · 30/05/2015 22:18

Hello and prayers for all. I'm feelilng a bit Blush about all your sweet comments. I like to come and witter here, because I don't have that many people I can talk to about this in real life, and, as Oma said, I have got so much out of being here.

TooBusy - oh... I'm sorry your DP reacted so badly. I would, if possible, ignore her comments though and not rise to the bait. She is scared - far from threatening you, I think she feels threatened, and worried that you will choose God over her. I think DH has been there too, though his default setting is grumpy silence and non-specific door-slamming, so it's easier to pretend not to notice. The only way that you can reassure her that you're still the same person as before, is by continuing to be the same person as before. I am holding both you and your DP in prayer and asking God to make the way forward for you both clear.

elizabethsmum - congratulations on your confirmation; it's great to hear how supportive your church has been. And it's great that these threads have been there for so many of us on our journeys to (or back to) faith.

Praying for all who read this (and I think that there are many who read but don't post) who are on that journey: thinking about God, tentatively stepping towards faith, wanting to believe but feeling unsure, feeling pressured by those around them or by a secular society.

Special prayers for Oma - an incredible lady!

A version of the 'St Patrick's Breastplate' prayer for Trinity Sunday:

OP posts:
Tuo · 30/05/2015 22:19

Umm... what happened there? Didn't think I pressed 'post'. Ah well, will try again...

A version of the 'St Patrick's Breastplate' prayer, for Trinity Sunday:

We bind unto ourselves today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature has creation;
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of our salvation;
Salvation is of Christ the Lord. Amen.

OP posts:
TooBusyByHalf · 30/05/2015 22:57

Oma, Tuo, thank you both. You are right. I need to be patient and give her time. And not go to church tomorrow. Sad

I will pray silently at home instead and no harm will be done.

Dutchoma · 30/05/2015 23:03

I think you do need to go to church tomorrow, just quietly, but do go. It is important to you and if you let her influence you in what you do I think you will make it worse rather than better.

TooBusyByHalf · 30/05/2015 23:11

I'll think about it. The trouble is I can't be exactly the same me as she still wants me to be and go to church - the two are mutually exclusive. At least for now. Maybe if I get to try and explain...

BlackeyedSusan · 31/05/2015 13:09

the children were available fornm about 10.30 (he was supposed to ring at 10) he has only just pulled up outside my mums house. then he moans about not seeing the children enough.

FaithLoveandHope · 31/05/2015 15:49

Crazy busy day as in exam season but just wanted to pop in and say hi. Too did you go to church today? Hope you made it and got something out of it. Keeping you in my prayers. The journey can be tough going at times particularly when those around are less than supportive but it's so worth it. Take care.