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Philosophy/religion

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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:
NoRoomForALittleOne · 02/06/2015 13:58

Praying for you, Kay.

madhairday · 02/06/2015 14:50

Afternoon all, and prayers especially for Kay today.

Good to see you back on the thread, Room :)

Just read through all the posts, and have been praying for you all. Praying for you, TooBusy as you explore faith stuff from what sounds like a difficult situation. A lot of the lovely people on this thread have experience of their OHs being less than receptive to them going to church etc. It must be incredibly hard, especially when you're just putting a toe in the water. We're here to talk it out if you need to.

Thanks so so much for your prayers, everyone. I managed to get away (hence me being silent all week, no mobile reception) and had a lovely time camping with friends. Still not 'better' but going towards it. Thank you again.

How are you BES ?

Thanks again to lovely Tuo for a brilliant thread. How are things with you?

PA - that's one of my favouritist songs ever. :)

Dutchoma · 02/06/2015 17:44

I have heard from my MN friend that her dd is doing 'brilliantly'. She is still in the care of the hospital and on medication which has a few side effects. She is doing GCSEs in spite of everything and they are both grateful for our prayers.

ZipadiSoozi · 02/06/2015 22:54

I need to thank God for my ds1 I am soooooo proud of him, he won't let me put on Facebook, but he has some results from first year at uni... High 2.1 in Biomechanics, mid 1st in Principles of Training and Reps Level 2 Gym Instruction. I am bursting with pride, just wish I could shout from the roof tops, shhhh mums the word (ha) shame they arnt counted to his final results in 3rd year.

Took Dad for his results today, he has officially been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, resulting from a series of mini strokes.

BlackeyedSusan · 02/06/2015 23:09

yay and Sad zipadi.

Dutchoma · 02/06/2015 23:13

Well done Soozi's ds1, very well done

Tuo · 02/06/2015 23:59

Praying, above all, tonight for Kay. I was thinking today (I read your earlier post on the train, but had on/off internet access so didn't try to post) how much you've been through since you first started posting on these threads and how amazingly strong you have been. I pray that God will continue to give you strength and to keep you and your loved ones safe.

Hooray for Soozi's DS. Those results may not count towards his final degree, but they will stand him in good stead and will have him marked out among his teachers as 'one to watch' for the future. Well done him! Continuing to pray for your dad - hoping that the formal diagnosis will help him to get the best possible treatment and/or support.

How was overnight/morning, Room? Hope it was all OK.

Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better, MHD though I know it's frustratingly slow for you. Praying for you to be back to full strength again soon.

Thanking God too for a good ongoing recovery for Oma's friend.

This is today's prayer from the lovely Methodist 'Prayer for Today' website:

Let your outstretched arm be our defence, O Lord; your mercy and loving kindness in Jesus Christ, our salvation; your true and living Word be our instruction and the grace of your life-giving Spirit be our strength; now and for ever. Amen.

John Knox, Book of Common Order (1564)

OP posts:
TooBusyByHalf · 03/06/2015 08:14

Praying for you all on the train this morning.

Thanks MHD, yes, less than receptive is a good description. The panic of the weekend has died down but DP still wants to talk about it every day and I still have no words to explain.

ZipadiSoozi · 03/06/2015 09:13

Kay you are in my thoughts and prayers, hope you are ok Flowers

QofF · 03/06/2015 09:48

been praying for you Kay, hope all is ok.
toobusy am glad the panic has subsided a bit. its going to take time and showing that you are still you I am sure. What is DPs experience of Christianity/faith etc? Does she see it as an ultra conservative "thou shalt not ...." entity only?

TooBusyByHalf · 03/06/2015 10:06

QofF, she's ex-RC, and knows that the wishy-washy (!) church I want to join is pretty liberal in comparison. She believes all religion is bad and wrong, and that believing in God is irrational and stupid. Obviously I can't give her proof so we just go round in circles.

Dutchoma · 03/06/2015 11:10

You might be helped by having a look at Stephen Gaukroger, It makes sense. If you could 'prove' faith, it would not be faith at all, would it?

madhairday · 03/06/2015 13:44

Praying for you still, Kay

Yay to ds1, Sooz :) But so sorry about the dx. Flowers

tooBusy that is hard. It's impossible to argue faith as we know from the thousands of threads on here, it all gets very circular sometimes. Praying for you as you try to explain it while tentatively exploring it. Flowers

BlackeyedSusan · 03/06/2015 14:47

I am really tired today. perhaps the weekend of mother catching up with me. also the thought of having to go to a weekend full of activities is exhausting.

ZipadiSoozi · 03/06/2015 15:20

MHD haha yes it feels happy and anxious, like going in a spinner, but hope you feel better, glad you had a lovely break.

BES wouldn't it be lovely to be looked after, someone to organise house and cook clean for us, but hey ho life keeps us on our toes and would soon get boring, hmm she says trying to convince ones self Grin anyway good luck for the next few days hope you get to sit and do nothing for at least a while! X

KayKat · 03/06/2015 17:47

Thank you for all your prayers I know they made a difference. A bit of an ordeal but all went well. I'm not quite divorced yet but finances are now all sorted and a good outcome for me, better than I was expecting. I will soon be able to make a fresh start.

KayKat · 03/06/2015 17:54

Lovely to see you again Room I pray you will be able to cope with so many little ones and that you won't feel overwhelmed and that you will get support.

Lovely that you were ale to go camping MHD and praying that you make a steady recovery.

Praying for your situation TooBusy it sounds like your OH is acting out of fear did she have a bad experience with religion in the past?

Soozi your DS sounds super clever and motivated no wonder you are proud.

KayKat · 03/06/2015 18:01

Ah sorry TooBusy just read back and seen that she did indeed have a bad experience in the past I don't know your situation but it there any opportunity for you to get to church at a time that doesn't affect her? Lunchtime during work or early morning?

BlackeyedSusan · 03/06/2015 18:34

yes, so glad you went camping mhd. was a little worried when you went all quiet, but glad it was because you were away!

well, i did nothing while the children were at school but have picked up a lot this evening and have done a few cleaning tidying jobs in the bathroom while ds was in the bath, oh and scrubbed the yellow suncream from dd's school shirt collars.

dd loaded the washing machine and I put it on.

ZipadiSoozi · 03/06/2015 20:20

So pleased the prayers helped Kay, hope your situation continues to improve.

BES haha my dd does her own washing then she hangs it on the line and gets it in and folds it up! nothing wrong with child labour! (even though she is only 11yo) just wish her brothers would follow suit! Obviously need to work on them a little harder. Glad you managed to get a little time to yourself.

Right better go, time for work!!!

ZipadiSoozi · 03/06/2015 20:37

Kay, yes I am proud about my ds1 specially as its been tough for him, challenges his ADHD, Impulsivity, Dyslexia, but his personality helps in his choice of Sports Science, he is very active. (And loud) I love him to bits!

TooBusyByHalf · 03/06/2015 23:01

Thanks Oma I will check out that book. Tonight it's not making any sense to me. I don't think my faith is strong enough to weather this onslaught.

Hi Kay, good to hear the prayers worked :)

I wouldn't say DP had a particularly bad experience with religion, just the usual 1970s RC nuns in school stuff, and a row between her sister and her XH, but she does perceive our formerly shared atheism as a fundamental foundation of our relationship. She is really unhappy and struggling with this, as am I.
Yes, I have been going to lunchtime services at work, but it's the concept that bothers her most, not the Sunday thing, so I'm not sure it really helps. Anyway, I would really prefer to go to a service with hymns - the music is the best bit (sort-of). Hmm

BlackeyedSusan · 04/06/2015 13:46

I have just made four months worth of diary and printed off. lost mine and want to get an academic diary for sept if the original does not turn up. I now have no excuse for not booking stuff. grr.

BlackeyedSusan · 04/06/2015 15:05

off to get the dc's and then an activity at the library. hoping it will not be long and boring. (the activity is fine, getting the children to come home without a tantrum is the long boring bit.)

Tuo · 05/06/2015 06:49

Hello all. An early start for me today.. I'm posting this from a very slow Cross-Country train.

Praying for all, but especially for Kay - thanking God for a good outcome so far. Also for BES juggling so much. And for a good steady recovery for MHD. And praying that Room has been coping ok while her dh is away. And thinking of PA's DD1. And of Momey - haven't seen her for a while and hope all is well. And praying for Oma, who's always here for us all.

Special prayers for TooBusy on her journey to faith, and for her DP who's finding this so hard. May God be with you, TooBusy, as you try to make sense of this stuff. It's very hard to have to try to defend something you're only just working out for yourself, but I pray your words and your actions may reassure DP.

My phone typing is painfully slow (the DDS mock me relentlessly) so I will stop there, wishing a peaceful and blessed day to all.

OP posts: