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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:
BlackeyedSusan · 05/06/2015 11:26

juggling far too much in the next few days. eek.

ex is going to a wedding tomorrow though so may not be around until late. possibly too late to drag the boy out again. dd is away overnight for the first time since she went away while I was in hospital. I need to pack. I need to book tha car in for an mot and shop. I came home for breakfast.

BlackeyedSusan · 05/06/2015 11:51

please pray for mum. she has lost her key to the shed and is having a panic. I have sent her to get something to eat and drink and calm down. I had to shout over her to get her to listen. as she was not listening to the instructions just panicking.

BlackeyedSusan · 05/06/2015 12:29

ok panic over she found it. it had flalen in the bin

BlackeyedSusan · 05/06/2015 12:34

please pray for me to find the V5 for the car... put it down somewhere and can not remember where. (we are excellent at losing stuff... ) need it to book MOT. and pay tax.

SESthebrave · 05/06/2015 14:35

Prayers that you find it BES

Prayer for TooBusy as well that God will provide you with strength and that you and DP will find a way forward on this.

All good here and looking forward to celebrating DD's 3rd birthday over the weekend.

I do have a (minor) problem with my elbow though. There's a solid swollen patch just under my elbow on the outside of my arm. It might be a swollen bursar or fluid pocket I think but it's sore and strangely itchy!

KayKat · 05/06/2015 14:42

Thank you Tuo yes I have come a long way. None of his threats came true in the end. I did have a bit of an ordeal with several court hearings but I had a great legal team. Some of you remember that I was quite homesick at times right up to a couple of weeks ago. Well I won't be getting my house back but I will be able to start afresh in a new home not quite so big but still nice. Now it's all decided I'm fine about it haven't felt sad or homesick and looking forward to a fresh start.

There are signs that DS is becoming more mature and a bit less introverted though he does still revert to telling me how terrible I am whenever I try to enforce any boundaries so I won't speak too soon but it seems a bit easier to cope with now I don't have the legal worries to deal with.

QofF · 05/06/2015 22:26

kay so pleased to read the end is in sight and you can start afresh.
Reading and praying through

BlackeyedSusan · 05/06/2015 22:59

thanks. that will be tomorrows job after packing for dd and dropping her off at the sleepover. I am dreading the next few days. too many early mornings and not enough sleep. going to bed now as so tired.

PositiveAttitude · 06/06/2015 08:11

Praying as I read through.

BES Are you sure you need your V5 to book an MOT. I never have and the car tax is now done online and you dont need to have the insurance documents or MOT certificate to do it, and i have never needed the V5 for doing the car tax online.

Kay Its good to read such positive things from you. Smile

For those struggling with unbelieving DPs will you allow me to reassure you that things can work out. DH was an unbeliever when we married. He was fine at allowing things to rub along ok at the beginning of our marriage, but when our first daughter died he really turned against God and could not believe that a loving God would put us through a terrible time. After about 5 years of this I one day read the passage about the nagging widow and the judge. I decided that I was going to be that nagging women. - not to DH, but to God. I constantly prayed and prayed and prayed for DH to become a Christian. I would be sat at night feeding the DC and praying. I would walk along the street praying and just all day every day it was on my mind. After 10 years of marriage DH became a Christian. He actually did an Alpha course, but then decided he needed to read the whole New Testament (he said all of the Bible to start with, but I persuaded him to read the NT first) before he would commit to anything.

It can work out, so just pray and trust God to step into your loved ones lives. God loves them more than you could ever love them and wants them to come to know Him, too, so no matter how far away from God they seem and how hard their outside shells are - God can work through that.

Dh now says he was the happiest heathen before God came and found him! He wasn't searching, he wasn't even interested... but my prayers were answered.

I have to admit I was rubbish at speaking to DH about my faith. I just hoped my actions spoke for me. One night we were driving home after our friend's wedding when DH suddenly shouted at me to stop the car. I pulled over and he blurted out "Am I going to hell?" I just looked at him and said "Yes - but I am too knackered and want my bed" and I restarted the car and drove home. Blush Not exactly a textbook evangelistic message!!!!

On another note it is all unravelling a bit with my dad, as we all knew it would!

TooBusyByHalf · 06/06/2015 09:30

PA is my DP going to hell? She keeps asking me if I believe that.

Second question - do any of you know any couples where one is a Christian and the other hardcore atheist, and that is truly ok and they are happy together?

FaithLoveandHope · 06/06/2015 10:01

Morning all. Praying through the thread.

Toobusy I wanted to comment on your question about hell. Different Christians have different views on it and so there's no definitive answer. A lot of it is down to interpretation and even theologians disagree. I personally think that God is love and a God of love doesn't purposefully send anyone to an eternity in hell. When Jesus speaks of hell, the word actually means a rubbish dump outside of Jerusalem (or wherever he was at the time, I can't quite remember) rather than an actual fiery hell. Some would argue that sin at its fundamental level is about a separation from God, so in essence a sinful person ie a person separated from God will feel a sort of hell as its not our natural state of being. When we die we come into contact with God in his fullest, some will have a wondrous, heavenly experience (though I suspect given the holiness of God we will all have things to face up to) and some will be completely unprepared and faced with their deepest darkest wrongdoings. Imagine a rapist or a murderer being faced with the full truth & pain of their actions, realising wholly their wrongdoings, I can't imagine it being a pleasant experience. We have a choice then whether to repent and come into God's holy presence, or to turn away from him and essentially face hell. Now, I know many would disagree with his and do believe in a literal heaven and hell. I had this chat with many Vicars over the years, all have had a similar view to the one above and I personally like this idea, particularly given that I believe that God is love. Though I accept it is just one way of viewing things and there really is no right or wrong answer - well, there is, but none of us will know what it is in this life.

FaithLoveandHope · 06/06/2015 10:04

Oh and to your second question Too. A friend of mine is a devout Christian and her husband is atheist. Whilst it bothers my friend her husband doesn't come to church etc. they've been married for at least 20 years now so they've obviously got something right. I think as long as you both respect and accept the others position on things (like with any disagreements in marriage / relationships) then you can be happy. I really hope and pray you can both work things out.

PositiveAttitude · 06/06/2015 10:05

awww toobusy I didn't mean to panic you! It was my gut response to get dh to shut up and let me get home and into bed!!! I would have been far more caring and thoughtful of my response if I has been a better wife/Christian etc....and not so selfish. I am in the supermarket right now and on my phone so can't respond fuller but I will come back to u. - just feeling really bad that I have now made you worry about dp. Sad Thanks

TooBusyByHalf · 06/06/2015 10:21

flah thank you, that's kind of what I thought, but actually I didn't know if that was a mainstream view so phew.
pa it's ok, thanks Smile

PositiveAttitude · 06/06/2015 11:36

Too I agree with a lot of what Flah has said. There are lots of views on this subject, but I know that God is a loving God and he loves everyone that He has created. During my nursing career I saw many people at the end of life and many many who were not believers, but as they approached the end of their life there was often a peace that overcame them and I heard many call on the name of God in subtle ways. We are told that God will ALWAYS respond and will welcome everyone who calls out to Him. We do not know what happens between God and anyone as they pass from this world, but I do believe that God gives everyone a chance, and not just one chance, but time and time again.
We certainly do not have to live a good old Christian life and convert loads of people just to be accepted ourselves into His presence. The man next to Jesus on the cross didn't exactly have time to do much evangelising before he died, but we know that he was assured of a welcome in heaven.

With DH I believe that the moment of that question was a crucial moment for him and he was being convicted by God to decide. Fortunately for me my God is a God of endless grace and mercy and despite my stupidity God prodded DH again and again and again and again until DH accepted Him.

I will continue to pray for you all and your DPs.

BlackeyedSusan · 06/06/2015 14:22

dd has gone to a sleepover. I have gone all pfb.

Dutchoma · 06/06/2015 15:38

Have a lovely time with the psb, BES

BlackeyedSusan · 06/06/2015 18:03

psb has been entertaining himself on the computer. took him out to the cafe though as his treat.

SESthebrave · 06/06/2015 21:07

My view of hell is very similar to FLH. I believe in a loving Father as depicted in the parable of The Prodigal Son. I also believe in hell being a separation from God.

PA - thank you for sharing your story. That comparison, even inspiration of the nagging widow is a great reminder.

I've been to church this evening. It is the feast of Corpus Christi and so we were particularly thinking of the gift of the Eucharist. 6yo DS still needs "occupying" at church so he tends to draw pictures and I ask that one of them is to do with church. This was his drawing today:

Hands together and eyes closed: a new Christian prayer thread (May 2015)
Tuo · 06/06/2015 22:40

Aww, lovely picture SES. We celebrated Corpus Christi on Thursday, and it was good to be there (I don't normally go to that service, but was covering for someone who couldn't be there), because I've always felt particularly drawn to/moved by the Eucharist. How are your work issues these days ? I hope all is well.

Kay - good news about DS. I bet he feels relieved (even if only subconsciously) that things are finally getting sorted out for you all too. Prayers continuing for you both.

FLaH - how are things with you? Praying for you, your DP, and your soon-to-be-FIL.

PA - thank you for sharing your story: it reminds me that unlikely transformations can and do happen, and although I don't see it (honestly) in the case of DH, I do pray that even if he never formally becomes a Christian he may feel better able to open his eyes to the positives of living with faith. I think with him it's a control thing - he needs to feel in control of his life and I think that if he could relax that a bit, even if he didn't envisage it as handing any of that control over specifically to God, he'd actually be a bit happier. Still, things are OK and he is really very accommodating.

I'm posting a quotation from Thomas Merton, which I particularly like, and which has been described as 'a prayer that anyone can pray':

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

May we all strive to do what is pleasing to God, and in doing so may we always trust Him.

OP posts:
BlackeyedSusan · 07/06/2015 08:17

got to go and get the girl. and smother her to death with kisses

BlackeyedSusan · 07/06/2015 08:26

praying for those who find church difficult for varous reasons.

hoping dp is ok this morning too.

DizzyDaffodil · 07/06/2015 12:41

I know two couples where one is a Christian and the other an atheist, one of the couples don't seem to be that happy but they have a child with serious behaviour issues and they don't seem to get along that well at all. The other is a vicar, his wife is an atheist. I know of a 3rd couple where she is an atheist and RE teacher who is bringing up her son as a Christian and goes to church each week with her husband who is a believer. Three quite different experiences.

Kay that's good that you have got through this so far.
BES glad about the V5
Soozi that's great about your DS and his 2:1. Sorry to hear about your Dad.

The DCs are watching the England match, that FB advert about friends makes me want to cry. Things are alternating between awful and good here.

amberlight · 07/06/2015 13:31

Keeping everyone in prayers, as I'm reading through.
Here, glad to have got the courage to go to main service, after a few weeks of break. Getting back into doing something after a break is really hard for me. Would appreciate prayers for DS in trying to find the new job career, after his job contract came to an end. And for me and a church colleague as we try to set up good dementia church services for the area.

FaithLoveandHope · 07/06/2015 16:05

Just popping on briefly to ask for prayers please? The next 24 hrs is crazy busy and super important and I need to maintain focus which I'm struggling with in light of recent events. Hoping to have more time come tomorrow afternoon so will read though properly then. Sorry for such a flying visit and not explaining things properly. Thanking God he knows what we need.