A new Christian prayer thread for summer...

[Tuo]

This thread is a safe space where anyone - regular, occasional visitor, lurker, committed Christian or waverer - is welcome to come and leave their prayers in the knowledge that they will be prayed for. No problem is too big or small to share here, and if you just want to come and say 'hi', that's fine too.

Looking back through our previous thread, we pray in particular for:

abbsismyhero - for help with her anxiety and relationship with an abusive ex.

amberlight - for her work supporting people with autism, and for health and happiness for her and her family.

Aphie - for her fiancé's family following the sudden death of his uncle, and for her anxiety.

BlackEyedSusan - for all that she has to juggle as a single mum, for her DC, and for her mum.

Bluetinkerbell - five years on from the loss of her baby DD, Sterre.

Cocoa button - for issues around the safety of her DS2.

Dontbesilly - for strength as she grieves the loss of her dad, for her mum and the rest of her family, for her DD's school issues, and for Dont's own health.

drspouse - for full recovery from a recent chest infection and for happiness and a warm welcome in her new church.

DutchOma - with gratitude for all she does to support people on this thread and elsewhere, and for her to find peace and joy in her life following the loss of her beloved Bob.

EdithSimcox - for her to find joy and fulfilment in her faith and understanding and support from her DP.

ethelb - for her MIL who has blood clots in her leg and suspected sarcoma, and for all who love and care for her.

FaithLoveandHope - for her anxiety and depression to lift and for her to be able to avoid falling into despair and self-harm, and for her relationship with her DSD.

greyscalealmond - for her depression to be alleviated and for family relationships.

HardyLeodicean - especially for her FIL and for a recently-bereaved friend.

IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece - for her friend's pregnancy.

LarrytheCucumber - for family members involved in fostering and adoption, for the DC involved, and for their birth parents and all involved in their ongoing care.

LifeofBriony - for her relationship with her DH and for her DD's friend, J, who is in a coma after a seizure.

LittleBootsTheBabe - for healing and happiness for an acquaintance of hers.

MadHairDay - for her health, and for her whole family at a time of change and uncertainty.

Malefriendproblem - for her relationship with an old friend which has turned sour, and for her DD who suffers from anxiety.

Newmamatobe - for her new life with her baby DD and free of alcohol.

niminypiminy - who will be ordained very soon.

passportmess - for her friend who has schleroderma.

Paulat2112 - for friends who are experiencing relationship difficulties.

PositiveAttitude - for her whole family, but especially her DD1 who has been depressed, her pregnant DD2, her mum and dad, her DH and his work. Above all, we pray for PA herself, who is always there for others when they need her, for her studies, and for a potential house-move.

QoF - for her relationship with her DH.

SESthebrave - for all who are grieving over the loss of a friend from church, for work-related decision-making, and for the friend who was Best Man at her wedding whose relationship has broken down following his wife's infidelity.

SouthernLassie - for her relationship with a colleague.

sweetandsour - for her auntie who has been diagnosed with cancer, and for her mum and all who love and care for her auntie.

Teallove - for her to feel free to move on following the breakdown of a relationship.

Trazzletoes - for her 6-year-old DS who has previously had cancer and who is now unwell again - praying for a swift (and hopefully reassuring) diagnosis and for Trazzletoes and all who love him at this worrying time.

Tweebee - for her DS to settle at nursery.

And also thinking of friends who haven't visited for a while, who who pop in only occasionally, including ALittleFaith, Anjelica27, Kaykat, JugglingFromHereToThere, ktef, legohurtswhenyoustandonit, Pandora97, shortscotty, weegiemum and others.

And, as always, prayers for anyone I've forgotten (with apologies), for all who lurk but don't post, and for newbies who may not have posted yet.

This prayer was posted by Edith on the old thread, and I really like it and would like it to stand for what this new thread is all about:

All that we are, Lord,
we place into your hands.
All that we do, Lord,
we place into your hands.

Everything we work for,
we place into your hands.
Everything we hope for,
we place into your hands.

The troubles that weary us,
we place into your hands.
Thoughts that disturb us,
we place into your hands.

Each that we pray for,
we place into your hands.
Each that we care for,
we place into your hands. Amen

Prayers for you Orchid that God is with you today

Thank you passport and cocoa by the grace of God I had a calm and safe journey. Slight anxiety attack at services as quite busy and dh not happy about loitering outside ladies loos ( was nervous as busy and lots of bright lights so got him to wait). Have arrived at parents house ds asleep on arrival but dd awake so made the journey worth it it. thank you Lord for being with me on my travels and for keeping me and my family safe. Thank you Heavenly Father that through your guidance I found this thread and the support it gives me.

Amen to that Orchid. Glad all well.

Well done, Orchid for your courage in the face of anxiety. God was, and remains, with you, but you also were strong. I am glad your journey was uneventful. (I never bat an eyelid at men waiting outside bathrooms or changing rooms for female relatives, so don't worry unduly about that. He'd need to be there a good while to be loitering)

Dutchoma, I hope you have more temperate but pleasant weather for your holiday - and a pleasant climate in your family too.

I have been praying and meditating on strength, on the comment by someone in RL that I am strong. I was thinking that I hope God has not now given me more than I can carry. And my back is aching. So, I was thinking I have somehow got this wrong. One should put the load down and deal with it bit by bit.

The zoo was really, really too hot and tempers got frayed. We survived and got back together and in one piece, having enjoyed pancakes in true Dutch fashion. Today is a peace an quiet day. We have done swimming.

There's a lot of walking involved in zoos Dutchoma so these places are tiring anyway, even more so when too hot. Pancakes and swimming sounds lovely.

Pancakes sounds tasty dutchoma

Really want to praise God tonight~ Whilst visiting dparents been to see a psychiastrist regarding my intense anxiety- was very nervous and sick before but found it really helpful. Prayed hard that God would give me the strength to go. DF took me even though I'm pushing 40 and waited outside! If anyone has a favourite praising prayer or bible verse please share. I have offered God my own simple thank you for loving me.

we are back.

been thinking about you all. will catch up later. off to church.

Orchid, another well done for you; and may God bless your father too. He sounds lovely and supportive.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. Tom dc and I do return journey driven by df and then dh. Please pray for safe calm travels.

bes glad you're back safely x

reading through. so random comments from up to two weeks ago.

bloody hell don't your mother sounds like hard work.

glad baby is doing ok. hope he continues to grow and there are no after effects.

well done orchid. one step at a time. breathe, step, breathe, step. praying for calm travelling.

holiday:
two weeks made it more like a holiday. ds was, well autistic, and the out of routineness meant that he was not fed at regular enough intervals so there were a few meltdowns. we ran out of square wheetabakes. so he had pasta cooked for him every morning, while dd and I ate the round wheetabakes.

some days were too hot to go out much, some too wet, but we sort of lounged about a bit. the children went in the sea, built sandcastles, collected shells, walked to the rocks, had chips at the beach, rode donkey, went to the fair, went to some caves, a castle and up a mountain on the train (though ds thought it was boring) and go to the soft play.

I got to eat sea food, scones and clotted cream, and a rejected egg sandwich and build sandcastles, which compensated for all the washing, cooking, shopping, washing up, planning and being the responsible adult. they had beans on toast more than once when I collapsed in a heap crocheting in front of the tv.

I bought new wellies and a new coat when the ones I took leaked. and yarn. it sort of fell into the basket from the other side of the shop. have returned with quite a largish blanket.

shattered from driving. fell asleep with the radio and light on last night. oops. supposed to be at their dads but still sorting out the shopping.

Well done BES. Our journey back is tomorrow, hopefuly it will go as smoothly as it did on the way here. We had a lovely thunderstorn yesterday evening (apologies to those who don't like them) and it is much cooler today. Still very nice weather and lovely to sit outside typing. Internet has been very intermittent.

safe journey.

Hi all - we are back home safely , lots of prayer and deep breathing kept it calm.

oma hope you are home safely.

Bes and Orchid, glad you are home safely. Oma I hope your trip is also safe.

Prayers for all on this thread and beyond

Please, would you all pray for me? I have a very dysfunctional family (parents and sibling) who have caused me enormous hurt down through the years. The most recent blow up is causing me to be depressed. My husband and son are wonderful and are supportive. I'm just trying to get back to equilibrium and to come to terms with the dysfunction of the family. They live thousands of miles away. I feel very alone.

yes, I am praying for you.

I too have a dysfunctional family, and I understand the hurt you feel, I think. We are estranged, though, so blow ups are not an issue, but the feeling of being alone is. Be gentle with yourself; equilibrium will return in time. The world, and God, still holds you and you are so much part of that.

I think look outwards - if I recall, you were wanting to pick up worshipping in Church more. Do these things which are meaningful to you and let the family stuff sit awhile. That way you are not looking to your family for validation, you will find it in yourself. It is the old thing of not being able to change people but changing how you respond.

Cocoa thank you. Your words have been really useful. My parents and I were estranged for 2 years then reunited but my sister cut me out 10 years ago. She has a mental health issue so in some ways it's not her fault. My parents' marriage is now in trouble and I got the backwash when they stayed recently. I realise I can't change them and the saying is very true but it's the sense of loss that's upsetting me.

I went to church this morning but have yet to find my Sunday morning home. I'll try a church this Sunday - see if it feels like home.

I will look outwards. Looking inwards and analysing is making me feel more down than I need to be.

for you and your family situation.

You would not be human if you did not feel loss - in many ways, that sadness also unites you with the world, even though you feel alone, because it is part of the human condition. Like joy.

I think let the feelings of loss be, like all things, sadness will ebb and flow till you find a way to be with things.

Thank you also for your kind words about my family. Sometimes I think about going back, but I also think it is easier to accept that things are broken than try to fix. At least in the short term.

I'm home!

I'm back from everything too. Just reading through.

Hope the rest of your holiday was good, oma. Zoos are always hard work with lots of walking and heat doesn't help.

BES - glad you've had time away and the dc enjoyed it. Sounds like it was hard work but you got some relaxation too? Praying for you as you get back in routine.

Passport - praying for you, for peace to surround you and to know you are loved. Family thing sounds tough. Praying you find a great church family soon.

Now I'm back from holidays I have to start sorting for the move...

Hello all!

Just grabbing a moment to catch up and update. I think of you all and pray for you often.

My update is to aks for prayers of thanks and praise for the awesomeness of God for helping my change in working hours to become a reality.

You will remember that I have been thinking of reducing my hours at work since full time with 2 young children and a DH working away 3 nights a week has been a huge struggle, especially with the size of the geography I cover (I've done over 18,000 miles this year alone).

I've been feeling that God has been telling me to spend more time with the DC and less at work and although unsure how we would work that financially and not even sure if selfishly it's what I want, that feeling was so strong that I felt I needed to pursue it. Initially I thought I'd have to step down into a lower grade role and was preparing for that but to cut a long story short, God has found a way for me to stay in my current role doing 2 days a week as a job share with someone that I already know and could work with well. I can't believe how lucky I am and am eagerly anticipating this next chapter. We're hoping I can start my new hours middle to end of October. God is faithful and always finds a way to work His purpose out.

In other news, prayers please for DD as she starts reception in a couple of weeks and DS as he moves into Yr3, which I feel is almost a bigger step than DD going into reception!
Also for my parents - my Dad (an alcoholic most of my life) is drinking more again and hid a bottle of gin last week and my mum who is coping with this and anxious about how they will continue to manage in their current home. (They live in the family home still and it is too big for either of them to manage but they can't agree on a place they would both want to move to. In fact they gave up even looking some time ago)

As for you lovely lot, I hope you've all had a good summer. Scanning through the thread, I can see I need to congratulate PA on her grandson and will also pray for him in these early weeks that he will grow strong despite his early entry into the world. Also for your DD that they will find somewhere to live that is their home.

Prayers for MHD as you start to think about packing up.

Passportmess - prayers for you. Dysfunctional families are not easy. Stay strong and go easy on yourself. I'm thankful for the support you have from your DH and DS.

Orchid - prayers for you. Thankful for a safe, calm journey home and for a few calm days now.

Prayers for all others on this thread too - BES , Oma , Dont , TUO , Cocoa , QoF and others - and those who lurk and are in need of prayer.

great news on the job.

I am sorry for not replying to the new posts. I am really upset about a work issue. I am trying to be calm, as I know I have done all I could. I am praying for God to be with everyone involved, including me.

I feel like it is an onslaught of things to deal with, I have been crying most of the day. Which is mostly just being overwhelmed.

it's very hard when your job brings moments of upset which naturally spill over into your life after work. I am praying for all involved and for the strength to cope.

While crying is physically and mentally exhausting, it does provide catharsis.