Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Philosophy/religion

Join our Philosophy forum to discuss religion and spirituality.

Christian prayer and chat thread Open to all

984 replies

Dutchoma · 20/03/2021 16:13

The old thread was nearly full, so here is a new one. Oldies and newbies, chat or prayer, all welcome.

Praying especially for MHD and JanFeb’s daughter.
Also praying for all who are preparing Holy Week/Easter services.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Oshikundu · 06/05/2021 23:57

@SchadenfreudePersonified I'm not the best with words, so bear with me.
The relief of someone hearing even a little part of what happened, and them acknowledging the hurt, triggers strong emotions.

None of what happened was ever the fault of little Schaden. I know you know that.

You put your trust in someone you felt to be very special. You've waited a long time to find someone to trust with this.

She won't let you down. She sounds as special as you are. Well done for speaking up. Your Priest will show God's love towards "little you" and the remarkable grown up you are now.

Be kind to yourself, and treat yourself gently, as you would anyone who shared their own story with you. To talk about such things with one you trust helps you to heal in God's love.

"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me".

Praying for you and all here. God's love be with you.

Madhairday · 07/05/2021 20:19

@SchadenfreudePersonified

That was such a brave thing to do. I know that she will just be pleased you felt able to share something from such a painful place, and she will hold that sacred and she will definitely not at all think lesser of you in any way at all. As a priest she will have been able to discern that it was the tip of the iceberg, and she will not have pressed further because she will know you need room and space. But it's no wonder you feel wobbly and emotional after sharing it. It will be a part of the healing process for you, but these things happen in tiny steps.

Father, I pray for Schadenfreude now. Uphold her and strengthen her, may she know your peace that passes understanding, holding her tightly in everlasting arms. I pray you will comfort her by your Spirit, that you will breathe assurance and rest for her soul. Amen.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 08/05/2021 10:16

Thank you Oshi and Madhair.

I have to admit my emotions are up and down at the moment. And I much appreciate all of your prayers and kindness.

IntrovertEm · 08/05/2021 12:49

Hi, I've just found this thread.
Can I request prayer please. I am struggling with depression, feeling lost and stuck and lonely. I've been struggling and praying for breakthrough for 3 years and I feel nothing. My faith is fading
Thank you

Dutchoma · 08/05/2021 13:44

IntrovertEm welcome. There comes a time when you csnnot pray for yourself, so let us pray for you. Rest assured that God is still there for you, even though you cannot see or feel it.
Schadenfreude I have been thinking about what you wrote so muc. There is so much pain in what you write and much truth in what Oshi and MHD have written. I do pray that things have settled down a bit for you and that you can feel more relieved than ashamed that you have shared, even if it is the tip of the iceberg.

OP posts:
MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 08/05/2021 14:04

I've just come across this thread. I used to be a very committed Christian till I lost my faith when my scientific mind took over and I miss it very much. I wish I could regain my faith.

I'm currently on 3 months notice of redundancy and am living in a state of panic. Terrified ill lost the house. Desperate to find a job. DD has some mental health issues and I don't know how to help her. We could do with some positive prayer for the future. I am lost.

Dutchoma · 08/05/2021 21:13

Welcome MrsArchchancellorRidcully I’m sorry that you feel you have lost your faith. Science and faith in God are not mutually exclusive. I don’t know all the arguments and in a way it doesn’t matter to me, because I can’t understand God anyway, so it doesn’t matter that `i don’t know how He does it all. I just know He does. I am also sorry that you are in such a pecarious position as far as your job is concerned; you could do with believing that things will come right in the end. I hope they do, at the same time I know that God is faithful and He will do it, no matter what happens. No problem is too big for God and I will certainly pray that you will come to an understanding that you are held in the care of a loving God. I also pray that you daughter will find support for her mental health issues, it is very difficult to know what to do when you are so close to the problem.

OP posts:
Madhairday · 08/05/2021 21:51

Welcome, @IntrovertEm. I'm so sorry you've been struggling with depression. It really does steal away joy, and can be incredibly difficult to cope with, especially on a long term basis. As Oma said, sometimes it's okay to let go and let others carry the burden for a while.

Father, I lift Em to you now, and ask that you would bring her soul to a place of rest. You know everything she is battling with and you know her disappointments. Will you breathe your peace into her situation, and assure her you walk with her through it and in the worst bit of it you are still there, holding her hand. Amen.

'The Lord is my shepherd,
He restores my soul.
He leads me beside still waters.'

Welcome, @MrsArchchancellorRidcully. I am so sorry you're feeling lost and have so much you are facing with your job, home and your daughter. You are carrying such a burden. It sounds like you are looking back towards the faith you miss. I completely understand - I'm someone who likes to listen to all sides, to weigh the logic, to look for evidence, and it's not always easy - but I've found that there is a good robust case for the gospel of Jesus, and that it doesn't clash with science in any way at all. But right now it sounds like you just need some people to understand and to pray, and so we will do that.

Father, I lift up MrsArch to you now, and ask that you would work in her life, that you would restore her hope and bring peace to her as she struggles with all of these things. We pray for a job, and that she's able to keep her home. We pray for her DD and ask that you would surround her with your peace, and ease her pain.

'Surely your goodness and mercy
Are chasing after me
All of the days of my life '

JanFebAnyMonth · 08/05/2021 22:37

Amen to MHD’s prayers for you both.

We had a church Zion meeting entitled remember and recover this evening, taking stock of coronavirus’s effects for each of us personally. The person who led it suffered a great loss themselves. We used a reflection sheet from CPAS, good in itself and also contains some greats links about lamenting. Will try and find it and share it here.

JanFebAnyMonth · 08/05/2021 22:38

*zoom not Zion, although a relevant autocorrect for once!

SchadenfreudePersonified · 08/05/2021 22:54

@IntrovertEm - Holding you in my prayers. It is so hard when you are struggling with depression - you are exhausted and feel like you are wading through waist-deep treacle - and it is particularly difficult when you cannot feel God's presence with you.

It is in these very blackest of times that we are closest to God - so close that we can't see the Divine, in the same way as we can't see the curvature of the earth when we look towards the horizon: when something so big is so close it becomes invisible, but it is there.

What prayer pathways are you using? Have you tried prayer methods other than words? Sometimes prayer strategies that work for us at one time of our life won't at another, and we need to change. And remember, too, that prayer is a conversation with God - it can be very informal; it can be wordless; it can be despairing; it can be full of anger - look at the Psalms - all of human emotion is in there.

Madhair has suggested that most comforting of psalms, the 23rd, but there is also Psalm 61 “Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” and Psalm 43 “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 43:5) and I remind myself "The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit." (34.18). I have used all of these as mantras before, and they have helped me

God can take your anger and your grief and help you bear your pain. I know this must sound trite, but it is true. And it is in these dark times that there is change and growth taking place inside you. You can come through this, spiritually stronger.

@MrsArchchancellorRidcully - as Madhair has said there need be no conflict between science and belief in God. I think one of the things that can cause difficulty is when we think of God as being like us, but bigger (we are, after all, made in God's image), but this is such a simplification. God is so much more - beyond our small human imagining, and beyond what human words can describe. "Creation" is the "what", and "evolution" is the "how". God is continually working in and sustaining the universe, in ways we can never understand.

If we could prove God, where would there be a need for faith? Faith is necessary only when we are asked to trust. Trusting is hard - we are so helpless in the face of all the dreadful things that are happening in the world, and in particular when our children are affected, it is terrible.We would rather take 10 times their pain upon ourselves than have them suffer. You are carrying so much at the moment. Try to take some time to pray - pray to the God you no longer believe in, who says to you "Come to me all ye who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Think of the very first prayer you learned as a child - repeat it as a mantra, whenever you feel low and despairing. Hold it in your heart, let it be the rhythm of your breath. See if that will help. Don't worry that it's a simple child's prayer - you are God's beloved child. Surrender to being loved.

I'm not someone who thinks that God sends afflictions to strengthen us or test us, or that everything happens for a reason (some things may - other things just "happen"), but I do believe that if we give God the opportunity, our loving Creator will bring good from the bad.

God works with us and in us. None of us know what will happen tomorrow, but holding to God's love though everything, knowing that God is suffering with us and bearing our pain and fear, and working in us constantly , can give us the strength we need to go on - though sometimes it is very, very hard. Remember you are held lovingly in God's hand, and again the words of Psalm 34: 18 "The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit."

I'll hold you, too in my prayers - that both you and IntrovertEm are sustained by God, and that the Divine purpose is worked out within you, and you are comforted.

God bless.xxx

Oshikundu · 08/05/2021 22:56

@IntrovertEm
@MrsArchchancellorRidcully
I pray for strength and guidance for you, and for better days to come.

Alissicca17 · 09/05/2021 00:18

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Szulik · 09/05/2021 13:15

@IntrovertEm

Hi, I've just found this thread. Can I request prayer please. I am struggling with depression, feeling lost and stuck and lonely. I've been struggling and praying for breakthrough for 3 years and I feel nothing. My faith is fading Thank you
I will pray for you. God bless.
coffeecup88 · 09/05/2021 21:43

I would appreciate a prayer this evening. I can't say what about but God knows. Thinking of you all this evening

IntrovertEm · 09/05/2021 22:07

Thank you all. I have no words to be honest, you're right it's so emotionally exhausting and doesnt help I have no one to share the burden with. I have been struggling to pray sometimes as it feels like just repeating myself a million times.
I feel stuck in a deep pit and its impossible to get out. I have prayed over and over asking god to guide me, help me. Still feel no further on in 3years.
Thank you for your prayers

Dutchoma · 10/05/2021 08:17

Em there is somethuing I read years ago and I have shared it here before.

Think of yourself as a blackbird, trapped under a net in a strawberry bed. While it struggles to get out, it will get entrapped further and furthe, but if it can manage to stay still: the strawberries will be there on its side.
So I would say to you: be still, God is on your side.
If you are in a deep pit, stop trying to get out, God is there with you too.
Are you having some help? Is there anyone to talk to?

OP posts:
Dutchoma · 10/05/2021 08:19

Coffeecup I am praying for you now, that things will work out for you in accordance with the will of God.

OP posts:
coffeecup88 · 10/05/2021 09:16

Thank you

Oshikundu · 10/05/2021 09:50

@Coffeecup88 Please don't feel alone, as the love of God is with you. You are in my prayers today ,as is Em .

Zebra13 · 11/05/2021 14:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

coffeecup88 · 11/05/2021 15:33

@Zebra13

Would anybody be able to pray for me ? I had a termination five weeks ago, ( at seven weeks), and desperately wish more than anything I hadn't done it. I am truly, truly, truly sorry.
@Zebra13 i'm so sorry 😞 I'm am praying for God to help you as you struggle through the aftermath of this. Do you have any support irl?
coffeecup88 · 11/05/2021 15:40

Thank you @Oshikundu I am so grateful for these prayers

Dutchoma · 11/05/2021 15:46

Oh my love. May the peace of God be with you.

OP posts:
Zebra13 · 11/05/2021 16:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Swipe left for the next trending thread