Change is inevitable, Lord. Teach us to accept: If we view each transition as an opportunity to experience Your faithfulness, then we make new places in our lives for spiritual growth.

—-

Dearest Heavenly Father,

I deeply thank You for the gift of communication that brings each and everyone of us closer to our friends and family. As I go to sleep, look upon me and hear my thoughts. I pray that You will continually guide and bless my family and friends as they journey in life. May they be comforted with Your loving presence.

Above all, to You we raise our hymn of grateful praise.

Thank You Lord God.

Amen. :)

God bless you always! Good Night! :) 

Praying together brings us together. When we gather in Christian community, God is with us, and suddenly we are not separate individuals but one in Jesus’ name.

For me, the most powerful part of our worship service is the prayer time when we begin by sharing joys (causes for thanksgiving to God) and concerns (specific requests for God’s presence and power). The congregation so firmly believes in the power of intercessory prayer that even visitors sometimes raise their hands to share what is heavy on their hearts so that the gathered community can offer prayers.

On any given week, there will be persons lifted up who are ill, who must face the death of a loved one, or who are dealing with depression. No request is unimportant. All requests for prayers are lifted up as the community prays together.

In sharing our lives, we not only know more about each other, but we are bonded by the belief that God hears our prayers and responds. Even when the outcome is not what we want, we trust in God.

There is sometimes a palpable presence of Jesus among us. Other times, it is more like a warm feeling of being surrounded in love and understanding. But there is never any doubt that the risen Lord stands among us.

A good example is the image of hot coals that when gathered together continue to provide warmth. Separate the coals and they cool. Even the most independent of us benefits from community. God didn’t mean for us to go it alone.

—

As you journey in life, let God walk with You. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe that He will never leave your side. He will continue to love you and deal bountifully with you.

As I go to sleep, I’ll think of my family, friends, and departed loved ones.
My prayers are with you and your family. God bless you always. :)

Good Night! :)

People can often sense  when someone is in need of prayer - even if that someone is miles away. If the thought of a friend should come into your mind, why not stop to say a little prayer on their behalf?

A prayer by Marianne Farningham:

I cannot tell why there should come to me
A thought of someone miles and miles away,
In swift insistence on the memory,
Unless a need there be that I should pray.
Too hurried oft are we to spare the thought
For days together, of some friend away;
Perhaps God does it for us, and we ought
To read this signal as a call to pray.
Perhaps, just then, my friend has fierce fight
And more appaling weakness,
and decay
of courage, darkness, some lost
sense of right
And so in case he or she needs my
prayer, I pray.
Friend, do the same for me.
If I intrude
Unasked upon you, on some
crowded day,
Give me a moment’s prayer as
interlude;
Be very sure I need; therefore
pray.

May the Peace of the Lord our God be with You always. :) 

Lord, hear my prayer for all who are in trouble this day.

Comfort those who are facing the loss of a loved one. After wrenching grief, let their lonely hours be filled with fond memories of days gone by. Also comfort those who are passing their days without work. During this time of financial stress, give them energy to make their employment the job of finding new work.

Encourage those who are finding it difficult to believe in the future. Let Your hope fill their hearts as they recall Your past faithfulness. Though doubting the truth of Your existence or the validity of Your promises, bring wise friends into their lives who have long known the reality of Your love. While they struggle to make ends meet, please let them be assured that You can take care of every need, no matter how large or small.

Heal those who are suffering pain and illness. Let them find rest and calm as they seek to make the idle moments pass more quickly. While they are racked in mind and stressed out emotionally, cradle their minds in your love and soothe every irrational thought that seeks to run out of control.

Uphold those who are being tempted in any way today, especially those who may want to end their lives. Show them that while there is life, there is hope, that change for the better is so likely. Looking at all the negative aspects of life and finding it depressing, may they find joy in just one moment at a time. And may that be enough for now.

In all these ways, I ask Your blessing upon those who are in trouble.

And please include me in that blessing as well. 

Bless my family, Lord. They are gifts from You, evidence of Your unwillingness for me to be alone. Until I see You face to face, the faces of those I love will be to me as Your own.

Thank You, Lord, for holding my hand as I take the next step in my journey forward.
I trust in You. :) 

We know that revenge will settle nothing at this point. It will only leave us with an emptier feeling than before. Heal the pain in our hurts over this injustice, and somehow, as impossible as it now seems, bring us to the place of blessing those people who have caused too much pain on us. Extend the most important thing that keeps saving our own lives: Your life-changing forgiveness.

Heavenly Father,

Out of love for me You have sent Jesus to be my Savior. I am thankful for that, and I want to show my love for You by loving my neighbor. Keep me from harming anyone by hand, mouth, heart, or mind. Help me to bear patiently the wrongs that others have done to me. Grant me a forgiving heart that I may not try to gain revenge. Let no angry thoughts arise in my mind, and guard my tongue.

Fill my heart with love for my Savior that I may show love to others by being kind and helpful to them. Help me to be a good example to others, and use my good example to bring honor and praise to Your name and good to my friends and neighbors. Take us all to heaven in Your own good time.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

:) 

My heart was broken, Lord, but you fixed it. As I learn to depend on You, give me the same thing You gave Your servant David: Strength and a Song.

Our confidence in the power of prayer is rooted in the promise that God is continually working for good in the midst of ambiguous situations and that God’s purposes will prevail in the end.

-Marjorie J. Thompson
 Soul Feast: An invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life