The God Box
Like most people, I have many hopes, wishes, and prayers etched on my heart. Some are personal intentions; other times I speak to God on the behalf of others. Sometimes my prayers are about giving thanks. More often than I’d like to admit my prayers are big whine fests.
In the past, I’d scribble down a list of current intentions (and “thing to whine about”) in my journal (the old-fashioned kind with paper), but frequently I’d be out running errands or on a walk with a friend when I’d be made aware of a prayer request – one that didn’t involve me or my hopes or my dreams. And so I’d make a promise to pray for someone or for a situation, and sometimes I would utter a quick prayer on the spot. Other times I’d remember to write down this intention in my journal. On a really good day, I’d really raise my heart and mind to God and talk to Him about this person’s pain or joy, fear or acceptance, sickness or health. However, I often wasn’t as intentional as I should be with the many petitions I’d be entrusted with on any given day.
Enter the Internet and social media where even more prayer requests were brought to my virtual doorstep, and it became increasingly difficult to remember all those who needed me to whisper to God on their behalf.
Then I read this beautiful article called “Inside The God Box” where the author (Mary Lou Quinla) remembers her faithful mother and how she “put each dream, decision, and desperate prayer” into her own God box. Inspired by this I purchased a plain, brown photo storage box, labeled it “The God Box,” and put it in my closet. When a prayer intention strikes me, I jot it down, often on a scrap of paper, and slip it in.
Yet, it’s still difficult to remember every prayer request I stumble across, especially in the online world. That’s why I’ve decided to create a virtual “God Box.” This is a place to stash my own intentions, prayer requests I’ve had from others, and even blog buttons that are circulating through social media. It’s also my hope that this virtual God Box will become a living prayer list for my regular readers and anyone who happens to stumble across this corner of cyberspace.
Here’s place to share your petitions, a heartbreaking news story that makes us aware of others who need our prayers, and your gratitude for prayers answered, or perhaps spiritual resolutions you’ve arrived at with God’s grace. In this safe place, I pray we’ll find an online ministry – a way of bringing God’s family together and allowing the Internet to be used to heal, to spread the Good News, and to reveal not only suffering but hope and redemption.
I invite you to share your prayers – anonymously or not. Feel free to share links to posts to requesting the prayers and/or support of others as well. Let us be the Simon of Cyrene to others and help lighten the load of the heavy crosses others carry. But let us also be like the apostles who were graced with the opportunity to embrace the Risen Lord and celebrate all the goodness, love, and light that blesses our lives.
Pax Christi.
Prayers for my mama and her ongoing health problems, my father-in-law’s continued healing, my nana, and all those who didn’t choose their Lenten sacrifices this year.
And prayers of thanksgiving for a healthy pregnancy! 20 weeks and counting!
Please help my husband find a job that is fulfilling.
I’ve been having health problems since my son was born a year ago. I appreciate prayers for perseverance, peace, and trust in God’s plan for my health and our family!
Safe travel for my husband, infant and myself. Health and safety for my older kids who are staying with sitters. Peace and discernment for the interview.
What a blessing to see others to use this space to share their intentions.
Three other quick prayers:
One for a friend who has suffered her third miscarriage in a row. Prayers for her healing…
Another for a friend whose small daily crosses are adding up to be quite a burden to shoulder lately. May God give her the graces the get through this rough patch.
Finally, prayers of thanksgiving for the two amazing women who came over to my house today and inspired me with their wisdom.
Prayers for my husband and I to have a smooth moving experience and for him to adjust well to his new job. We’re living with his parents for awhile so we definitely need prayers for patience and understanding!
Please pray for my sister’s boyfriend’s dad. The Catholic school at which he taught cut some programs and he was laid off and is looking for employment. May he and his family find the strength to rely on God and trust in His plan for them.
Please offer a prayer for my daughter Shelby, who is four and autistic. In the coming weeks we have her IEP (individual educational meeting) for kindergarten and most of the “experts” will have never met her before. Please pray this is a good transition for our family and that Shelby’s best is truly what these experts have in mind, not numbers in schools.
Please grace of the Holy Spirit in an important case for me.
Please ask God’s blessing for the whole family.
Please miracle for John.
One of my closest friends is a mom to an 8 year old daughter, 6 year old son, baby in heaven (m/c in 2008) 15 month old son, and was 12 weeks pregnant when her ultrasound today revealed this baby died around 8 weeks. She has such grace and peace and feels God at this time, but like her friends, is grieved (I’m SO upset). She’ll most likely need a D&C.
Please pray for her precious baby, for her, and her excited family (the kids were so excited) and all who were rejoicing in another one of God’s creations! God is still SO Good.
Much love.
Also, please pray for another friend who was diagnosed with skin attacking Lupus, her father is about to pass away from lung cancer, and whose Father in law was just diagnosed with colon cancer in Spain.
The stress on her currently is overwhelming, especially with her health. Please pray. Thank you. Pray for peace for her father too.
Also – I’ve lost my patience several times today. Please pray for me. I feel terrible as a mom.
Update on my friend who is miscarrying. Due to insurance coverage…she can not have the D & C, and has opted for the medication that will induce her miscarriage. I’m nervous about this after another friend having a bad experience with take the same medication a few years ago. PLEASE pray for my friend!!!
Also, another dear friend’s newly 4 year old daughter had surprise surgery to remove a tumor around her ovary, and the ovary itself. The believe the tumor to be benign and the result of AWOL cells at conception and gestational development. They think it has been growing for years, causing symptoms like dietary allergies. Her surgery went well, but she is in a lot of pain, and her mother is 13 weeks pregnant and while full of faith, is very sad, scared, and has mommy guilt for not catching the tumor sooner (she knows that is a far fetched worry…but she can’t help it – I blame hormones, motherly worry, and lack of rest).
Please pray the little one heals well, and can deal with the down the road fertility issues that will come with one ovary. Pray for grace then, and now…and for her parents and peace for their family.
It’s been a hard week here for my friends. Thanks for prayers!!
Praying…
I have another request for a friend who has taken a leap of faith and has asked me to pray that she truly is serving God’s will (I believe she is!).
Also: prayers of thanksgiving for another prenatal visit that gave me the blessing and assurance of a healthy baby (who’s getting more and more active every day!).
Please pray for fellow Catholic blogger, Betty Duffy, who is suffering the heartache of a miscarriage:. http://bettyduffy.blogspot.com/2011/04/something-to-do-with-losing-pregnancy.html
Please pray for those ravaged by the recent string of tornadoes to hit the Southeast. We were lucky here in our little town in Georgia, but I heard on the news this morning that others have lost everything and that the death toll has topped 200.
Please pray for me and my struggle with PPD.
Also that my hubby can find a full time job in his field.
Rachel LaPointe recently posted..7 Quick Takes Friday- the insomnia edition
Okay. I have lots of prayer requests today:
-Prayers for a mom my babysitter knows who was murdered in front of her kids
-Hope and healing for my mama as she continues to face complex medical problems
-A speedy recovery for my little brother who is suffering from the injury of a broken jaw
-Prayers for a good friend of my new sister-in-law who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of MS (she’s the mom of two young children)
-Praying for my husband because I love him and adore him!
-Wisdom, grace, and trust to make a very important decision for our family (we’re currently discerning whether or not we’re going to homeschool my oldest again next year or place her in school)
-Prayers for JOYFUL mothering (and my toddler resuming her naps!)
-Gratitude for my pregnancy and the healthy, growing baby in utero. 28 weeks and counting now!
Please add your own prayers and intentions and know that I’ll be thinking of you!
God bless.
Kate Wicker recently posted..My “Rae” of Sunshine
Please pray for a young couple who just entered the Catholic Church 3 weeks ago. He was working as a youth minister at a large Protestant church in town and of course, no longer has a job. She just gave birth to their third child in late January, and their other two are preschoolers. Pray for peace in their hearts, for wisdom on where to search for a job, and mostly for God’s financial provision for them. They are living off savings right now and that can be a scary thing (though those of us who know of the situation are going to try to help in what ways we can and what ways this other couple will let us).
Also, please pray for me also to find joy in mothering. Ever since we brought our fourth child home from China in December, I have been greatly struggling under the strain of mothering four children and trying to love a child who is 7 years old and doesn’t have very lovable behaviors. I know this child was chosen by God to be a part of our family, I just feel overwhelmed.
Thank you Kate for this God Box! It’s truly a blessing to put my requests here.
Kimberlie recently posted..Needed- A Miracle for Teresa x-posted from the Dumpling House
Please pray for us as we try to coupe with family that has taken our dream. Even after we told them to please at least not use the name we had for the company, they took everything from us. My husband and I are partners with my in-laws with a dairy. I’ve been involved with the cheese makers in our state since high school. After my husband and I got married (10 years ago)I shared with him the idea of making our own cheese. He wanted to wait until we had the big picture in order (getting the partnership legally signed with his parents). 2 1/2 years ago we got things squared away with his parents. My husband’s brother and wife came up to our home about the time we finalized things with the lawyer. We brought up our idea to them to get their feedback (he is an engineer with a specialized machine shop that makes fixures for glass structures, ex: airport walls) His work is all over the world. Him, his wife, and my husbands other sister took our cheese company idea. We learned everything through family friends what they were doing. My husband went down to talk to them about it. They told my husband that this is nothing that should tear our family apart, we needed to get over it. The story is so much longer than this, with more details that are eye popping!!! Keep us in your prayers!
What a blessing to have “The God Box”. My heart is lighter just being able to write about it! Thank you Kate!!!
From a friend: A neighbor and fellow parishioner of ours welcomed a new baby girl this morning. The baby is now in NICU with a pneumothorax. Please, please pray for her, her new parents, and for the doctors and nurses giving her care.
Kate Wicker recently posted..this moment
First off, praying our little, 30-weeker bun will continue cooking in the oven for at leas another month.
Then sending up tons of prayers of gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, meals, care packages, encouraging texts/emails/tweets/FB wall posts/etc., and prayers from longtime friends, family, new friends, and even strangers. The Body of Christ is indeed a beautiful, amazing thing!
Blessings to you all!
Please pray for a friend whose daughter was born today at just 24 weeks. The doctors give baby Hannah a 50% chance to survive.
A friend recently emailed me the news that her almost 100-year-old grandmother passed away. Join me in praying for the repose of her soul. She sounds like a remarkable woman!
Prayers of thanksgiving for a pregnant friend who started bleeding earlier this week and thought she was miscarrying only to go in for an appointment and to hear the healthy swoosh of her baby’s heart. Life is so precious.
I recently read about this baby who needs a specialized neurosurgeon to perform surgery; yet, insurance is refusing to pray for this particular doctor’s specialized and necessary skills. Please keep Baby Patrick in your prayers, and consider donating to his help his family: http://savepatrick.com/
Our youngest is almost 6 and we’ve been trying to conceive all these years. We’ve had three miscarriages in the last two years, four miscarriages total. I am 46 (the biological clock is ticking very loudly!) and hoping for ‘just one more.’ Please, dear Lord…
Praying…
Prayers appreciated from the bottom of my heart for
1) our family to grow in strength of faith and joyful obedience to our Holy Catholic Church.
2) The good health of our family
3) Financial stability
4) Close proximity for our family
5) Guidance in vocations
What wonderfully applicable prayers for so many of us!
Please pray for Elizabeth’s Danny who just came out of surgery: http://keeponspinning.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/sometimes-its-not-easy-to-be-danny/
Also, I have lots to be thankful for today:
1. A baby defying the odds and staying put for over a month after pre-term labor!!!
2. A dear friend who had a happy ultrasound today after being worried about the threat of miscarriage since she has miscarried three babies.
3. Sweet, little girls and wet dog noses making this sidelined, gestating mama very, very happy!
Another prayer request for a sweet baby boy who is facing some health challenges per Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda. Here’s a link with more info.
Please pray for my husband, Mario and me to conceive a child,carry a baby to term and have a healthy baby boy or girl. We have had 2 miscarriages since we have been married. I am 42, so tick tick tick on the biological clock. Thanks.
Please pray for my dear daughter to want to live for Jesus and for her protection (purity and health). Also that I would be the mother God wants me to be and that my daughter’s relationship with her dad and myself would become wonderful.
Thanks! God bless you all,
Sylvie
Please pray for the healing of my friend Kathleen, a wonderful mother of seven, who was diagnosed with cancer several months ago.
Please pray for me as I begin the process of recovery from an eating disorder. I have suffered from this for 5 years and have a lot of stomach and immune system problems as a result. Thank you and God bless you all.
Praying from a heart that understands your courage and your terror at letting go and letting God.
Be assured of my prayers, too. Trust in God’s incredible love for you, and be patient; some days will be easier than others. You are valuable and loved…don’t ever forget that!
Prayers of healing for my amazing Mom who is battling cancer very hard. She will not finish treatment until November 2012 and began in August 2011 with two surgeries, a grueling course of chemo and now has to have radiation therapy five days a week for five weeks an hour and a half from her home which is a three hour round trip, she will then continue hereptin every three weeks until November. This is a very long road and I take care of her and my one year old son, as my Dad has his own company and took two months off in the beginning and can’t take any more time off, but our family is amazing. I have found many blessings throughout this process also. Thanksgiving that I found this website also, I’m from far away in Ireland and I love reading this, THANK YOU!
Welcome, Stacey. Lifting you and your amazing mom up in prayer…
Stacey what a great daughter you are! You and your dear mom have my prayers! God bless you!
for my 18 yr old brother, that he has an internal conversion and turns to God.
Praying so hard for the following items:
1) One of my closest friends trying to buy a house today, states away from here. This move has been taking months to plan, and being able to have their offer accepted on a house where very few are for sale would be such a blessing, so they can see if they pass inspection and close in a month or so. They want to move in June as the husband has been living for months alone there as they search for a home they can all unite in finally. So, please pray their offer is accepted!
2) For my marriage – both in it’s hopeful times and happy times, and in the depressing times. May I find the JOY that is ever present in both the ups and down, even if happiness is not.
3) For our own search for a home to rent. For the discernment if we need an apartment, condo, or stand alone residence with our budget.
4) For shutting out the voices of the world, and simply focusing on God’s voice. I find He speaks more and more through our friends, than the heads of my family – yet my family’s voices are louder (why is that?) to me. I pray for peace, vision, and purpose.
5) For my eldest daughter as she prepares to make her 1st Communion this coming Sunday. For the precious celebration of her gift of STRONG faith, and the happiness of being so unified with Christ in the Eucharist.
Thanks, and Amen.
ViolinMama @ A Rosey Outlook recently posted..I need…
its…not it’s. Goodness, and in home school today we went over contractions!! LOL!
No need to ever worry about grammar in this space. God knows our hearts and where we meant for our apostrophes to go.
Praying for all of your intentions, dear friend!
Full of Thanksgiving for our Lord in Lovely receiving Him for the first time this past Sunday. What beauty and peace come from the Lord when we are all “at the table” together. AMEN!
Prayers for Thanksgiving on my friend’s house situation – they are under negotiations to be the ones to go under contract. So, the prayers are working! This would be a huge stress reliever to have a home to move to in July.
Also, in thanksgiving for the discernment to stay in our current condo a little while longer before taking on “more than we can chew”. We’ll trust God to keep us safe and sheltered from some of the the more concerning things around us we never hear or witness, until someone tells us about them. We’ll just trust that is God working for now.
Please keep up the marriage prayers. I feel I have a great friend and co-parent, but I am feeling lost a bit in having a spouse. It’s hard to explain. We still have much growing to do.
Also, I’m feeling down today. Not even sure why – the let down post 1st Communion milestone excitement? Slightly insecure about….I have no idea? I feel very weighted down in any case. I need to find the JOY even when I’m not happy.
Praying for everyone’s intentions too.
Thank you!
Praying for my husband today at 2pm. Big prayers needed! Also, prayers for him surrounding an out of town opportunity that could manifest itself soon.
Also, for some mood swings for me this week concerning general anxiety.
Thanks you!
ViolinMama @ A Rosey Outlook recently posted..Need some prayers