My email was supposed to be a prayer request, but it started out sounding more like an apology. Although we needed friends to pray, I was hesitant to ask because I didn’t want my request to be a burden for anyone.
A few years ago my husband J.J. was having health problems and needed to have a liver biopsy. His doctor told us it was precautionary, so we weren’t sure if it would end up being anything serious in the end. And that made me hesitant to tell people about it. Yet I knew I didn’t want to walk through it alone or in my own strength.
Fifteen minutes after I sent my email, several friends started telling me they were praying. Not only did my friends pray – they thanked me for sharing what was going on and for letting them be there for me.
For someone who hates to impose on others, I need to remember that asking for prayer isn’t about putting burdens on my friends. Asking for prayer is about letting our friends walk by our side down a path that we were never intended to walk alone. {today’s post is a partial excerpt from my #AConfidentHeart #Devotional book}
Is it hard to ask others to pray for you?
Let’s stretch ourselves today and let others walk beside us in prayer by sharing a burden and then praying for one another. Briefly share one things we can pray for you by clicking “Share Your Heart” below this post. Then leave a prayer or say “I’ve prayed for you” under the request left before yours. Ready.Set.Pray.
I am the Mom of 2 almost teenage boys (one 16 and one will be 13 in 2 weeks). i struggle with social media as well. I love staying connected with my friends and family and that is the only way I can do it when they live so far away. I need to read Suzie’s book – the unburdened heart first. Our noon bible study has been reading it and they all say that its been changing them. I need that. i need to learn how to forgive and let go as I struggle with that with my hubby. i get upset with him for drinking, his choice of language, the way he treats our oldest son, etc. You name it, and I can make an argument for it. I’m tired of being hurt and want to move on to the be the person I know I can be through God. I used to be a happy person. People used to call me ‘smiley’ when they saw me and now I feel like I only smile when I’m with friends, and hardly do it around my family. I don’t like that and I want and need it to change. I want my boys to remember me for the happy person I can be, not for the ogre I am.
I met Suzie at the Hearts at home conference last fall and loved hearing her speak!. So to get her newest book would be such a great gift to me! 🙂 .
i am a mother back in school and have dificulty passing an exams i am suppose to have passed two years ago. i am retaking it again in May and want you to join me inprayers for success. My kids keep telling me i can not drop out of the programme cos how wil encourage them in life. Pls i am holding tight on God for mercies for this exams.and also breakthrough in my marriage.
Hi. Im a christian but my boyfriend is not and it is starting to cause problems between us because he doesnt understand why I have made some of the choices I have made in my life. I live him and truly believe that God doesn’t want me to break up with him but we are fighting constantly. Please pray for us.
“Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
William Shakespeare.
Michelle,
I couldn’t believe my ears this morning when Renee mentioned Apraxia on the radio. My 17 year old daughter was diagnosed with apraxia when she was 2. It has been a long, lonely road but the Lord has been faithful! We started out with sign language and picture menus and now she is talking. She even participates in speech & drama….took 11th at state in Expository. People can understand her 80-90% of the time but she hates being different. We constantly need prayer!
I have prayed for you and your daughter, Laurie.
Thank you! That means a lot and is a comfort!
Hi all, this past Monday, March 24th, I had a horrible pain on my left side, I figured it was my appendix. However, when I went to the emergency room, I found out it was a kidney stone. I don’t understand why God would let this happen, cause I’m young. I pray God will use this experience in some awesome way, but that it NEVER happens again. It is sort of frustraing cause I’m going to school, and am planning on going on a long term mission trip in the fall. I just pray the kidney stones do not interfere with any of these.
Thanks!!
Hello – I have recently been given many overwhelming challenges. I lost a parent in December, my husband had an heart attack and I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This all occurred within 30 days of each other. The ms was recently confirmed with tests. I am hesitant to share with even my closest friends and family as I don’t want to be a burden, or be treated differently, or for my kids to worry about this as they have endured enough. I know God will carry us through these struggles and I will keep holding His hand through it. I would appreciate prayers for strength and for myself and family. I pray these struggles will continue to draw us closer to our God and that we would sense his presence in our lives.
I’ll be praying for you, that you may feel God’s presence and that He gives you the courage to tell family and friends and that they are supportive to you during this difficult time.
RH, I’ll be praying for you to have strength and peace with these struggles. I will ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for me so that he asks for what you truly need. We are all in this together, whatever our struggles may be. Love and Peace!
My husband and I have been separated for nearly two years with him choosing to live outside of our home. I keep thinking it is God’s will for us to stay and be married because that is what the Bible says, but I am so lost in my thoughts and faith right now because I don’t understand why God has not answered my prayers for my husband to move home, to rekindle passion and intimacy, and to fully restore our marriage as it has never been before. I’m sad and am growing weary and mad at God and I dislike feeling this way. I don’t know what to pray anymore. My husband and I spend a couple of hours a day together but he is full of resentment, anger, and feels he does not love me as he once did. He wants the passion back he felt when we first met and bases his decisions on his feelings. Please pray as God leads you because I don’t know what to ask for in prayer. Thank you!
Rebekah. I am praying for you and your marriage. Do not let the enemy harden your heart. Your husband is going off his feelings instead of what the word says.. God does not allow things to come to us to harm us but to help us. He wants your heart and for you to turn to him right now for all things including you having him as your husband.For he is a jealous God. He loves you more than you will ever know. His word will never contradict what he wants to tell you but you have to trust him through this whole process because his timing is different from ours. Just because you may not hear him does not mean he is not talking to you. Don’t give up so fast. There are things he wants to change in you and your husband but you both have to surrender to him. Please read and study your word everyday. You will get peace and comfort through this process. I am going through a similar situation right now with my husband. Let God strengthen you and stretch your faith and trust in him. Love you.
Thank you so much for sharing this with me and for your prayers! I am feeling so depressed and defeated. I will also pray for you as this is so hard.
I like that story from John 9 . Mysteriously God becomes our strength in our weaknesses, and shows His Glory. Oh it can really hurt sometimes though. Renee I really like your book…and have gleaned so much, and good sense of humor. I think we could be friends in heaven. And also just got Holley Gerth book ” You’re going to be OK “.
One thing is, my son is 18 and getting ready to go far away to College, it is so hard to let go…I regretfully did not go to College so the fears of the unknown are testing my faith for sure. So the worst part so far is that he is starting to question and not believe some of the Christian truths he was raised with. I am worried for him and cry often. My failures try to discourage. But when I sit quietly with God He gives me comfort….the truth in scriptures…the salesian poems and prayers…music…the sparrows…proverbs 31 ministries….Renee’s blog….others sharing their struggles and encouragements….sharing prayers…
Serenity Prayer for us all !
Renee,
I could believe my ears when I heard you on the radio today. You were talking about you daughter and apraxia. My 3 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with apraxia and despite joining websites and facebook pages I still felt all alone. Your message was so timely. I pulled over and cried. Thank you for faithfulness. I no longer feel alone.
God bless you,
Michelle
I’ve seen the power of prayer over and over. Please pray that Our Father God in The Name of Jesus will soften the heart of Judge Tynan of the Orange County Court House in Orlando FL this week of March 31st thru April 11th so that he would approve a motion I have submitted to him. Please pray that Jesus will go to Judge Tynan in someway to touch his heart and open his eyes to see truth and feel compassion. My beautiful 17yr old son will suffer the most if the motion is not approved and my heart will be shattered. Thank you everyone sooo very much for your prayers! With love and kindness, Trina
Please keep my husband in prayer..He wants to provide his family with a better paying position; He has applied and i trust it’s all in God’s hands, no matter what. Please pray for favor over my husband Michael with this position. God knows all our needs. Please also keep our family in prayer. God knows the details. Thank you for this forum Renee!
My prayer request is for myself you see I have to go to court today in about 30 mins to be exact. Last year my niece was being bullied and I stepped in and defended her. Well the person filed charges against me which I never knew about until this February. In short I’ve never be in court before or arrested for that matter so I’m unsure how this will turn out. I know in my heart I did nothing wrong but yet here I am. So please pray that these charges are dismissed. Thank you. Gods blessing and love shine upon you.
John 9:2-5 New Living Translation (NLT)
2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus is our Strength through the storms. Keep your eyes on Him and not the wind and waves around you and your loved ones. May God Bless you all and cover you with His peace and love.
Wow this is just wonderful. Ms. Jan I prayed for your son and for you. I have a son also and though he is young (10years old) I have the same feelings about him. He will always be my little boy. I love him soo. Be encourage in The Lord your son is covered by Gods grace and favor because of you.
Thanks so much!!
Also, I hope your day in court went well!
Wow, I have so many things I would love for people to pray for me about but that would be a potential burden for sure! Thanks Renee for the opportunity to share here and I have prayed for you, too!
My one prayer request for today, however, was sparked by Carline, the previous person I prayed for who is struggling with some concerns with her son.
I have a son whom I love so much! He has been a blessing since the day he was born. He is now 21, loves God, attends college away from home, makes good grades, plays football, loves making people laugh and sometimes is a little more mischievous as a young man can be at his age than I’d like. This son whom I love so dearly recently announced that if he didn’t soon know what he wanted to do in life by his senior year (a junior now), he was going to join the military after college. Now as I begin to imagine him in uniform even further from home my heart aches for a different decision. Please pray for him to find God’s guidance in this and for me to have peace with whatever God has planned for this wonderful little boy of mine. He will always be my little boy. Thanks so much!
Hi Carline. I prayed for you and each member of your family! Keep the faith and don’t give up! A family friend of mine always parts by saying ” Keep looking up”! Soooo… Keep looking up, sweet sister!
Hi,
I have been praying for months now for my son to stop hanging around the wrong people and to start seeking God. I’ve tried to talk to him but all he does is just lie….I can’t just pick up my stuff and move out of Houston… Every time I pray, the worst the situation gets. I don’t know what to do anymore… This dilemma has put a real dent between my husband and I since this is his step son. I feel like I’m torn between two people I love dearly. I feel like giving up…. My prayer is that he changes his way and that he finds a job soon…
My 20 year old son quit college and still can’t find a job. (He always got good grades in school.) I’m so sad that he quit college and I keep wanting to say “I told you so!” as for his inability to find a job. I’m so ashamed that he quit, I try to change the subject when people ask how he’s doing. My prayer request is for him to find a job that suits his shy personality and for me to accept his decision to go a non-traditional route.
Praying for your family Sara and your stepdaughter’s mom!!!
I am praying for the mom of my stepdaughter that the Holy Spirit would shower her with grace so she is able to see good in the Heavenly Father’s earth. She is overly negative and tries to control our time and creates chaos where there doesn’t need to be any. I pray that she listens to you Lord, and your direction for her life for surely you would want the very best of her as a mother and wife. Please also be with my stepdaughter so she too listens to your Word and prayerfully follows you as her guide. AMEN.
Dear MJS, If I could see you, I would give you a hug and the opportunity to cry, yell or just be. Grief has no time limit. Somedays are better than others, I am sure you can see his smile through the glistening tears, or as you remember the joy of hearing his voice. Father God, I pray for MJS that you will become so real to her, that you will ease her lonliness and the pain o this loss. Lord allow MJS to feel compassion and empathy towards others. Send new friends into her life. In Jesus name.
As far as forgiveness goes, these words are between you and God, it goes like this, Lord, I chose to forgive ____________for _______________ and it made me feel _____________.
This sentence has changed my life. Be sure to say it out loud and be sure to say how you really feel, if it makes you angry then say it makes you feel anger.
I hope this helps, but God had me read your comment. He knows where you are at and He loves you. Blessings…..Diana
I may be too late, and no one may even read this, but it feels good just to get this out anyway. I lost my only son almost 2 years ago. He was 21 years old. The grief and pain are still so fresh! You really learn who your friends are and more importantly who they are not when you go through a tragedy like this! Christian friends who I thought would have been right by my side told me to “get over it”…”life goes on”…”you’re being weak”, “you’re being selfish”… This has just compounded my grief and pain! One in particular is now going through a struggle in her own family, and this has made it very hard for me to have any kind compassion (even a little) for her…I don’t like being this way! Please pray that I can have forgiveness for EVERYONE that has said even the smallest unkind thing to me regarding my grief even though not one has ever offered one word of an apology to me. Please pray that I can show compassion to those who have shown none to me. I am really struggling with this right now!
My heart really hurts reading your pain and those who have been so harsh towards your personal tragedy. May GOd comfort you, Rest assured, He meets you exactly where you are! I will keep you in prayer throughout my day/weeks to come. I know and TRUST that God can be your comforter and He wants to do nothing short of heal your deep pain in losing your son. God bless you and hang in there…
I hope it’s not too late to add my need for prayer. I’ve been having some turmoil over some extended family matters. My parents have been placed in a nursing home ( Dad passed last month) and my sister has been named trustee of their estate. She is claiming everything is hers out of their house which she moved to her home and has been defensive and angry at me and my brother about dividing it as my Mom has spoken to us about. There’s more to the estate and it’s gets complicated but I’m afraid she’s trying to steal the rest of it.
She acts as if she hates me. Yet she’ll be nice if she wants something. It’s broken my heart. For she doesn’t seem like my sister any more. Please pray for me for God’s grace and cover. I am praying and learning to trust and obey Him in whatever He wants me to do. I have been angry over this but now just heartbroken and sick. So glad we can pray for one another. As I read some of the prayer needs above I send my prayers as well!
Royal diadem-
All my life i looked for approval from my family.
I grew up in a small town in michigan. My father and i never got along. My mother always backed him. I was the black sheep. I always felt like the odd ball. Looking for approval in all directions. Friends..family…coworkers.. Never felt like i could make anyone proud. But guess what we dont need approval from ANYONE. the only ONE person we need it from is GOD. and God approves of us every day. Ill be praying for u. You are a determined and confident person dont fear. Speak it into existense. You are a confident person!
I am afraid and I know fear is not from the Lord. I am afraid that I will fail a leader (my sister thinks I will & even that makes me sad that she thinks so little of me.) I’m afraid I’ll be jobless soon. Pray for me that I remember fear is not from the Lord and that God’s perfect love drives out all fear.
TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE POSTED: i have prayed for everyone of you and asking for prayer too
In 2012 i was in a turmoil of life with consequences still occurring. I have come to realize my way is not the right way. Im looking for a relationship with God. Its exciting. My husband and i are trying to repair our marriage. We had. A chain of events that have put us in different houses. He has a relationship with god and i lost when it comes to that relationship with god. I went to ignite where i heard renee talk about her life and how she become a cofident godfident child of god. Renee you have sparked my fore and i want to ignite into a christian child of God. So excited but i need prayers. I am going through a somewhat seperation and a child custody battle from my ex and really trying to juggle all the plates. I dont like this worldy life of i can do it. I meed u to pray for my family and for me to stay focused on this joirney i am beginning. I dont want to fall off the path that God has been calling to me. We get uncomfortable and we tend to go back to the norm. I want to stay uncomfortable and be a christian. God bless yal and all of your stories show that people of all kinds and all situations need extra prayer. Yal have touched me in a way u will never know. Thanks!
Thank you,Renee, for this opportunity to share our hearts and be prayed over. I have one of those lives that if a movie was written about it people would think it was fiction because nobody goes through all that in one life!
I ask for prayer because I feel like I was not a good mom. My siblings and my husband’s siblings children all seem to be on the right track while my 20-something children are still struggling with getting their education and appearing to be on track with taking care of themselves financially. I know I shouldn’t compare but every time we have family get togethers, it hits me all over again.
Pray that I would see my children through God’s eyes and that my focus would be more on showing Christ in my life so that they would desire this to guide their lives as well and that He would become first in their lives (& my husband’s).
Im praying for you “waiting on God” – praying praying praying. Praying for you to know He’s not disappointed in you, and its not your fault for the ways your loved ones are struggling right now. Keep loving them, encouraging them, praying for them and cut the strings between your identity and their performance. They are His – He gave them to you to love and guide but the results are really in His hands and theirs’. And remember, God is the perfect parent – yet look at how his kids turned out and turned away from Him. (i.e.. the garden). Be kind to yourself and let’s keep asking Him to help you see them through His eyes.
I prayed for you, Bridgette, and ReNell. I pray that You feel God’s presence and peace in your heart while you are waiting for His answer and clear direction. May you be surrounded with His love and held up.
I am a single mom with 2 teenagers. I have no friends no companion no to talk to. I have been alone for 8 years. I am lonely. I have completely withdrawn myself from people. I recognize I’m not helping but I feel like people will know the real me the me thats been in pain hurtin me.
Im praying for you right now ReNell. Im proud of your for being brave and sharing your needs and hurts here. Isolation is not a safe place. Alone is not where God wants you to be. But it’s exactly where the enemy wants to convince you to stay. Can I encourage you with something that God challenged me with years ago when I felt very alone.
Today, look for one person who needs a little encouragement and encourage them. Look for another who might need to see a smile, and smile at them. In very simple, low-risk ways, give away what you long for. Want to be noticed? Notice someone. Wish someone would say something kind to you. Give a small compliment to the next drive-through worker who serves you. Offer just a hand-full of what you wish you had. And watch God come alive through you. That is where true life and joy and companionship are found – when we get just brave enough to give a little bit away.
Im praying for big surprises of joy and laughter to come your way. Im asking Jesus to show up and show YOU His heart in this next week. Im praying for a break-through for you. Love you sister. You are not alone!!
Please, please pray for me. I need a better life than I am living now. I want to go to university. I don’t have the money or the credentials to get in. Please pray for a miracle that God would do the impossible for me. I am at the end of my rope.
I prayed for you Bridgette. Im praying for God’s favor and open doors. And if not the door you want then another that has great meaning and purpose. You are loved!!
I am praying for your son even now. I understand personally from deal with cancer a few years ago how much the prayer support of others helped both me and may husband get through that time.
I am also learning when a friend shares a need to say, “Can I pray with you right now rather than walk away after promising to pray later. It works, touches the person and you feel God’s presence and know it is what He would want you to do. I will continue to keep your son and family in my prayers. Mary
thank God for this opportunity to share this. Am of marriageable age and no suitor yet and i strongly belief in his word that says it is not good for man to be alone and also He God has placed the lonely into Family. I dont want to go through 2014 without settling in my Home and with my God ordained husband that God can talk to in Jesus Name…..
Praying for you Lina and for God to bring you a man who loves you and Loves Jesus even more!
Renee, what a blessing you are to so many. I pray that God continues his work through you and gives you the strength to balance both family and your ministry. Prayed for you!
I am recently divorced, but not by my choice. I pray to God all the time for restoration; or that he sends me a man that has Christ in his life. It is so hard at the age of 56. But my faith is strong and will continue to wait for God’s blessing. Renee, pray for me ! If it wasn’t for my friends praying and being at my side going through this loss, I don’t know how I would have found the strength. God is merciful and good; he has blessed me so much and I thank him all the time for family and friends and you.
In Jesus name…
Be
[email protected]
So grateful God has surrounded you with friends that will fill in your gaps and be there for you, praying you through this loss and into God’s promises. I just prayed for you too!
There are so many of our friends/family going through struggles – long term marriages where the couples are at odds with one another, several friends with severe health challenges. I do take these burdens to God but am going to ask someone to “lift up my hands” a I stand in the gap for ‘my’ people. Thanks so much!
I just prayed for you Deb and the friends/families yo know that are going through struggs in their marriages, health, etc. You are gift to each of them and Im standing in the gap with you today!
I know that I have ahard time asking for prayer support. However, I suffer with Social Anxiety and have a very hard time making and keeping friends. The area that God is working on in me right now is with self doubt. I just don’t feel that what I am dealing with is important enough to try and ask for prayer support. I always feel that what everyone else is going through is enough and they don’t need to hear about me or my struggles <– see told you self doubt is a big issue for me.
I have bought Renee's book A Confident Heart and I bought the devotional as well. I will be reading through them and trying to apply what is said to my life. Thank you Renee for this book. I cannot wait to read it and discover where God leads me.
Thank you for reading and for your prayers.
I’ve prayed for you! May the God of all comfort fill you with hope, give you strength, & encourage your heart!
I have chronic pain. I wake up daily with a sinus headache. I have had a sinus infection and had to be off work. I went back to work today and I am still struggling with a cough. The cough aggravates my back and so on it goes. Secondly I am wanting to write but other than my blog, I have so much fear of rejection. I am taking the compel course, but I feel so far behind and inadequate compared to what is being written. Thank you for your prayers. Diana
Father God, I pray for Debra, Lord bind her heart with the women at church. Lord give her something in common with these ladies. Lord remove any pride from the ladies or Debra that might be hindering the relationships from forming. Lord, friendship takes time, allow Debra to give herself the time to form friendships. However, may she hear the melody of what a friend we have in jesus. Lord, this time in the world is of economic insecurity. But we can trust you with our futures. Lord this desire to go to school is coming from deep in Debra’s heart. Clarify for her if this desire is something that she needs to research like are there any scholarships for women to pay for her education. Help her explore raising support to go to school. Lastly, perhaps research free courses. Let her research student loans so she can make an informed decision, since educational loans can not be defaulted on. Lord, meet their needs physically, financially and spiritually. Help her grown children to help them now. Lord, you are in control and you are bigger than our problems but our problems lead us away from you when we don’t trust that you hear our prayers. Lord, any tears she is shedding please catch. Do not let Satan condemn her for helping others. In Jesus name, please send blessings to debra and her husband. Let her know that she is loved. Diana Rockwell
I am in a very tough place right now. I am in a new group at church all older women as myself. I feel very intimated as they are all college educated and I am not. They all have great careers, I have lost my job and feel bless to have my part time job as a crossing guard. Life has not been easy this last year, my husband lost his job. This was not expected and we were not prepared. We both are in our 60’s and did not prepare
for retirement due to accidents and life in general. We put our priorities on getting children through college, helping out when they needed help and forgot about ourselves believing we would have time to save. Our
home is not paid for and we have debt. I have see the good in this trial I had all my trust in our jobs, money and not God. It is still hard to adjust to barely making it Praise the Lord our basic needs are met. The hard part is adjusting to not having wants little things that we took for granite.
Please pray for me not to be intimated around these women in this group, have the confidance that God has given to me that I am important also even without a college education. Pray for me to make the right choice about going back to college at this age will it be benefical or just blowing money that we don’t have.
Where to begin? i need a job but nothing works out. I Want to do
Something meaningful is available or my education isn’t enough or fill in
the blank. I can’t take any more…Wait any more or hope any more. I feel
trapped…I am trapped!
today I am just discouraged, frustrated, broke & tired of all the perfect
storm struggles…So bummed…So upset. Thank you for praying for me.
I truly understand your pain, as I am in the same boat. I know that God is here with us.
Lord please help Prodo to learn to trust in You with all of her heart to lean not to her understanding, to acknowledge You in all of her ways, make her pathway straight Lord to the job You have for her. Lord
the job You want her to be in for Your Glory. Lord surround her with Your peace, comfort and love and
let her know You care and are concerned about her. Give Her Your confidence Lord, thank You Lord
that You go before her that Your favor proceeds her that she is always in the right place at the right time
as You direct her steps to the job you have chosen for her. Thank You Lord that she is highly favored and chosen over others Lord because Your favor went before her. In Jesus name amen
Good day Mrs. Renee Swope,
My name is Nardia and I live in Kingston, Jamaica. I thank God for you and also for that lovely ebook on Valentine Day it truly bless my heart daily. A big thank you. Also, I have a problem in asking people to pray for me as I see it has a sign of being weak and lacking enough faith for oneself. Please pray for me to have this mindset removed has there are a lot of things I need prayer for, example strength to serve God daily and also to get a house to purchase in a wonderful complex I have found. Please pray for me that I will get the opportunity to own one of these apartments in Jesus name. Thank you.
His,
Nardia
Hi I have been a herion addict since the age of 13..I am now almost 22 and by only God’s love, grace,& Word I am going on 4 months clean!!!! I have never been clean before and I know that many of you are probably thinking only 4 months???! But in my life. ..This is A true blessing. Pray for me please. .thanks
Praying for you, Ashlee, that you will continue to rely on God’s strength to keep you clean. God Bless you!
Brenda,
Thank you for your prayers as well I am praying for your son. Addiction is sometimes harder even on those who care and have to watch it unfold and feel helpless. I pray that God comforts you through this time and for physical and emotional healing for him and the family too.