Continuous Offering Up Of Prayer - Can This Be Wrong?

[Quaere_Verum]

For 2 years or so I have been called to offer up prayers for somebody. Sometimes I’m called to pray for this person during my routine prayer times, but more often than not I’m called to pray continuously throughout the day. At times I am called to sacrifice continuously for this person as well. And eventhough I am overjoyed with this great honor, I sometimes wonder if it is a true calling to pray or somehow just obsessive in which case I wonder if it is right or wrong. It seems to me as if Satan is either trying to get me to do something that is not right or stop doing something that is.

Would somebody please provide me with some insight?

 

[PhilotheaZ]

I don’t see how it can be wrong to pray for someone. Just be sure that you are praying that GOD’S will be done in that person’s life, since sometimes we may be praying for the wrong thing (e.g., praying for someone’s financial welfare when God knows that poverty will benefit them more spiritually).

Also, don’t neglect praying for others. For example, if you are praying for one particular person who is ill, expand your prayer to also include all those who are sick or suffering. If you are praying for the conversion of one particular sinner or unbeliever, expand your prayer to include all those in need of God’s mercy, etc.

 

[Joysong]

How interesting to find your post today, QV. I asked myself the same question. My husband recently died and I have been interceding with fairly constant prayer for him, that he may be released from Purgatory. I even asked God whether this was my personal wish (which understandably is biased), or whether the Holy Spirit is the source of inspiration to pray for him so often?

In the end, I trust that all these prayers will be redirected and used by God for other purposes, if they are not applied specifically to him. Nothing done in love is ever lost, and if our prayers are born of love, they are pleasing to God.

Charity covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pt. 4:8

 

[Quaere_Verum]

It seems as if God is sending me blessings from PA today. Thanks PhilotheaZ & Joysong! I like the idea of extending my prayers to all with similar intentions PhilotheaZ. I’ll begin to incorporate that.

Joysong, I just prayed for the soul of your husband. Thanks for your response.

I have to believe that my prayers are being used somewhere even if not for the person I feel I’m directing them towards. It’s such an honor to be called to pray in such a manner, and since I’ve never been called in this way before I’m not sure what to make of it at times. There are some days that I have to ask God how I’m going to accomplish everything else I feel I need to do that day if all day I’m praying. Then I realize how silly that notion is, and I have to trust. There are times that I’m so overwhelmed with the frequency of the prayer that, sadly enough, I intentionally don’t include this person in my usual prayer. It is at those times that I hear Our Blessed Mother in my heart saying, “Where is your brother? Bring your brother to me in prayer” or an image of him falling into very worldly activities or being spiritually attacked come into my mind, and I begin up again. It is a real blessing indeed, and I guess I have to stop trying to figure it out and just pray, pray, pray and trust, trust, trust.

 

[Belle10]

How interesting to find your post today, QV. I asked myself the same question. My husband recently died and I have been interceding with fairly constant prayer for him, that he may be released from Purgatory. I even asked God whether this was my personal wish (which understandably is biased), or whether the Holy Spirit is the source of inspiration to pray for him so often?

In the end, I trust that all these prayers will be redirected and used by God for other purposes, if they are not applied specifically to him. Nothing done in love is ever lost, and if our prayers are born of love, they are pleasing to God.

Charity covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pt. 4:8

Joysong, offering a prayer for your husband.
I agree with what you wrote: Jesus holds each of our prayers, each of our tears close to His Sacred Heart – nothing is lost.

I have to believe that my prayers are being used somewhere even if not for the person I feel I’m directing them towards. It’s such an honor to be called to pray in such a manner, and since I’ve never been called in this way before I’m not sure what to make of it at times. There are some days that I have to ask God how I’m going to accomplish everything else I feel I need to do that day if all day I’m praying. Then I realize how silly that notion is, and I have to trust. There are times that I’m so overwhelmed with the frequency of the prayer that, sadly enough, I intentionally don’t include this person in my usual prayer. It is at those times that I hear Our Blessed Mother in my heart saying, “Where is your brother? Bring your brother to me in prayer” or an image of him falling into very worldly activities or being spiritually attacked come into my mind, and I begin up again. It is a real blessing indeed, and I guess I have to stop trying to figure it out and just pray, pray, pray and trust, trust, trust.

Quaere Verum, I don’t think continuous prayer is bad at all – in fact, we should pray for others continuously!

You said that sometimes you feel overwhelmed with the frequency of prayer needed…might I suggest then making your prayers at those instances short ones? There is nothing wrong with praying “Jesus, please help ___.” It certainly is wonderful and right to pray the Rosary, the chaplet of Divine Mercy, and other formal prayers for the benefit of others, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with “little” prayers either. And remember, simply uttering the name of Jesus is a prayer in itself. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with all the people who need so much that I just pray something like this: “Lord, I’m overwhelmed, I don’t know where to start. All these people I love need your help, and it’s too heavy for me to even ask you. Please, you know the intentions in my heart, please help me.” This way, if it’s all too much at the particular moment, I’m still praying, you know?

You said: “I have to believe that my prayers are being used somewhere even if not for the person I feel I’m directing them towards.” This reminded me of something I read recently. You can pray for someone over and over, making “spiritual deposits” for them. Yes, it’s simplified, but think of it as a spiritual piggy bank. As a parent, I pray for my daughter – she might not “need” the prayers now, so they get “stored” for later…

Your prayers can do good for someone even if they don’t know about them – and perhaps in God’s time those prayers will help that person draw nearer to God. Perhaps you praying now is part of God’s plan for that person’s conversion (or whatever) in the future.

Offering a prayer for your brother. God bless you. :hug1:

 

[Quaere_Verum]

I love those short prayers Belle 10 and have learned to employ them. Another thing I have learned is to direct the thought heavenward. This is difficult to explain, but I can be in the middle of something else and I feel called to pray & w/in less than a second the person in my heart or mind gets directed upward. It’s not quite polished & doesn’t always flow. For example I might hesitate just a bit in what I’m doing or saying or I might forget what I was just about to say becasue I’m busy directing someone to Our Lord or Our Lady. It’s a beautiful gift just sometimes the contuous prayer requests are more difficult to juggle w/ everyday life tasks than others.

 

[Joysong]

Quaere Verum and Belle,

I am so grateful for your prayers for my husband. God bless you both! It was really touching to my heart!

Belle:

You can pray for someone over and over, making “spiritual deposits” for them. Yes, it’s simplified, but think of it as a spiritual piggy bank.

Again, we seem to be confirming one another. Praise God!
When my husband died, I was naturally concerned about his salvation, for he died suddenly, tragically, without the last sacraments. One night I was awakened at about 1:15 a.m. on a Saturday night and turned on the TV at the exact moment to hear Fr. Corapi say, “God knew the exact moment of this person’s death, and God can apply all the prayers offered for him by others throughout his lifetime at the moment of his death to save him.”

Now if I had turned it on at say 1:00 a.m., I would have thought it was a coincidence, but in turning on to hear those exact words, especially since I had asked God about his salvation earlier, I felt that God was reassuring me that my multiple years of prayers were used.

Another wonderful experience came this last week. Rarely do I watch Mother Angelica’s classics on Tues. night, but there was little else that appealed to me, so I watched last week. She was speaking about the appearances of Fatima, and read from her little book beginning with May 13 through Oct. 13. Now Joe died on Oct. 13, and I kinda wondered if there was any significance to his dying on the anniversary of the last appearance.

As I laid in bed praying, I asked Mary about it, whether it was just a coincidence, or was I to think more of it? And was Mary by any chance instrumental at the time of his death? Suddenly without any thoughts about the Hail Mary, since I was in another mode of questioning, the words came to mind, “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”

I was so spiritually overjoyed to realize the beauty of this prayer like I never knew it before! YES! Mary prays for US SINNERS, all of us, at the hour of OUR death, through the many wonderful Hail Marys offered by the living Mystical Body of Christ for sinners.

Isn’t this also the message of Fatima? To pray for others (not only sinners, but all of us at the hour of death) for their conversions? Ah, what joy! I will never pray this holy prayer without extra special devotion from here on.

 

[puzzleannie]

, but more often than not I’m called to pray continuously throughout the day. At times I am called to sacrifice continuously for this person as well. ?

depends on who is doing the calling
that is a matter for discernment
get the advice of your confessor or spiritual director, until then, read A Still Small Voice by Fr. Groeschel, or Discernment by Thomas Dubay, or the book on discernment by Fr. Thomas Green SJ, “Weeds Among the Wheat”.

 

[Belle10]

Quaere Verum and Belle,

I am so grateful for your prayers for my husband. God bless you both! It was really touching to my heart!

You got it! Offering one for you too. :hug1:

Again, we seem to be confirming one another. Praise God!
When my husband died, I was naturally concerned about his salvation, for he died suddenly, tragically, without the last sacraments. One night I was awakened at about 1:15 a.m. on a Saturday night and turned on the TV at the exact moment to hear Fr. Corapi say, “God knew the exact moment of this person’s death, and God can apply all the prayers offered for him by others throughout his lifetime at the moment of his death to save him.”

Now if I had turned it on at say 1:00 a.m., I would have thought it was a coincidence, but in turning on to hear those exact words, especially since I had asked God about his salvation earlier, I felt that God was reassuring me that my multiple years of prayers were used.

As a friend of mine and I like to say, it’s a “God-incidence” not a coincidence.

Another wonderful experience came this last week. Rarely do I watch Mother Angelica’s classics on Tues. night, but there was little else that appealed to me, so I watched last week. She was speaking about the appearances of Fatima, and read from her little book beginning with May 13 through Oct. 13. Now Joe died on Oct. 13, and I kinda wondered if there was any significance to his dying on the anniversary of the last appearance.

As I laid in bed praying, I asked Mary about it, whether it was just a coincidence, or was I to think more of it? And was Mary by any chance instrumental at the time of his death? Suddenly without any thoughts about the Hail Mary, since I was in another mode of questioning, the words came to mind, “Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.”

I was so spiritually overjoyed to realize the beauty of this prayer like I never knew it before! YES! Mary prays for US SINNERS, all of us, at the hour of OUR death, through the many wonderful Hail Marys offered by the living Mystical Body of Christ for sinners.

Isn’t this also the message of Fatima? To pray for others (not only sinners, but all of us at the hour of death) for their conversions? Ah, what joy! I will never pray this holy prayer without extra special devotion from here on.

How beautiful and wonderful! What a blessing. Thank you for sharing with us. :hug1:

By the way Joysong, the other day when I read your post I had been searching for exactly the reference from St. Faustina’s Diary when I saw it in your signature.

 

[Joysong]

Dearest Belle,

What a lovely post! You brought a smile of warmth as I read it. I had promised myself not to post during lent, but I couldn’t let this pass without replying to you.

And yes, Faustina is great, and I’m pleased that you needed that identical reference and I had it there for you! WOW!

I just logged on since I correspond in PM’s with a dear friend, and that part of lent I did not give up.

Carole

 

[michaeldaniels]

Excellent post…I too am praying for your husband and for all the souls of the dearly departed.

How interesting to find your post today, QV. I asked myself the same question. My husband recently died and I have been interceding with fairly constant prayer for him, that he may be released from Purgatory. I even asked God whether this was my personal wish (which understandably is biased), or whether the Holy Spirit is the source of inspiration to pray for him so often?

In the end, I trust that all these prayers will be redirected and used by God for other purposes, if they are not applied specifically to him. Nothing done in love is ever lost, and if our prayers are born of love, they are pleasing to God.

Charity covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pt. 4:8

 

[bpbasilphx]

Remember the parable of the widow and the unjust judge who finally gave in for her ceaseless petitions? And Our Lord used this as an example of how God will surely answer the prayers of those who cry out to Him day and night.

 

[water]

At times I am called to sacrifice continuously for this person as well. And eventhough I am overjoyed with this great honor …

I am trying to learn something from us here in this thread and my question is what do you think about being overjoyed for the sacrifices that you made? and why you are overjoyed?

Thanks and God bless.

 

[Quaere_Verum]

I am trying to learn something from us here in this thread and my question is what do you think about being overjoyed for the sacrifices that you made? and why you are overjoyed?

Thanks and God bless.

I’m not sure I understand your question, but here goes. I am overjoyed that I would be called on to pray so intensely for somebody. It is surely a great honor that the imperfect prayers of God’s imperfect servant should be found at least somewhat worthy to be used for another. It is a blessing and quite humbling as well.

 

[water]

I’m not sure I understand your question, but here goes. I am overjoyed that I would be called on to pray so intensely for somebody. It is surely a great honor that the imperfect prayers of God’s imperfect servant should be found at least somewhat worthy to be used for another. It is a blessing and quite humbling as well.

Thanks, you have answered my question.
I am learning to ask Virgin Mary to pray and intercede for me in all things - She is definitely the One who can make our imperfect prayers to be perfect.