Did you ever feel compelled to pray for a particular stranger?

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Tis_Bearself

Patron
This week I went to a Mass at a church I had never been before, which just happened to have a Mass at a time I could attend. During the intentions, they asked for prayers for a longtime parishioner who had just passed away that day, as they usually do. Every Mass I attend usually seems to have at least one person who has died that day or within a few days and they are prayed for by name during the intercessions. Normally if I don’t know the person I just say Lord Hear Our Prayer and move on.

However, for some weird reason this person seems to have stuck in my mind and i feel like God is wanting me to pray for this person. I actually looked up the obit online just now to see if there was anything unusual about them or their death, but they seem to just be an ordinary elderly person who died leaving children and grandchildren behind.

Since I cannot seem to get this thought out of my head I will go ahead and pray for the person, though it seems odd and I have wondered a bit if my mind is playing a trick on me.

Has anyone else ever felt like they just needed to pray, or were supposed to pray, for a particular stranger?
 
Last edited:
Yes. Two neighbors of mine who died rather young. I had dreams about both and I immediately had masses said for them.

It’s my belief that Holy Souls within Purgatory are allowed to reach out to those who might help them the most. My grandparents believed in praying for anyone you dreamt about because it meant that they needed help. I contend that we should pray for all the Holy Souls whenever possible.
 
Yes! Many years ago, went to Mass at a monastery. At that Mass, there was a young man and I felt compelled to pray for his vocation. I have no idea if he was considering the priesthood, but I had a strong sense that he was. I pray for him, but all of these years later I wish that I had approached him and encouraged him.
 
Yes. I really think such feelings are sent by God when a soul needs prayers.

This isn’t quite the same thing, but a few years ago I woke up for no reason in the wee hours of the morning. I looked at the time and saw that I still had a few hours left of sleep but felt wide awake. I normally sleep well so when this happens I usually toss and turn and grumble to myself. But this morning, I just knew I was supposed to pray. So I said some chaplets and a Rosary for the intentions of God’s choosing.

Later, I learned there was a horrific car accident near my town that wiped out a whole family. The time of their deaths and the time of my waking up coincided perfectly. There’s no way of knowing for sure, but I think I was probably woken up to pray for them.
 
Yes, that’s who I pray for when I prat the rosary in the car: for travelers, those souls who have perished on the highways, and those whose cars have broken down.
 
yes, quite often.

not quite the same thing either, but you would be surprised at the amount of strangers who would unburden themselves with all their troubles on public transit to the girl with the cute guide dog. Usually I will include them in my prayer intentions for that day. it’s quite clear that the world in general is hurting very much, so the least we can do is pray if we can’t offer help in any other way
 
Yes, I normally pray every day for the Holy Souls, the Forgotten Dead, and various deceased people who were my relatives, friends, friends of friends and artists or public figures I admired.

I told Jesus and Mary some time back that if they wanted me to pray for particular deceased souls it was okay if they sent them to me. I’ve had a couple people’s obits pop up in Internet searches for something else so I felt like maybe that meant I should pray for them and I did. Sometimes I also find a funeral home holy card in a chapel, obviously left so people will say a prayer for the deceased, and I do that. But this is the first time I ever felt like I should pray for somebody whose death was announced in church.

Talitha, your story about the car accident reminds me of many years ago when I woke up in the night with a weird feeling something was not right. I later found out that 1 street over and about 2 blocks from us, there had been a drug dealer renting a house I passed all the time. He had shot a couple people and buried them in the dirt floored basement. I woke up at about the same time the cops, unbeknownst to me, were over at the house digging up the basement. At that time in my life I was not really practicing my faith so I did not think to pray, but I will do it now and God will apply the prayers at the proper time.
 
Last edited:
I do, all the time. Usually not for dead people though. I usually get the feeling to say a prayer for random strangers I see on the street or I meet in passing. For example the checker at the grocery store or the server at dinner. Sometimes I will see a prominent person on tv and feel inclined, then, too. Usually it lasts for a few days (per person) and then passes.

Of course when this happens, I include them in my prayers.
 
Last edited:
Yes, it happens to me. Especially cashiers for some reason. And also sometimes people that I interacted with years ago, i will find that they are on my mind but for no reason that I can think of. Usually after a few days of this I quit questioning why I’m thinking of them and pray for them. Then I stop thinking of them. So I assume God needed someone to pray for them.
 
I like to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet when I’m stuck in traffic. I offer up each bead for the person in the car right there, the person in the car in front of me, the person in the car behind me, etc. It brings relief to the aggravation of being stuck in traffic to think that maybe just maybe this has all happened by divine appointment so that these people in particular could be prayed for that day. It’s nice to think of anyway. It brings meaning into the situation for me.
 
Yes, very often for me too. I try to pray for each person I encounter during the day, and I also pray all the time for the Forgotten Dead (as you nicely put it–I call it the people in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them). But many times random people from my past will pop up in my head and I’m almost compelled to pray for them. There were several people in my past I know I hurt in one way or another, and I pray a lot for those situations.
I also pray over the Sunday obits, and every so often a celebrity or other’s death comes to mind and I pray for that person. There was a poignant photo yesterday of Bush in his wheelchair looking at Barbara’s coffin, and I prayed for both of them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top