Prayer Pail

The Power of Prayer…

Growing up in the Catholic Church you learned all the most ‘important’ prayers; the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Act of Contrition, and many more. Along with those I was taught when to pray them, for example, the Rosary, asking for the intersession of Mary. As I got older, I felt like there were only certain times I prayed, and found it really hard to just talk to God. There were always the helpful reminders of when to pray…a Hail Mary as an ambulance drives by, and Our Father when you pick up a penny. 

So many great reminders, but it became about learning how to enter into a conversation with Him. This meant learning how to just talk to God.  A conversation with God should be bringing Him your prayer and petitions, BUT also prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the good things He has done in our lives. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

He hears our cries, but He also wants to hear praise for the things He has done. This means whether your prayer has been answered the way you would have liked, or an answer totally different. It’s a hard pill to swallow when a prayer is answered with a no, but knowing that if one door closes, another opens.

This year I'm jumping back into the other side of Youth Ministry. I’ll be leading a small group instead of the whole group. I’m really excited because it is a Confirmation group. I think its going to be a great semester. I have decided that one thing I really want the girls to understand is prayer, and the power it can have in your life. If you center your life around God in prayer, everything decision can be made with ease in knowing that it is what He wants for you.

So to do this, I’m going to use something that I saw on the internet, a Prayer Pail. It will give the girls a chance to write down a prayer, not having to be attached to who it is, and prayer for them. At the end of the night, pray for each petition, while asking for the intersession of Mary, Queen of the Saints, and asking for the knowledge of the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we can understand answers given to us. As prayers are answered, whether in the way you would have liked or the other, we will remove that stick/prayer, and give thanks, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever,”
1 Chronicles 16:33-35. I’m hoping it will also help me get to daily Mass and Adoration more often than I do to pray for my group.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
John 14:25-27

“Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.”
Psalm 54:1-3

“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Matthew 21:21-23

“And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.”
John 20:21-23

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
Acts 4:30-32

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:1-4

Mary, the Queen of the Saints, praying for her intersession to Christ, and for the Saints to pray with you as well.

"We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek - Jesus, her Son."
-Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

"Mary has the authority over the angels and the blessed in heaven. As a reward for her great humility, God gave her the power and mission of assigning to saints the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels who fell away through pride. Such is the will of the almighty God who exalts the humble, that the powers of heaven, earth and hell, willingly or unwillingly, must obey the commands of the humble Virgin Mary. For God has made her queen of heaven and earth, leader of his armies, keeper of his treasure, dispenser of his graces, mediatrix on behalf of men, destroyer of his enemies, and faithful associate in his great works and triumphs."
-Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

"She is more Mother than Queen."
-Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church

"Mary seeks for those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children."
-Saint Bonaventure

“What a joy to remember that she is our Mother! Since she loves us and knows our weakness, what have we to fear?”
- Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church

“As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary"
-Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church

Here are a couple pictures of my 'Prayer Pail'...

                                                                                 
                                                                  Ready & waiting for prayers!

                                                                              
                                              The red, yellow & orange represent the Holy Spirit.
                                                                        The blue, Mary.

Lesson Learned: Any prayer is important, no matter if it has been given to us by God, or if it is our pleas or praises...