Table of contents
Pray for My Grandsons
Pray for my grandsons that they make the right choices in life
and that they study hard in order to get a good education.
Please guide Dazan as he starts his first year of
college and away from home.
Dear Jesus, protect him and help him with school.
I also pray that he comes back home
to visit with his family that loves him unconditionally.
Dear Jesus, guide him today. Thank you Jesus.
Hail Mary
Hail Mary, Full of Grace,
The Lord Is with thee,
Blessed art thou amongst women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus;
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners … now,
And at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Morning Prayers
Father in Heaven, You love me.
You are with me night and day.
I want to love you always, In all I do and say.
I’ll try to please you, Father.
Bless me through the day.
Amen.
Jesus, keep me all this day.
When at school and when at play;
May I do the things I ought,
May I hate each evil thought;
Help me love and trust in Thee
Now and through eternity.
Amen.
I thank Thee, Lord, for sleep and rest,
For all the things that I love best,
Now guide me through another day
And bless my work and bless my play.
Lord, make me strong for noble ends,
Protect and bless my loving friends;
Of all mankind good Christians make.
All this I ask for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.
Guardian Angel Prayer
O Angel of God, my Guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here.
Ever this day, be at my side
to light, to guard, to rule, to guide.
Amen.
Night prayers
Now the light has gone away;
Jesus, listen while I pray.
Asking Thee to watch and keep
And to send me peaceful sleep.
Jesus, Saviour, wash away
All that has been wrong today;
Help me each and every day to be
Good and gentle, more like Thee.
Let my near and dear ones be
Always near and dear to Thee.
O bring me and all I love
To Thy happy home above.
Amen.
l praise to Thee, my God, this night
For all the blessings of the light:
O Keep me, keep me, King of kings,
Beneath Thine own almighty wings.
Amen.
Angels bless and angels keep,
Angels guard me while I sleep.
Bless my heart and bless my home,
Bless my spirit as I roam.
Guide and guard me through the night,
and wake me with the morning’s light.
Amen.
Prayers before meals
Bless us, O Lord,
And these, thy gifts,
Which of thy bounty,
We are about to receive
Through Christ, Our Lord,
Amen.
For food in a world where many walk in hunger;
For faith in a world where many walk in fear;
For friends in a world where many walk alone;
We give you thanks, O Lord.
Amen.
We thank you, Father God, for the love that binds us, for the food that nourishes us, and for your giving of your Son into our world to save us.
Amen.
The Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
Prayers after meals
Thank you, God, for the food we have eaten.
Thank you, God, for all our friends.
Thank you, God, for everything.
Amen.
Accept, O Lord, our thankful praises,
For all Thy goodness did bestow;
May it increase our faith and lead us,
Our praise by godly lives to show;
That every deed and word may prove
We trust and own our Father’s love.
Amen.
Almighty God, We give You thanks for all Your benefits goodness and graces, which we have received through Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
An act of faith
O my God, I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; I believe that Thy Divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
Amen.
An act of hope
O my God, relying on Thy almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Amen.
Prayer to The Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful. And kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit, you have taught the hearts of your faithful. In the same Spirit, help us to relish what is right and always rejoice in your consolation.We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
An act of charity
O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all good and worthy of all love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.
Amen.
The act of contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. And I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven, and the pains of Hell but,most of all, because I love Thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life.
Amen.
Our Father
Our Father, who art In heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass Against us
And Lead us not Into temptation
But deliver us from evil
Amen
www.catholicgrandparentsassociation.org
Several years ago, I found a precious letter in my family’s archives. My great-grandfather in Poland wrote to my grandfather, who had immigrated to America. One line in the letter struck me with both comfort and conviction: “I faithfully pray for you, for your children, and for your future generations.”
I am one of those grandchildren. Before I was born, my great-grandfather prayed for me from halfway around the world. That comforts me.
I was also convicted by my great-grandfather’s letter. How do my prayers shape my twelve grandchildren’s lives? How can I learn to pray effectively for them?
1. Pray God’s Word for Our Grandchildren
I realized that my prayers for my grandchildren had been too vague and general: “Keep them safe,” “Help them in school,” “Open their hearts.”
As I read the Bible with their lives in mind, my prayers became more specific. I can pray, paraphrasing Psalm 34:13: “Lord, keep Jason’s tongue from speaking evil and his lips from telling lies.” For the grandchild who seems disinterested in the Lord, I can pray from Proverbs 2:1, “Lord, touch Ben’s heart. Teach him to listen to what You have to say and to treasure Your commands.” For the teenager going through a tough time, I can pray from Isaiah 40:1-4: “O Lord, You formed Stacy’s life. I will not be afraid because You have ransomed her. You have called her by name. She is Yours. When she goes through deep waters, You will be with her. When she goes through the rivers of difficulty, she will not drown. She is precious to You. You love her.”
When we pray according to God’s Word, we are in line with His will, enabling us to pray with power and wisdom. The praying changes not only the lives of our grandchildren, but us as well. We gain a fuller perspective.
2. Trust the Faithfulness of God
It’s easy for us grandmothers to worry about our grandchildren. They are faced with choices and challenges we could never imagine when we were their age. Many movies, music lyrics, TV programs, video games, and the Internet are desensitizing our grandchildren. They live in a world of legal recreational marijuana, other drugs, sex trafficking, alcohol abuse, confusion about sexual identity, pornography, premarital sex, homosexuality, and much more.
But instead of wringing our hands in distress, we can pray—regularly, intentionally, specifically—trusting them into God’s faithful care.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (Psa 34:18).
God’s way is perfect…. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. (Psa 18:30)
Even when walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside . Your rod and your staff protect and comfort . (Psa 23:4)
We grandmothers can stand in the gap, praying for the spiritual, emotional, and physical protection of our precious grandchildren. We are not hopeless; wehave a God who is “our refuge and strength, our stronghold in times of trouble” (Psa 46:1).
Because God is faithful, we can breathe in His peace while we wait for the answers to our prayers.
3. Join With Others
When I first became passionate about praying for my grandchildren, God directed me to the Christian Grandparenting Network, an organization devoted to challenging Christian grandparents to live intentionally as representatives of Christ for future generations. It is committed to providing a network of resources and opportunities for grandparents to have powerful opportunities for intergenerational dialogue to strengthen grandparent-grandchild relationships and spiritual growth. I now have the privilege of serving as their National Prayer Coordinator, writing devotionals and prayer suggestions on their website.
We also have a grandmothers’ prayer group in my church. We meet monthly and pray for our grandchildren, our children, and each other. We encourage each other to love our grandchildren, even when they disappoint us with their music choices, their appearances, and sometimes their body piercings. It’s a “safe place” to share our heavy hearts. We have seen God answer prayers in some remarkable ways.
4. Grandparenting With A Purpose
As we age, we may sometimes feel that we are no longer useful. The truth is, God has a significant purpose for us. Just as the Old Testament Queen Esther stood in the gap for her people when their lives were threatened, we can stand in the gap for our grandchildren and their parents as their lives are threatened spiritually. Perhaps at no other time in history is a call to prayer more urgently needed than it is today. Together we can link arms in prayer for the sake of the next generation.
My great-grandfather’s prayers had a ripple effect on my whole family—on my grandparents, my parents, my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, and me. If you do not have a Christian heritage, you have the privilege of starting the ripple effect with prayers for your family.
Sometimes our grandchildren see the results of our prayers. My oldest granddaughter warmed my heart when she sent me the following note:
Grandma, your phone calls, cards, and e-mails were encouraging and made a significant impact on my life, especially in my teenage and college years. Your prayers and encouragement have been rock-solid reminders of God’s truth in my incredible, crazy life-shaping years, and now in my married life. Your prayers help me surrender the craziness of my life to God.
A few years ago on a sunny autumn day, my husband and I were traveling in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Mesmerized by the reflections of the rugged snow-covered mountains and golden aspen trees on a pristine lake, I could not help but ask myself: Do my children and grandchildren see God’s love reflected in my life in the same way? Do they see Jesus in me?
Pondering the answer to these questions led me to realize that the sun must shine on the mountains and trees to create a reflection. In order for God’s love to reflect from my life, the love of Jesus Christ must be shining in my heart, which means that I must be reading and obeying His Word.
My husband and I thank God he has given us an opportunity to be prayer warriors for our twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Serving Him in this way and leading the cause through Christian Grandparenting Network’s prayer ministry has given my life purpose and significance.
May the light of the Son reflect in you, and may you know the joy of serving as God’s prayer warrior for your grandchildren and future generations.
www.crosswalk.com
Christian Grandparenting Network is thrilled to announce the formation of “[email protected] Prayer,” ([email protected]) an intercessory prayer group for grandparents to pray together for each other’s grandchildren and families.
These are challenging moral and spiritual times in which we live, especially for our grandchildren. A media-driven culture has desensitized our grandchildren and pushed the boundaries of a Christ-like lifestyle. “The role of grandparenting in the second half of life is becoming more important than anyone would ever have imagined. The rescue of our culture may well rest on the shoulders of today’s grandparents. What an incredible call for the second half of life.”1 Do we, as grandparents, understand the mighty and powerful force that prayer can be for our grandchildren in these times?
Years ago, Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Jews. Today grandparents can stand in the gap with prayer for their grandchildren.
As grandparents, we can make a significant difference in the world by praying regularly and deliberately for our grandchildren and their parents. We have an opportunity to powerfully touch the lives of another generation for eternity.
I experienced, firsthand, the impact my prayers can have when I received a letter from my oldest granddaughter in which she wrote: “Your phone calls, cards, and emails were encouraging and made a significant impact on my life, especially in my teenage and college years. Your prayers and encouragement have been rock-solid reminders of God’s truth in my incredible, crazy life-shaping years, and now in my married life. Your prayers help me surrender the craziness of my life to God.”
Here is the challenge I am laying before you. Will you take up the call to start or participate in a [email protected] group in your area? Invite other grandparents in your area to join you in the building of a [email protected] group to intercede for the next generations. My husband and I participate in a [email protected] group and find it a blessing to pray with other grandparents for our grandchildren.
Check out the format of a [email protected] group, the current locations, read the testimonials, and request additional information.
Happy Grandparenting
christiangrandparenting.net
This Universal Prayer For Grandparents was composed by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 for the Catholic Grandparents Association.
PRAYER FOR GRANDPARENTS
Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary,
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardian of noble domestic ideals,
living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits
of their mature human and spiritual experience.
Lord Jesus,
help families and society
to value the presence and roles of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care,
accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity
for the great embrace of live without end. Amen!
You can find more information about the National Grandparents Pilgrimage on our website
www.CatholicGrandparentsAssociation.com
catholicgrandparentsassociation.wordpress.com
