St. Joseph, guardian of
Jesus
and chaste husband of Mary, you passed your
life
in loving fulfillment of duty. You supported the holy
family
of
Nazareth
with the work of your hands. Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you. You know their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes. They look to you because they know you
will
understand and protect them. You too knew trial, labor and weariness. But amid the worries of material
life
your
soul
was full of deep peace and sang out in true joy through intimacy with God’s Son entrusted to you and with Mary, his tender Mother. Assure those you protect that they do not labor alone. Teach them to find
Jesus
near them and to watch over him faithfully as you have done. Pope
John XXIII
www.catholic.org
One way I plan to honor my father this year on Father’s Day is in prayer, not only for him who has already received his eternal reward, but also for the other fathers in my life—my father-in-law, my son, my son-in-law and numerous friends and other loved ones.
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A terrific Father’s Day gift—and one that is routinely neglected—is prayer, whether it is written in a card, prayed over the phone or offered in private. With that in mind, here are seven great prayers for the fathers in your life:
“Lord, bless _________ and keep him; make Your face to shine upon him and be gracious to him; lift up Your countenance upon him and give him peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26, ESV)
“I pray that in all respects _______ may prosper and be in good health, just as his soul prospers.” (3 John 2, NASB).
“I pray for __________, that his love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that he may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11, ESV)
“God, according to the riches of Your glory, grant _________ to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in his inner being, so that Christ may dwell in his heart through faith–that he, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that he may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19, ESV)
“God, give ___________ Your strength to steer him,
Your power to uphold him,
Your wisdom to guide him,
Your eye for his vision,
Your ear for his hearing,
Your word for his speech,
Your hand to protect him,
Your pathway before him,
Your shield for his shelter,
Your angels to guard him
from ambush of devils,
from vice’s allurements,
from traps of the flesh,
from all who wish ill,
whether distant or close,
alone or in hosts.” (The Breastplate of St. Patrick)
“Christ be beside him,
Christ before him,
Christ behind him,
Christ within him,
Christ beneath him,
Christ above him.
Christ on his right hand,
Christ on his left,
Christ where he lies,
Christ where he sits,
Christ where he rises.
Christ in the hearts of all who think of him,
Christ in the mouths of all who speak to him,
Christ in every eye that sees him,
Christ in every ear that hears him.” (The Breastplate of St. Patrick)
“Father, thank you for _____________.
Please continue and complete your work in him,
granting that he may walk with you like Enoch,
believe you like Abraham,
obey you like Isaac,
wrestle with you like Jacob,
know your hand on his life like Joseph,
speak face-to-face with you like Moses,
win victories for you like Gideon,
speak boldly for you like Elijah,
worship you like David,
see you high and lifted up like Isaiah,
and carry Jesus’ cross like Simon of Cyrene.” (written by Bob Hostetler)
You may want to revise, amplify or add to those prayers. You may want to write one in a note or read it over the phone. You may want to offer each of these prayers, one for a different father you know.
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Whatever else you may do, find a way to offer the fathers you love the best gift of all this Father’s Day: a prayer.
www.guideposts.org
We want to share this prayer and bible verses for Fathers Day with you!
Even if you didn’t have good memories of your earthly father growing up, remember that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you very much and you can honor Him on Fathers Day as well.
These bible verses will help for you to reflect on your earthly father and your heavenly Father.
Proverbs 20:7 Amplified Bible (AMP) “The righteous man who walks in integrity and lives life in accord with his beliefs—How blessed are his children after him .”
Proverbs 23:24 New International Version (NIV) “The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.”
Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Romans 8:15 “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Deuteronomy 5:16 ““Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Hebrews 12:5-11 (NIV) “And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Here is a prayer for the Fathers:
Abba Father, we thank you for our earthly fathers. Today we honor them so that we may have long lives in this land that you are giving us. Thank you for providing for them and for continuing to build them up in the faith. Bring peace and comfort to them. Give them joy, courage and strength. Grant grace so they may do the things that are difficult. Thank you for the love, nurturing and discipline that they give to us as we know this was for our own good. We ask that your love will continue to cover the multitude of sins and blot out the imperfections as we know they are human. May we continue to honor them beyond Fathers Day and support them. Give then health so they may have long lives. Show we how to be a better son/daughter to them and how I can encourage them so that they may walk even closer to you, in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen
You can pray the Our Father Prayer to honor your Abba Father
www.missionariesofprayer.org
