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AREAS OF PRAYER FOCUS
"ADDICTIONS"
by Clare Cooper
We all
have addictions. Some are much more serious than
others. We all have the responsibility to pray for
our fellowmen. I believe we will be held
responsible for each other.
According
to Dr. Gerald G. May, M.D., who tells us in his
book, Addiction and Grace, all human beings
have an inborn desire for God. Whether we are
consciously religious or not, this desire is our
deepest longing and our most precious treasure.
Those of us who accept God’s call in our lives,
accept the responsibility to pray for our world and
the people in it.
 I have
realized recently that I am addicted to many things
like all of us are, especially sugar, chocolate, ice
cream, and many of life’s good treats.
We are
dependent upon grace for liberation from our
addictions, but those very addictions impair our
receptivity to grace. It appears, then, that we are
in a predicament. God creates and cares for us in
such a way that our addictions can never completely
give us freedom. Many addictions seek out to
destroy us and ruin our lives as well as the lives
of others.
If we believe that God has the greatest powers on
the earth, then God has the power to heal anything
in us. We must realize that God can do anything.
His power is above all the rest. Trust that God can
heal our addictions. He hears the prayer of all:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you
will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you. For everyone who asks, receives, and the one
who seeks, finds, and to the one who knocks, the
door will be opened. (Matt. 7:7-8)
Everyone out there
who is willing to pray for addictions, please do
so. Pray for your family, friends, and anyone else
afflicted by this condition. There are many people
out there who need our prayers.
Thank you to all of
you people out there who are praying for people with
addictions. Thank you, God, for all these
intercessors. Please listen and answer their
prayers.
(Clare
Cooper is a member of The Community of God’s
Love Prayer Group at St. Kieran’s Parish in Shelby
Township, and the St. Vincent Ferrer Prayer Group in
Madison Heights.and
also is a member of the DCCR Assembly, representing
the North Region.
)
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NOW WORD SERIES
NOW WORD
11-12-2010
by Rosa Curry
Here is
how this word applies to my life: As I sit in my
adoration hour, the Lord God says, “Come now”.
But I am here Lord, I say to Him and He answers,
“Come close; come and receive”,
(Matthew 7:7-11; Ephesians 3). I’ve
so much to ask of you, Lord. I worry about my
family and all the people for whom I promised to
pray. Then, I feel the warmth of His love, and
realize that first, I have to be still to receive
all that He has to give.
He
invites us to “Come to the feast,” not
only as we attend the Holy Mass and receive His true
Body and Blood, but also in all that we do. He
invites us to bring the poor and the unloved to His
banquet. All the guests at His feast are equal.
Then He proclaims, “I am your Father and you
are My witnesses”, (Isaiah 61: 1-3;
Ephesians 3). Father, do others see You in me?
Am I your vessel, your hands and your feet? Do my
actions speak of my belief in You? Help me to
believe when You say, “My Word is for
every situation of your life and My Word is clear.
I am the Light – there is no darkness where I am”,
(Psalm 97: 9-12; Ephesians 6.
 He
proclaims, “I love you – you are mine”,
(Ephesians
3) and “The fruit is ready for harvest. You
are My laborers.” (Isaiah 61: 1-3)
His
promises, “My word gives you wisdom and
understanding” (Sirach 2; Matthew 7: 7-11;
Ephesians 3), I will answer your prayers, I am
always with you and I will never leave you (Psalm
23), I will not break my covenant with you, and I
will keep my promise,” are what I hold dear.
His
directives to seek first the kingdom and keep
our eyes on Him, to trust and delight in Him,
are my goals. As He asks, I will try to
praise Him in the storms of life, care for and stay
close to my Christian brothers and sisters and tell
them how much He loves them. I will not be afraid;
I will put on the armor of God and resist Satan, so
that evil will flee.
I shall
cling to the vision of Jesus throwing me a
lifeline, and know that He will pull me through, and
trust that He will give me a new heart. I
will remember that He is breaking my bondage.
(Rosa Curry is a leader of
the Spirit of Love Prayer Group at Our Lady of the
Woods Parish in Woodhaven, Michigan, and a member of
the DCCR Assembly.) |
