Pray and Hope
The number of names on my intercessory prayer list is ever expanding. The same for you? Not necessarily a bad thing but I often tell individuals who ask for my prayers that I am honored to offer them but sorry for the circumstances that necessitate the request. In addition, there are those who are not personally known to me that I lift up in my daily prayers.
Initially, my habit was to make numerous lists of names and prayer intentions on paper and keep them near my prayer chair...or in my purse...or in a coat pocket. When that system became unreliable and unmanageable, I found the journal, pictured above, to keep a more permanent and intentional account. This book has become one-part personal prayer journal and the other part home to an ever-lengthening list of names to remember in prayer. I guess you could say this book is my personal Corpus Christi, a visual and practical reminder of my connection to the members of the body of Christ. Christ's Body and Blood...our source for a future with hope.
Our prayers are manna (Deuteronomy 8:3), sustaining and nourishing both ourselves and others. Our prayers are participation in the body and blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16). Our prayers welcome the living bread from heaven into our lives (John 6:51). Our prayers bring hope where it is most needed.
I can almost recite from memory the names on my prayer list. Of course, new names and intentions are added frequently. And strangely, no name seems to drop off the list. I consider it an honor and a duty to pray, if not for one intention, then another.
Oftentimes I pray for those on my list without even opening the journal. A future with hope becomes my ultimate prayer for each person. I call to mind the range of categories where prayers are needed—for those in pain; those with cancer; the grieving; the lonely; single parents; for all marriages and families; for first responders; the elderly; for caregivers; my beloved family members; for my parish; our priests and religious; for happy deaths and the repose of souls; for those losing loved ones to dementia; for those with special needs and their families; for the most vulnerable in society; for all who are most in need of prayers. I’m sure you could add to these categories from your own experiences!
Today, I add to my list everyone who is reading this meditation. He knows your names and your needs. May all prayers connect us in a special way to the Body of Christ, increase faith and hope in our hearts, and touch all those for whom we pray.