Special Intentions: Remembering Others in Personal Prayer

By Claire Coleman

Advance praise for

Special Intentions

Special Intentions reminds us of the importance of not simply praying for what we need, but for what others need. Jesus taught us to ask God for our daily bread, but he also asked us to love one another. Commending our friends and families (and co-workers, neighbors, acquaintances and even those who bother us) to the care of God is a key aspect of that love, and an importantelement of the Christian tradition.

Claire Coleman's sensitive newwork will help readers to more fully enter into this rich stream of the spiritual life.

James Martin S.J, author of My Life with the Saints

If you've ever offered up a simple God help him at the sight of someone less fortunate, then this book will resonate with your innate sense that prayers have power. Claire Coleman offers agraceful, easy way to benefit others with her beautifully written portraits of those in need.Take her advice, say a prayer for a stranger andmake the world a better place.

Patricia Sheridan, Assistant Editor/Features, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While Special Intentions is a beautiful meditative book for the person alone in prayer before God, it likely also will be will be an inspiration for those in prayer groups, and friends who come together to talk about their lifes journeys.

Dianne M. Traflet, J.D., S.T.D., Associate Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University

Prayer is a personal experience, but sometimes we need a little reminder. Claire Coleman's Special Intentions is the perfect book to keep close at hand and close to the heart to reference, to inspire, and to share with others.

Amelia Grey, author of twenty-three books

[The] listings of special intentions are so global and yet personal, so ordinary and yet profound.

Sr. Joan Noreen, OLME, co-founder and director of Our Ladys Missionaries of the Eucharist

Host, Eucharistic Journey, Eternal World Television, (EWT) Network

Ms. Colemanreminds us that every one of us is, for very different reasons, in need of prayers. Her ability to lead us to pray for someone we suddenly notice, think about, and then care aboutsomeone who we dont even know is truly a gift.

Dr. Sharon Latchaw Hirsh, president, Rosemont College, Rosemont, Pennsylvania

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449725945

Claire Coleman

Claire Coleman drew upon her life experiences for Special Intentions.  Facing the daily challenges of marriage and raising children, she found herself relying on her faith-based education and personal study of prayer for inspiration. A resident of New Jersey, she teaches writing at the college level.

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 by Claire Coleman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

All Bible quotations used in Special Intentions are from: The Holy Bible, Today’s English Version, New York: American Bible Society, 1993.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-[phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover design by Rosemary Tottoroto of PageOne Creative Group.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-2595-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-2596-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-2594-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011917008

Printed in the United States of America

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/23/2012

Contents

Advance Praise for

Special Intentions

Introduction

Chapter 1

Love One Another

Chapter 2

Carry the Burdens

Chapter 3

No Greater Love

Chapter 4

With Thanks

Chapter 5

For Perseverance

Chapter 6

Prayers and Intercessions

Chapter 7

Give Each Other Strength

Chapter 8

For Unfailing Faith

Chapter 9

Imprisoned

Chapter 10

The Suffering

Chapter 11

You Are in My Prayers

Acknowledgements

Special Intentions

Advance Praise for

Special Intentions

Special Intentions reminds us of the importance of not simply praying for what we need, but for what others need. Jesus taught us to ask God for our daily bread, but he also asked us to love one another. Commending our friends and families (and co-workers, neighbors, acquaintances and even those who bother us) to the care of God is a key aspect of that love, and an important element of the Christian tradition. Claire Coleman’s sensitive new work will help readers to more fully enter into this rich stream of the spiritual life.

—James Martin, SJ, author of My Life with the Saints

If you’ve ever said a quick prayer as an ambulance whizzed by or offered up a simple God help him at the sight of someone less fortunate, then this book will resonate with your innate sense that prayers have power. Claire Coleman offers a graceful, easy way to benefit others with her beautifully written portraits of those in need. It’s not always the ones you know, but those you don’t who could use your prayers. Take her advice, say a prayer for a stranger and make the world a better place.

—Patricia Sheridan, Assistant Editor/Features, Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Special Intentions comes from the heart, from a woman who, like Mary, has kept all these things in her heart. (Luke. 2:19)

This is a book borne of prayer, and at the service of prayer. It is written to help the reader to find words to pray, when words fail, particularly in difficult, often heart-breaking, situations. It is not, though, simply, a book to be read as if reading to God; no, it is a spiritual tool to help us to speak with God, and then to listen to God speaking to us. The author writes from a place of compassion, realizing that when we turn to God in prayer, we bring not only our needs but those of friends, even strangers, to God. Knowing what to say to God often is particularly difficult when we are in unfamiliar territory, asked to pray about something we know little about, or asked to pray for someone we hardly know. Even more difficult is when we are so close to the person in pain that we are speechless, even before God. The author certainly knows that God is not bound to our words, but speaks to us in our silence, and comforts us therein; and, she also knows how to use the written page to create the sacred space that leads to that bountiful silence. While Special Intentions is a beautiful meditative book for the person alone in prayer before God; it likely also will be will be an inspiration for those in prayer groups, and friends who come together to talk about their life’s journeys. Each meditation is a gentle reminder to pray without ceasing, specially attentive to the people around us, making their varied intentions our special intentions.

—Dianne M. Traflet, J.D., S.T.D., Associate Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University

Prayer is a personal experience, but sometimes we need a little reminder. Claire Coleman’s Special Intentions is the perfect book to keep close at hand and close to the heart to reference, to inspire, and to share with others.

—Amelia Grey, author of twenty-three books

[The] listings of special intentions are so global and yet personal, so ordinary and yet profound. I can readily imagine their capacity for inspirations that add to these special intentions and also simply invite prayer from those who read the prayer in all kinds of situations and place, prayer that whispers in the heart wherever the pray-er is or goes."

—Sr. Joan Noreen, OLME,co-founder and director of Our Lady’s Missionaries of the Eucharist

Claire Coleman’s Special Intentions is a remarkable collection of essays that serve not only as a call to reflection: they are also a call to service. As an alumna of Rosemont College, where we graduate men and women who will be successful ethical leaders devoted to social responsibility, Ms. Coleman reminds us that every one of us is, for very different reasons, in need of prayers. As she points out, most of us do pray, but usually for ourselves or someone we know; her ability to lead us to pray for someone we suddenly notice, think about and then care about–someone who we don’t even know—is truly a gift. And those of us who know the power of prayers know that this is indeed great service.

—Dr. Sharon Latchaw Hirsh, president,

Rosemont College, Rosemont, Pennsylvania

Introduction

I’ll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

I have written and spoken those words thousands of times. Usually, they were expressed to people dealing with life-challenging moments. Sometimes the words were in condolence letters written upon the death of a parent, spouse, sibling, favorite aunt, or tragically, a child. Other times I said them to someone who was undergoing surgery, healing from an accident, or recuperating from a serious illness. Then, there were times when saying those words to a fearful flyer before a trip, or someone looking for a job or taking the law boards were more like requests for cosmic luck and less like spiritual moments.

Each time I said or wrote those words, I meant it. However, I didn’t always follow up diligently with the promised prayers on every occasion. Some things, like my nephew’s tour of duty in Iraq and the critically ill grandchild of a friend, stayed embedded in my mind and I offered a prayer—quick, silent, and heartfelt—each time I thought of them. However, there were many other times when the person or circumstances failed to create the mental Post-it for my mind, and I never said the prayers. When I finally did remember, I felt horrible about neglecting the promise and forgetting what was very important to someone else.

On the afternoon of September 11, 2001, I made a list of