Special Prayers in Times of Need

Prayer in Times of Financial Difficulty

Dear Lord, Help me find firm ground in this shaky economy. As I seek work and assistance, give me strength not to be anxious when I seem to be going nowhere;  give me patience not to despair when things look bleak; give me serenity to know you are here with me, helping me to carry my crosses each day; so that I may do Your will, for the salvation of souls and my Eternal Life.  Amen

Prayer of the Unemployed

Dear Lord Jesus Christ, you wanted all who are weary to come to you for support. Lord, I am worn out by my inability to find wage-earning work. Day after day, my worry and fear grow as the rejections of my applications mount. I am able and willing to work but I cannot find a worthwhile job. Please help me to obtain one soon so that I can support myself and my family in a decent way.

However, if it is your will that I wait longer, enable me to worry less and to be able to take advantage of the time available to get closer to you. Let me realize that there are other ways to bring about your kingdom on earth besides salaried work. Help me to make use of them for the time being so that I may continue to grow as a person for your greater glory. Amen

Prayer for Patience

My dearest Jesus, teach me to be patient,

when all day long my heart is troubled by little, but troublesome crosses.

Prayer in Time of Sickness

Jesus, You suffered and died for us. You understand suffering. Teach me to understand my suffering as You do; to bear it in union with You; to offer it with You to atone for my sins and to bring your grace to souls in need. Calm my fears; increase my trust. May I gladly accept your holy will and become more like You in trial. If it be your will, restore me to health so that I may work for your honor and glory and the salvation of all. Amen

Prayer for a cure

Gentle Jesus, who cured the sick and laid a healing hand upon the lame, the blind and the handicapped, look with compassion upon me in my suffering. If it is not your Will to cure me, then give me strength to bear my burden and offer it up to You. You suffered so much for me. Give me grace to offer my sufferings in union with Your own, in reparation for my sins and those of others, for the needs of this troubled world, and for the release of the souls in purgatory. Mary, compassionate Mother, pray for your weary child. Health of the Sick, Comforter of the Afflicted, pray for me. Amen

Prayers when undergoing medical tests

Dear Lord, as my loved ones and I await the results of medical tests about my affliction, let us offer you our anxieties for our good and your glory.  Calm us in our worries, knowing these don’t add wisdom but rather stress to this situation.   Enlighten us, though the power of your Spirit, to make wise decisions as to treatment.  Help us not to turn away from You in these fragile, painful moments, but rather towards you for grace and strength.  Comfort us in seeking you now as we place all our concerns in your loving hands as we say “Thy Will Be Done.”   Amen.

A Parent’s Prayer to St Joseph

O glorious St. Joseph, to you God committed the care of His only begotten Son amid the many dangers of this world. We come to you and ask you to take under your special protection the children God has given us. Through holy baptism they became children of God and members of His holy Church. We consecrate them to you today, that through this consecration they may become your foster children. Guard them, guide their steps in life, form their hearts after the hearts of Jesus and Mary. St. Joseph, who felt the tribulation and worry of a parent when the child Jesus was lost, protect our dear children for time and eternity. May you be their father and counsellor. Let them, like Jeus, grow in age as well as in wisdom and grace before God and men. Preserve them from the corruption of his world, and give us the grace one day to be united with them in Heaven forever. Amen

Prayers against temptation

Behold me, O my God, at Your feet! I do not deserve mercy, but O my Redeemer, the blood with You have shed for me encourages me and obliges me to hope for it. How often I have offended You, repented, and yet have I again fallen into the same sin. O my God, I wish to amend, and in order to be faithful to You, I will place all my confidence in You. I will, whenever I am tempted, instantly have recourse to You. Until now, I have trusted in my own promises and resolutions and have neglected to recommend myself to You in my temptations. This has been the cause of my repeated failures. From this day forward, be You, O Lord, my strength, and this shall I be able to do all things, for “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” Amen.

Prayer to St Anthony

O Holy St Anthony, gentlest of saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers.

Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety.

Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (request).

The answer to my prayer may require a miracle, even so, you are the Saint of Miracles.

O gentle and loving St Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.  Amen

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O most holy heart of Jesus, Fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You!