# Prayer for the gifts of the Holy Spirit
*2016-02-15*

> In honor of President's Day, Bill Young offers a prayer requesting the guidance of the Holy Spirit for national leaders and the faithful.

## Praying for our leaders

Good afternoon. This is Bill Young and welcome to the Prayer N Lunch podcast. Today is President's Day in the U.S., so we honor all our previous and present presidents. The prayer we are doing today is for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We pray that our current president and our future presidents will have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, when we decide who to pick for our Supreme Court justices, may those men and women also have the gift of the Holy Spirit and respect all life.

## A plea for the Spirit's love

O Jesus, we are your brothers and sisters who suffer in our bodies, which have been redeemed by you. But our spirit calls on you, O God, and evokes your spirit. Pour out on us your Holy Spirit so that he may increase our love. Send your Holy Spirit with His love to heal the wounds. We desire to learn from you to give our life and all that we possess.

## The life of the Spirit

Life is born in our hearts by means of the spirit, the same life that you have lived, O Jesus—the same life that you gave through your spirit to the Virgin Mary, who conceived you in her womb. Give us your spirit, which is life, O Jesus. Give us and send us your spirit to free us from the fear of beginning a new life.

## Overcoming temptation and stress

Free us from every temptation from the evil spirit, who is active every day, who wants to rush us, and who desires to put temptations of intolerance in our hearts—the feeling that we haven't had the time or that we don't understand. He desires to put tension and stress into our hearts. But O Jesus, we do not fear; we are joyful because your spirit is capable of changing us.

## Trusting in God's plan

The times in which we live are dangerous. You want to save us; you have no time to lose. Your desire is to change us immediately and to put your plan into our hearts. Yes, we know we are weak, but your word is in our hearts. Take us by the hand during those difficult days. Take each one of us and bring us before the Lord, before the Holy Spirit, so that we may become simple, obedient, and humble. Help us, O Mother, in the name of your son, our God.

*By invoking the Holy Spirit, we can overcome the stresses and temptations of our dangerous times to become simple, obedient, and humble servants of God.*