Answering Online Prayer Requests Gives Her Hope

“Please pray for my unborn child that she may be healed against all the odds the doctors have given us. It sounds hopeless but I believe that nothing is impossible with God . . . “

“Our child is in trouble from her mom’s drug abuse . . .”

“We need help from Hurricane Sandy. No electricity, no food, the police won’t come.”

“I’ve been unfaithful to my wife, and I am such a mess . . . “

“My son’s killing himself with alcohol, he has two beautiful sons who need their father . . .”

“Please pray that my atheist husband returns to Jesus.”

“I got my last two job rejections today. No job, no prospects, no friends, no hope.”

The online prayer requests keep coming, day after day, year after year, through the website of the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand, www.thedome.org.

Many are pleading, some are desperate, some sound like a 911 emergency call, some sound like they’re on the verge of suicide.

Nearly all can break your heart.

But every one of them reaffirms one’s belief in the hope and power of prayer. And the belief that making the prayer request of the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand is the prudent move. After all, the sisters have been praying for those in need at least three times a day, every day, since 1867.

The Ferdinand Benedictines even took their prayer service for others to another level several years ago – they respond to any online prayer request when the sender provides their name and email address, and requests a response.

Sister Diane Fischer, 76, has been the designated person replying to the website prayer requests since 2007.

“Some of those I read are pretty depressing, so I pray for them, and I feel helpless about not being able to do more,” says Sister Diane, the hurt evident in her eyes.

Yet she talks about her strong belief that energy goes out from you to those you are really praying for, no matter where they’re at. And she thinks about the power of the whole Ferdinand Benedictine community, 160 strong, and the immense energy they send forth with their daily prayers.

“That really can do some good, just through our prayers,” she says. “When I read what others are going through, it makes me more compassionate. I keep thinking how blessed I am when I see all the problems happening to so many people.”

Despite the challenges of responding to eight to 10 daily prayer requests, some admittedly bizarre, Sister Diane truly enjoys how she can help people.

“Trying to cheer them up with our prayers, I know it means so much to people. I feel like it’s a real ministry, a ministry of reaching out to people.”

The regular thank you notes she receives for her responses underscores the value of the sisters’ prayers. Many will say something like, ‘thank you for the prayers, we really appreciate it, you don’t know how much it means, the person who was sick is doing better, and it’s because of your prayers.’”

Among her favorites was a reply from London, England: “It makes me really happy to receive a message like the one you sent me, because it gives me hope. It also gives me strength to think that we are united in prayer. I really feel lonely so your message has been a very important part of my day. I have read it and re-read it . . . I feel Jesus’ presence and love in my life.”

To keep track of every person who has asked for a response to their prayer request, Sister Diane meticulously keeps records in a notebook, now on version number three. She even takes the notebook into church with her on occasion, to have its presence there for more prayer.

After she answers the daily prayer requests, she will still pray for all the requesters some more, even though she knows they’re being prayed for by the entire sisters’ community.

She does emphasize, chuckling, that “I am not an advice column, it’s a prayer, and a notice that we sisters are praying for their intentions.” For the thornier problems, she writes that she hopes “you can get guidance or counseling that might help you.”

She always makes sure to say her response is “from Sister Diane of the Sisters of St. Benedict,” so requesters realize it’s a sister answering them, not just someone hired to do so. Still, one lady from Canada called just to ensure there really was a Sister Diane, because “I’ve been getting all your nice messages.”

Requesters also appreciate the relative quickness of the replies, most within a day or so. One note remarked, “This is wonderful you answered right away, most of them I send in I never hear from again, you don’t know what it meant to me to get an answer.”

Prayer requests pour in from all over the globe – Manila, Nigeria, Ukraine, Australia, India, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Turkey, South Africa, Poland, Brazil, and Rome, among others. Some come in a foreign language.

Most requests deal with finances, jobs, marriages and relationships, and health issues. Then there are the ones that ask for help in winning the lottery, or to win a contest for concert tickets.

 “I won’t say that we’re going to pray you win the lottery,” says Sister Diane, smiling, “but we’ll pray you can get help and guidance with your finances.”

Sister Diane usually ends her responses by saying she’ll ask God to be with you and all your loved ones, and to be with your intentions, and to give your family the graces they need at this time. 

“Please help me. Time is running out . . .”

“I need a way to pay my college loans.”

“Pray for a miracle cure for our baby.”

“I was sexually assaulted in my home last night.”

“My friend attempted suicide . . .” 

The requests for help don’t stop. But neither do the sisters’ prayers.