Venus fly trap guided prayer

Photo by Tyler Mower on Unsplash

October 2025

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!  Praise be His most holy name.  Praise He who is, was, and ever shall be.  Praise Him—King of kings, Lord of lords, True God from True God.  

Thank You, God, for all thy benefits.  Thank You for always speaking to us through Your Word, Your Church, Your Liturgy.  Thank You for inspirations certainly sent by Your Holy Spirit.  Thank You for guiding us. 

I am sorry, Lord, for my selfishness, self-centeredness, forgetfulness, short-sightedness.  I am sorry for the times I have dismissed your little inspirations because of my pride, my arrogance, my busy-ness.  Forgive me for when I have dismissed the “God-incidences” as coincidences.  Forgive me.  

Recently, I signed up to pray for a theater cast and director team for a production in which my daughter participated.  I was told to pray for them, but was not given much direction.  On my walk up to Adoration, I silently asked God to guide my prayers for this group of people.  An image of a Venus fly trap with sheets of paper landing inside it crossed my mind.  The sheets of paper seemed to have Scripture passages and the names of directors and cast members on them.  

I nearly dismissed the image, thinking, “That’s an odd thing to imagine before Adoration.”  Instead of falling into the temptation to dismiss it, I decided to draw what I saw and sit with it during my time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  I wrote down things I knew about the plant, such as it looks like a mouth.  I realized that I knew very little about the plant, so I did some research.  I then allowed God some time to guide me to pray for these using the image.  

The Venus fly trap REQUIRES POOR SOIL to thrive.  This led me to pray that the struggles and challenges the cast and directors faced would grant them grace and opportunity to draw near to God, knowing He has allowed it through His Mercy and Wisdom for them, and all of us, to grow in virtue and thrive in His Kingdom.   It reminded me of Romans 5: 3-5 that states, “Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. “

The Venus fly trap resembles MEAT to attract its PREY.  This led me to pray (pun intended) with Scripture knowing that it nourishes their souls as the spiritual food it is. I prayed that it nourishes them deeply, maturing from mild to meat.  It reminded me of 1 Corinthians 3:2, “I have fed you with mild, and not with meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” 

The Venus fly trap remains OPEN until its PREY lands.  This led me to pray that they may continue to remain open to the Holy Spirit and practice praying and waiting on the Lord to reveal His plan.  It reminded me of Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!”

The Venus fly trap remains closed until PREY is DIGESTED, after which the trap is re-opened, LEAVING BEHIND THE EXOSKELETON.  This led me to pray that the Love of God and His Word, Jesus, totally consume them!  That it would change their hearts and souls, removing all that is not of Him, leaving a shell of their former worldly self, transforming them to a new creation in Christ Jesus!  It reminded me of 2Corinthians 5:17, “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” 

God used an odd, unfamiliar image of a plant to guide me in praying for people I did not know intimately.  I am so glad I did not dismiss the image, but allowed God to use it to guide me!  

What silly or odd thing has God used to guide or teach you?  Share, share, share – you never know who might need to hear your God story!