“Novena for Impossible Requests”: Discover 11 Top Tips to Turn Hopeless Chaos Into Breakthrough

The novena for impossible requests is a Catholic prayer tradition dating back hundreds of years. A novena prayer generally refers to devotions lasting for nine straight days to ask for special graces or petitions from God through the intercession of Mary, Jesus, or the saints. The novena gets its name from the Latin word “novem,” meaning 9, referring to the nine days of persistent prayer. While normal Catholic novenas focus on more “possible” requests like healing, the novena for impossible requests specifically targets extremely desperate or unlikely situations that seem beyond human remedy.

By persistently praying this special novena for nine uninterrupted days, Catholics spiritually labor in intensive prayer for God to miraculously intervene regarding otherwise hopeless issues. The intensities of impossible dilemmas and extraordinarily persistent crying out to heaven tend to go hand in hand.

Originating in medieval Europe amidst deathly plagues and diseases before modern medicine, Catholics began storming heaven through nine days of pleading prayer for miraculous healings and protections for impossible situations impacting multitudes back then. Over the centuries, all kinds of seemingly impossible and definitely improbable scenarios have become the subjects of this intense Catholic novena prayer tradition, expecting divine breakthroughs.

What is a Novena for Impossible Requests?

A novena prayer is an ancient tradition in the Catholic Church, dating back to the days of the Apostles, where a prayer is said for nine straight days for a particular intention or request. Over the centuries, Catholics have prayed novenas, pleading for all kinds of causes, big and small, before God and the saints. But perhaps one of the most profound novenas is the “novena for impossible requests,” where people boldly ask God to intervene for miraculous outcomes that seem humanly totally hopeless and improbable.

The novena for impossible requests is exactly as its name suggests—bringing desperately hopeless situations and long-shot prayers before God’s throne of grace over nine days. Of course, “impossible” here is from our human perspective, as Jesus himself declared that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). And so over the span of nine days, prayers are lifted up for divine outcomes and miraculous resolutions for circumstances that seem utterly impossible in the natural realm.

The novena for impossible requests brings to vivid demonstration the cry, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) Real faith prays boldly in accordance with Jesus’ astonishing words, “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20). And so the novena for impossible requests represents bringing our deepest heart cries for seemingly unresolvable predicaments before God, pairing raw faith with God’s omnipotence to produce miraculous outcomes.

The origins of the novena prayer itself can be traced back to the apostles and Mary’s prayer community persevering for nine days between Christ’s ascension and the Pentecost coming of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:14 says, “These all, with one mind, were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus.” Out of this 9-day perseverant prayer sequence was born the explosion of Holy Spirit supernatural power that launched the church through Peter’s Spirit-empowered preaching. This giving birth of the church through nine days of relentless corporate prayer established the basis for the enduring novena prayer tradition amongst Catholics worldwide.

Novena is derived from the Latin word “novem,” meaning “nine.” So the novena prayer seeks to grab hold of supernatural outcomes by persistently praying and petitioning over a nine-day period. The novena for impossible requests applies this persistent prayer principle specifically to outcomes that seem humanly totally impossible.

What is the origin and history of the Novena for Impossible Requests?

If the novena prayer is rooted in that initial 9-day prayer meeting in the Upper Room after Jesus’ ascension, the novena for impossible requests prayer has its origins primarily in desperate medieval European cries for healing and deliverance from disease, plagues, and oppression using novena prayers. During the Middle Ages, the infamous Bubonic Plague ravaged populations, causing widespread panic and terror.

It was in this climate of mass sickness and death without any natural remedy that Catholics began crying out in persistent novena prayer for healing and miraculous protection. Stories began circulating in the late Middle Ages of miraculous healings and even some cases of resurrections (!) that fueled increased crying out in what became termed “novena for impossible requests” prayer.

Two key stories fueled the origins of the novena for impossible requests in Catholic history. First, the desperate plea prayers of St. Anthony of Padua as a novena resulted in the raising of a man struck down in death back to life again. This stunning resurrection miracle triggered many impossibly sick people to plead Anthony’s intercessory novena prayer for their incurable situations.

Secondly, Our Lady of Pompeii was said to have answered the novena prayers of Monsieur Bartolo Longo miraculously for impossible dilemmas, fueling widespread faith in crying out to Our Lady of Pompeii’s intercession for hopeless cases. These and other accounts caused the hopeful cry of the “novena for impossible requests” prayer to become widespread for spiritually and naturally impossible situations, with masses pleading to heaven for merciful miraculous intervention.

While various domains like physical healing, deliverance, and resurrection accounts helped spark the origins of the novena for impossible requests in medieval times, later historical developments expanded its usage. Eventually, freedom from Nazi occupation, miraculous provisions in famines, freshwater access breakthroughs, and more all fueled penniless Catholic masses to plead these cases through persistent novenas for impossible requests of prayer.

Even non-Catholics began making these pleas to heaven as the prayer spread broadly across Christendom for seemingly impossible dilemmas. Over time, the novena for impossible requests became a go-to resort for spiritually as well as socioeconomically and politically desperate situations. The historical roots of crying for divine intervention in impossible natural and spiritual domains caused this prayer tradition to become extremely widespread, fueling faith in miraculous outcomes.

What Are Some Examples of Impossible Requests People Make Novenas For?

If we survey Catholic history and our current era, we find all kinds of impossible or highly improbable natural situations being pleaded persistently in the novena for impossible requests of prayer. While the content of these requests spans the spectrum, we can identify general domains where desperate hearts cry out, “Lord, have mercy!” For example, in this novena:

Physical Healing: By far, chronic illnesses, terminal or incurable diseases, and emergency medical dilemmas comprise a massive percentage of novena for impossible requests prayers currently and throughout history. Stigmatas, cancer healing, organ regeneration, and more represent a large portion of the miraculous answers to this novena prayer.

Family Reconciliation and Prodigal Returns: Countless estranged or broken marriages, wayward children, and prodigals occupy the desperate pleas within this novena. Prodigal stories abound in connection with the novena for impossible requests.

Addictions Broken: Substance chains seemingly impossible to break in the natural regularly become the focal points of crying out to heaven in novena prayer for impossible freedom.

Financial Provision: Bankruptcy reversals, unsolvable debt removal, and dramatic changes in socioeconomic status have been boosted by impossibly desperate pleas to God in the novena for impossible requests.

And the listing could go on—abuse ending, infertility reversed, deep emotional wounds healed, legal acquittals, bipolar freedom, dream jobs realized, and more—representing more domains for crying out to God in this Novena for Impossible Requests prayer. Essentially, any area that seems humanly totally impossible or nearly so finds its way into the novena for impossible requests prayer. This reveals how desperation for God to show his miraculous power drives this prayer tradition among Catholics.

What is the prayer used in a Novena for impossible requests?

While novena prayers generally have specific formats, wordings, and rituals associated with their particular patron saints, there is also more generic novena prayer wording that can be used for broader, hopeless pleas before God. Finding its origins likely in the 1950s, here is a commonly employed novena prayer format used for the impossible requests:

“O Most Holy Trinity, I adore you! My God, My God, I love You in the Most Blessed Sacrament!

O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners. Amen.

O Most Holy Trinity, I adore thee! My God, my God, I love thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament!

O Jesus, loving Pelican, wash my filthiness and clean me with Thy Blood, of which a single drop is enough to save an entire world. O loving Jesus, my Pilot, bring me safely into the haven of salvation with Mary Star of the Sea as my guide. In Thy loving care I leave my family, my country, my work, my property and all else that makes life dear to me. In sickness and health, in poverty or in wealth, in good repute or ill, even unto death, I desire naught but Thy holy will.

I cheerfully renounce all claim to the treasures of earth in favor of the far more precious treasures of Heaven. I leave home, friends, pleasures, joys, consolations, and even life itself for the greater glory of Thy Cause. I gladly take Thy part against myself in the struggle within my soul. Receive me ye holy Angels; lead me before the throne of God; there leave me in the merciful presence of Christ forever. Amen.

Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, pray for us. St. Anthony, pray for us. St. John Vianney, pray for us. St. Jude, pray for us. St. Joseph, friend of the Sacred Heart pray for us. St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us.

(Specific intention prayer goes here)

Good St. Ann, obtain my request for me from thy powerful intercession with Mary and Jesus if it be God’s holy will. Amen.”

Within this format, the desperate plea request—whether for physical healing, salvation of a prodigal, or other seeming impossibility—would be inserted in the middle to custom fit the novena for impossible requests to the specific intensive prayer focus. This detailed extended novena prayer liturgy allows deep focus on worship of the Trinity, pleading the blood of Jesus and specific saint intercession to undergird the “impossible” monumental petition inserted within it.

How Often and For How Many Days Should You Pray a Novena for Impossible Requests?

Just like a mother endures intensive labor before the joy of birthing the miracle baby, novena prayer represents spiritual labor leading up to the “birthing” of a miraculous outcome after the nine days of petitioning heaven. Of course, no timeline is prescribed to God, and he can choose to answer powerfully on day 1, day 9, or any day!

But the very term novena implies expecting a spiritual “gestation” process of repeatedly crying out for a divine intervention after an extended breakthrough prayer campaign. So traditionally, Catholics pray the novena persistently for nine straight days, believing something is spiritually birthed in the process as heavenly realms are petitioned nonstop.

In addition to praying for nine successive days without missing one, traditionally Catholic novena prayers are prayed multiple times per day to underline the desperate dependence on God alone to move in an impossible situation. For most novena prayer traditions, praying three times a day—morning, afternoon, and evening—for the nine days was practiced. But for desperate causes like the novena for impossible requests, constantly having this monumental petition playing as a background prayer cry before God has been encouraged however possible.

After all, repeatedly crying out “Lord, have mercy!” regarding an impossible situation before the miracle-working God drives home complete reliance on divine grace rather than human effort. So while 9 days of praying at least once per day defines a novena prayer, storming the gates of heaven relentlessly over these 9 days takes the novena for impossible requests to another level of desperate faith.

Are there any special tips, rituals, or acts to do while praying this Novena?

Within traditional Catholic novena practice, a few tips, rituals, and sacrificial acts seem particularly suited to intensifying the novena for impossible requests of prayer:

Fasting: Coupling abstaining from food for a period with crying out to God for a breakthrough awakens desperate dependence on God to move, refining faith. Biblically and historically, fasting has intensified crying out to God for seemingly impossible outcomes.

Tangible Reminders: Keeping a photo reminder of the impossible situation on one’s person while going through normal daily routines keeps the prayer petition intensified before God continually. Like the persistent widow crying out for justice before the judge in Jesus’ parable, tangible reminders and association triggers keep desperate petitions before God.

Lighting Candles: Lighting candles representing the spiritual labor in prayer of crying out for God to manifest a miracle is a venerable novena tradition. Watching the flame and melting wax represent prayers going up to heaven, and time passing ushers in faith-building expectancy for God to answer with power when the 9-day “labor” is complete.

Prayer Partners: Having others lock into the 9-day prayer journey intensifies faith that God will sovereignly respond with miraculous intervention. Just as the 120 believers prayed communally in the Upper Room for spiritual breakthrough, partnering multiplies prayer agreement toward the impossible.

Consecrating Circumstances: Finally, some report breakthrough results from formally consecrating seemingly impossible situations—wayward kids, terminal diagnoses, financial nightmares—to the oversight of Our Lady or patron saints during the 9-day novena prayer journey. This act of stepping back from grasping personal control over circumstances and consecrating them in God’s direction facilitates breakthrough.

While normal novena prayer practice promises powerful results alone, adding these kinds of faith-building sacrificial practices ratchets up the expectant hope for God to display his miraculous intervention with the impossible.

What saints are associated with impossible causes and requests?

When Catholic believers desperately cry out to heaven through the novena for impossible requests, they often call upon saintly heavenly intercessors renowned for breakthrough intervention in impossible situations. Though by no means an exhaustive list, here are 5 key “go-to” saints coveted by Catholics throughout history for their undeniable track record with the impossible:

St. Rita of Cascia: Called the “Saint of the Impossible,” St. Rita endures as a revered intercessor for hopeless causes. With prayers spanning from spousal abuse situations, terminal diagnoses, and mafia crime dilemmas, she diligently takes hopeless petitions in prayer to God, resulting in a lengthy history of miraculous breakthroughs.

St. Jude Thaddeus—perhaps the most invoked saint for desperate situations where all hope is lost—stands as the patron saint of lost causes. With prayers desperate for God to show his mercy and power when all human options are expended, St. Jude remains a central figure of intercession for Catholics.

St. Joseph of Cupertino: With renowned intellectual limitations, St. Joseph experienced regular miraculous spiritual ecstasies and levitations through God’s mercy, earning him a reputation as an intercessor who pleads desperate causes of all stripes before Christ’s throne.

Our Lady of Lourdes: With over 70 miraculous healings of hopeless medical maladies officially recognized at the French pilgrimage site, the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title Our Lady of Lourdes, stands as a foremost figure for healing impossible illnesses through desperate pleas in prayer.

St. Anthony of Padua: First invoked as an impossible cause intercessor for his prayer raising a man from the dead in the 13th century, Anthony of Padua serves as a trusted saint for healing and deliverance petitions that defy natural medical or scientific resolution.

Cry out persistently through the novena prayer for impossible requests with expectant faith. The Bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)! What he has done before through saintly intercession, he is powerful to do again, no matter what impossible dilemma you face!

What Bible verses relate to praying boldly and for miracles?

While regular novena prayer traditions trace back to early church accounts in Acts 1-2, the Bible rings out with many passages specifically encouraging bold praying unto miraculous outcomes that relate directly to the novena for impossible requests prayer focus:

Mark 11:22–24: Christ directly commands his disciples, saying, “Have faith in God. Truly, I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Incredibly, Jesus actually expects his followers to pray impossible-sounding requests like throwing mountains in the sea, promising powerful provision!

Luke 1:37: When pregnant virgin Mary asks the angel Gabriel how she can conceive the Christ child, he declares, “For no word from God will ever fail. For nothing is impossible with God!” This truth undergirds praying boldly for God to display his might in impossible dilemmas.

Jeremiah 32:17: God himself declares his identity and ability, saying, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” By his own words, no dilemma exceeds God’s mighty intervention when his people plead for mercy.

Ephesians 3:20–21: The apostle Paul extols the wonder of God by saying, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” God being able to do beyond what we ask fuels daring petitions.

And this again represents merely a small sampling of inspirational Bible passages urging God’s people to bold, expectant miracle petitioning prayer that directly applies to the novena for impossible requests. Our miracle-working Father and Lord Jesus invites us to follow biblical examples and commands to plead the impossible!

How can I make a Catholic pilgrimage to Jerusalem after praying my novena?

Going on pilgrimage to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and the early saints in the Holy Land is a profound way for Catholics to grow deeper in faith. Visiting holy sites like Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, and especially the city of Jerusalem immeasurably enriches spiritual life.

But arranging a meaningful Catholic pilgrimage to Jerusalem involves thoughtful preparation regarding logistics, pacing, biblical knowledge enhancement beforehand, and crafting personal spiritual goals. Avoiding common pitfalls that distract from fully spiritually engaging the deep biblical history of various sites makes all the difference. By intentionally preparing for a prayerful and worshipful sojourn, tracing our Christian origins, and focusing on spiritual transformation, pilgrimage to Jerusalem promises to profoundly shape Catholic faith.

I have a great deal of experience traveling. I’ve provided some basic resources to help you get ready for your trip.

1. Find cheap flights for your journey HERE 
2. A Car Rental
3. Taxi Drivers
4. Bus or Train Tickets
5. Choose the Perfect Hotel for Your Trip HERE
6. Fun Events for Your Journey
7. Travel Insurance
8. Phone for Traveling

Time to pack your bags!

Making Travel Arrangements to Jerusalem

On a practical level, working with a trusted Catholic tour provider eliminates hassles and creates the needed structure tailor-made to nourish spiritual connection to the Holy Land sites. Choosing tour lengths between 7 and 12 days allows unhurried engagement while avoiding exhaustion or superficial rushing. Biblically-focused Catholic tour guides make factual details come alive with historical and spiritual insights.

Also key is securing proper documentation like passports well beforehand, arranging flights and transportation to link with tour schedules seamlessly, and packaging appropriate clothing that respects cultural norms while enabling comfortable movement. Grounding travel plans in prayer and wise counsel while anticipating needs for each unique situation insures pilgrimage mechanics recede behind powerful time with God amidst sites speaking of his faithfulness across centuries.

Most importantly, pilgrimage to Jerusalem must keep focus on life-changing more than sightseeing. Making travel plans with this priority leads to holy ground encounters, bookending an eternally significant spiritual journey.

How can making a Catholic pilgrimage to Jerusalem help make me a saint?

Ultimately, traveling prayerfully to the Holy Land stands to ignite spiritual transformation, making pilgrims more like Christ—the very essence of genuine “sainthood.”

Walking where Jesus walked, imagining biblical scenes unfolding, encountering land and culture shaping the very prayers and Scripture carried close to Catholic hearts across 20 centuries—this immersive experience holds potential for radical personal revival. The God who met wandering Israelites and Psalmist prayers amidst Jerusalem’s ridges and valleys still touches sojourning hearts today at these same locations millennia later.

Beyond goosebumps moments visualizing Gospel scenes like Palm Sunday adulation, the Last Supper chamber, or even Jesus’ burial and resurrection nearby, pilgrimage beckons our faith to rise up. Suddenly, Peter’s spontaneous step onto stormy seas epitomizes abandoning comfort to fully trust God’s call. Transfiguration glory pulls us up the Mount of Olives through worship. As the Jordan’s waters below Jesus’ baptism site remind how the Father affirms and empowers beloved sons and daughters, shadows of personal doubt or reluctance shrink.

And climbing agonized pavestones of the Via Dolorosa, tracing Christ’s tortured final walk to Calvary, tears mingling with Pilate’s ancient courtyard, we realize Jesus still carries the Cross **for me and you.** Such soul awakenings await in the Holy Land’s depths.

Beyond tracing biblical roots, the cloud of witnesses cheering us onward toward deeper surrendered living becomes so tangible while reflecting on the sacrifices of early saints and reformers arising from this unique landscape. Here, Christian courage was born of costly convictions that still challenge lukewarm faith today.

Indeed, beyond the typical stops highlighted on canned tours lies a personal invitation from the Holy Spirit to experience life change. If we press in for intimate experience with Jesus amidst olive groves, dusty side alleys, or shepherds’ hillside campfires fueling Kingdom parables, epiphany moments will come. Unexpected spiritual insights shining as pearls of great price sanctify seeking hearts. Yes, pilgrimage to Jerusalem, prayerfully engaged, promises to help sculpt modern “living stones” into saints reflecting God’s character in the world today.

Conclusion

Having read about the Novena for Impossible Requests, are you feeling encouraged or lifted up? Writing and discussing the lives of saints can be engaging. I think it will benefit us spiritually.

Is there a simple method you could use to discuss the saints with your family and friends? As opposed to simply purchasing one of these amazing shirts that I made especially for you? Using this page’s search bar at the top, you can find your favorite well-known saints. You could cite the lives of your favorite well-known saints as an example when someone asks you how important your clothes are.

With these inspirational stories, you might even persuade them to come to church with you. Even better, perhaps you could introduce them to the gospel. Can you share the gospel with others?

The truth to the mystery revealed for our existence is this… Romans 3:23 declares that everyone is a sinner and falls short of God’s glory. Thus, everyone needs a Savior.

In order to satisfy the requirements of the law and obtain our pardon, God sent His one and only son, Jesus. Galatians 4:4-5

Jesus had to come to Earth, live a blameless life, and die in order for His blood to offer atonement for our sins. That’s how the Bible puts it.

“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

– Hebrews 9:22

But Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and burial were not the end of the story. Rather, he conquered death and came back to life! He affirms that, since He is alive, He will also bring each of us back to life when we pass away! He triumphed over both death and sin. Thank you, Lord!

Invite your loved ones to the RCIA session at the local Catholic church after educating them about this important information.

Via the RCIA, family members, friends, and acquaintances can join the Catholic Church and receive the Holy Sacraments. Students can participate in RCIA workshops provided by their parish to learn everything there is to know about our lovely Christian faith and our beloved Jesus.

This is the only true method of saving a life. I’m making this wish for you.

Click HERE or on the image to view this Novena for Impossible Requests T-shirt that was specially created for you. Choose your favorite size and color, then click the BUY NOW button to proceed to the payment page.

You can access a list of additional well-known saints on our website by clicking HERE.