Marriage Monday - Power of a Praying Wife Week 4

Today's topic is a sensitive one, please do not read in front of the kids.
Sex is among the highest of marital problems.  Men and women see sex in different ways. Women need to be loved and romanced before they are in the mood for sex.  Men, on the other hand, need sex first.  This is what shows them they are loved and respected.  For a wife, sex comes out of affection.  She doesn't want to be affectionate with a man who makes her feel angry, hurt, lonely, disappointed, overworked, unsupported, uncared for, or abandoned.  But for a husband, sex us pure need.  His eyes, ears, brain, and emotions get clouded if he doesn't have that release.
When we are married, our bodies are not our own.  Period.  That is straight from the Word of God.  Sex between a married couple is God's own idea.  We owe each other physical attention and we're not to deprive one another.     The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her  husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong  to him alone but also to his wife.  Do not deprive each other  except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may  devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that  Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.   1 Corinthians 7:4-5
Sex connects us in an intimate way that we will never connect with anyone else.  It is something special, designed by God, for your marriage.

Photo Source

Okay, okay, sister.  I hear you.  You have been chasing kids all day, spit up on by a sick baby, dealt with bill collectors or sales calls and you are down right tired.  The last thing on your mind today is to be intimate with your husband. Does that mean you can deny him? No. Remember, sex shows your husband that you love him and respect him.  Instead of saying no to him or trying the ever popular "I've got a headache," ask him to give you a few minutes.  Go into the bathroom and freshen up just a bit. Put on something pretty.  Pretty doesn't have to be uncomfortable, it could simply be a silky nightgown.  Brush your hair, brush your teeth, dab on a little perfume, and light a candle.  Do what makes you feel good and makes you feel feminine.  Then go into your husband with a good attitude ready to connect with him.
Even before he asks you, get your mind ready.  Try teasing your husband a little.  Do the things that help you get in that mindset.  Sneak him a kiss before dinner.  Pat his shoulder as you walk by him.  Wink at him over the dinner table.  Send him a flirty text message.  These little things that we women love will excite him and help get you in the mood for later.
Bad things happen when the sexual part of a marriage is neglected.  Don't let that happen to you.  Keep an eye on the calendar and refuse to allow too much time to go by without coming together physically.  Keep this area of your marriage in prayer.  Even if you do not believe this is an issue right now, pray anyway!  Don't jeopardize or forfeit what God has for your marriage by neglecting to pray for this vital area of your life.

This week's prayer:
Lord, bless mu husband's sexuality and make it an area of great fulfillment for him. Restore what needs to be restored, balance what needs to be balanced.  Protect us from apathy, disappointment, criticism, busyness, unforgiveness  deadness, or disinterest.  I pray that we make time for one another, communicate our true feelings openly and remain sensitive to what each other needs.
Keep us sexually pure in mind and body, and close the door to anything lustful or illicit that seeks to encroach upon us.  Deliver us from the bondage of past mistakes.  Remove from our midst the effects of any sexual experience -in thought or deed- that happened outside our relationship.  Take away anyone or anything from our lives that would inspire temptation to infidelity. Help us to abstain from sexual immorality so that each of us will know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor {1 Thessalonians 4:3-5}.  I pray that we will desire each other and no one else.  Show me how to make myself attractive and desirable to him and be the kind of partner he needs.  I pray that neither of us will ever be tempted to think about seeking fulfillment elsewhere. 
I realize that an important part of my ministry to my husband is sexual.  Help me to never use it as a weapon or means of manipulation by giving and withholding it for selfish reasons.  I commit this area of our lives to You, Lord.  May it be continually new and alive.  Make it all that You created it to be.
Amen.