Marriage Monday - Power of a Praying Wife Week 21

Marriage is hard. Anyone who says different is being untruthful. Marriages takes two people from two different worlds coming together. We are made to merge and meld our life with another person. Two flames becoming one. It can be hard.

In Power of a Praying Wife, author Stormie Omatian shares a story. She tells that she did not want to marry someone with an interest in sports. Her husband fulfilled that, he did not care for sports. Years into their marriage he grew a deep excitement and passion for many sports. This bothered Stormie and she prayed that God would take this passion away. Instead, God changed her heart. Now they have a healthy balance and respect in this area.

Marriage is great when two people enter into it with a mutual commitment to keep it strong no matter what. But often a couple will have preconceived ideas about who the other is and how married life is supposed to be, and then reality hits. When that 'honeymoon' phase is over, or maybe when he develops a taste for something as Stormie's husband did, life gets tough. It's no longer roses and sunshine, but now it is something we must work intentionally at.

Something I have learned in marriage is to not pray that God changes my husband. Rather, pray that God would change my heart. That He would give me understanding and wisdom. This may mean that God will change our husband if he is not following God, but if this means hours of Sportscenter no longer bothers me, or golf games with a buddy do not aggravate me, so be it.

Praying for our marriage, praying for our husband's wife, and praying for our husband, should be a top priority. A daily act, a daily covering on our marriage.

Don't take your marriage for granted no matter how great it is. Pray for your marriage to be protected from any person or situation that could destroy it. If you are in a place in your marriage where you can say I am not facing this. Everything is okay, we still need to pray for our marriage during those good times. Never take those good times for granted.

Do you regularly pray for your marriage? Do you pray these prayers each week?

This week's prayer:

Lord, I pray You would protect our marriage from anything that would harm or destroy it. Shield it from our own selfishness and neglect, from the evil plans and desires of others, and from unhealthy or dangerous situations. May there be no thoughts of divorce or infidelity in our hearts, and none on our future. Set us free from past hurts, memories and ties from previous relationships and unrealistic expectations from one another. I pray that there be no jealousy in either of us, or the low self-esteem that proceeds that. Let nothing come into our hearts and habits that would threaten the marriage in any way, especially influences like drugs, alcohol, gambling, p*rnography, lust or obsessions.

Unite us in the bond of friendship, commitment, generosity, and understanding. Eliminate our immaturity, hostility, or feelings of inadequacy. Help us to make time for one another alone, to nurture and renew the marriage and remind ourselves of the reasons we were married in the first place. I pray that {husband's name} will be committed to You, Lord, that his commitment to me will not waiver, no matter what storms come. I pray that our live for each other will grow stronger every day, so that we will never leave a legacy of divorce to our children.

Amen