The Power of a Praying Wife Devotional (27 page)

L
ORD
, show me how to build my husband up in a good and positive way. Reveal to me any areas where he is feeling insecure or inadequate so that I can reassure him of his value. Where he is discouraged, help me to remind him of his accomplishments, abilities, and skills. Help me to encourage him regarding his gifts and calling. Where I am not seeing them clearly myself, reveal to me all that You have put in him so that I can point those things out and help him see them too. Show me ways to build up his confidence, not just in himself, but in Your ability to work powerfully in him.

Where I have in any way contributed to his feeling bad about himself, no matter how innocently, I repent of that. Help me to make up for it and undo any damage it has caused. If I have manifested unforgiveness or resentment, I confess that before You and ask You to help me forgive him for anything I have held against him. Where I have not shown respect for him because of something he has done, or
not
done, restore that esteem in me for him again. He is Your child, just as I am. Help me to always see him as that, and build him up just as You would have me to do. Enable him to do the same for me. I pray You will help us both “pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (Romans 14:19).

In Jesus’ name I pray.

50

Judge not, and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

L
UKE
6:37

C
OMPLETE FORGIVENESS
is often a work in progress. It shouldn’t be like that, because unforgiveness is never God’s perfect will for us. He wants us to forgive everything completely and immediately. After all, that’s what He has done for us. But
He
is
God
and
we
are
not
. We can’t always do things perfectly—at least not without His help—and He knows that. So He helps us to forgive. And forgiveness is crucial in a marriage.

We’ve all heard the horrible stories—and perhaps we have lived through some of them ourselves—of how a husband broke his wife’s heart and destroyed their marriage. And it’s not just about infidelity. It can be other things, such as deception, lying, financial irresponsibility, drinking, gambling, drug abuse, cruelty, carelessness in raising the children, betrayal, verbal abuse, or even something as serious as physical abuse. These are big issues that destroy trust, desire, joy, hope, and enthusiasm for life. If anything like that has happened to you, the first step toward healing is forgiveness. That does not mean you have to sit there and take it. No abuse should be tolerated for even
one
moment. If you are in
any
kind of danger, ask God to help you remove yourself from the abuser and forgive from afar. Abuse is demonic at its source, and it does not get better on its own. It goes against everything God is and what He has for you, and there is no excuse for it. Don’t tolerate it, but get help. Don’t deal with this alone.

If your husband has done something you find hard to forgive—it doesn’t have to be anything as bad as what was mentioned above—ask God to help you. He will.
Remember that forgiving him doesn’t make him right; it makes you free.
And you need that freedom from unforgiveness in order to live in peace. Only God can help you forgive the unforgiveable.

My Prayer to God

L
ORD
, I need Your help in order to forgive my husband completely. I don’t feel like forgiving him for certain things, but I know forgiveness is a choice. And I know that to choose to do anything other than forgive is a dead-end street, and I won’t be able to get beyond it until I turn and repent. Help me to do that so I can move on with my life.

I pray specifically about the thing that upsets me most right now that my husband has done or said. If I am not seeing this situation clearly, show me the truth. Or if I have in any way been partly to blame for this happening, show me what I need to do to bring healing. But if he has done wrong, I pray You would convict his heart about it and draw him to You to make things right. Give him no peace until he repents of what he did and seeks You and Your restoration. When he has found freedom from condemnation before You, help me not to continue to condemn him. Help me to forgive him completely, just as You have forgiven me. Help us both to learn from this entire situation.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

51

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
and He adds no sorrow with it.

P
ROVERBS
10:22

G
OD PROMISES
to “supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” when you love and serve Him (Philippians 4:19). But that doesn’t mean every day, all the time. Sometimes He uses financial need to test us, train us, or teach us. Sometimes He wants us to obey Him by giving more (Proverbs 28:27). Or He wants us to seek Him and trust Him for all our financial blessings (Luke 12:29-31). Other times He is leading us to do something different in our lives, and this is the way He gets our attention so we will follow Him (Psalm 34:10). God always wants us to seek Him first before anything else, because when we do that we will receive all we need (Luke 12:31).

When you pray for financial blessings, ask God to show you whatever you need to see about your finances. Are you experiencing a financial shortfall? Is one about to happen? Do you need to cut expenses? Live a simpler and less expensive lifestyle? Sell something? Change your job? Be wiser in your financial decisions? Give more to Him and to others? Or simply seek Him first for everything and learn to depend on Him for all you need?

David said that he had never seen “the righteous forsaken, nor his descendents begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). He said that “those who seek the L
ORD
shall not lack any good thing” (Psalm 34:10). Let those words be a great encouragement to you. Live God’s way, seek Him for wisdom to guide you in all financial matters, and pray that His financial blessings will bring no sorrow with them.

My Prayer to God