The Power of a Praying Wife Devotional (35 page)

L
ORD
, I pray You would establish the work of my husband’s hands for Your purposes. When he needs to work more diligently, I pray You would enable him to do so. When he works too hard and too long, help him to work more effectively in less time so he has proper rest. Take away any anxiety about his work so that he can have peace and joy in it. Put Your favor on him in such a way that it is noticeable to others, even if they don’t understand where it comes from. I pray that people will be attracted to all of You that they see in him, and they will come to understand that You are the source of what they are attracted to.

Help my husband to always have solid and steady employment and for good pay. Give him favor with other people he works with. Enable him to establish his business so that it bears fruit for his efforts. I pray he will do such good work, and be so well appreciated for what he does, that he will always have work to do. When he becomes discouraged in his work, I pray You would give him a fresh vision. Guide him so that he doesn’t make mistakes. Give him wisdom to make the right decisions. I pray he will always have Your favor upon him as a magnificent gift that opens doors and guides him through them. Enable him to accomplish far above what he has hoped. Give him fulfillment in his work and the knowledge that he is doing Your will.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

66

Do not grumble against one another,
brethren, lest you be condemned.
Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

J
AMES
5:9

W
HAT MARRIED COUPLE
has never argued? Do you know of any? Do you and your husband ever argue about anything? If so, you are not alone. In fact, you are in the majority. In a marriage where two entirely different people are becoming one—even though you are already recognized as one in the eyes of the Lord—the reality of your daily lives reveals that it is going to take some work in order to establish that oneness. It is not wrong to have a peaceful disagreement—the honest expression of each person’s perspective—because you are talking things out and coming to an acceptable compromise or agreement. However, when you have frequent arguments, strife, disagreements, and hurtful exchanges, that becomes sin in the eyes of God. And He doesn’t tolerate it.

If you and your husband grumble against each other, condemnation will come from above and you will be in danger of judgment. That judgment can come in many forms, but you will know it by the misery you feel in your soul and the hurt in your heart. You will sense that you have violated the will of God for your marriage relationship and that the consequences for that are too great.

If you recognize this as a problem but are at a loss as to what to do about it, draw a line in the sand. Declare before God that you will not be a party to strife. Ask Him to put an end to strife between you and your husband the moment you begin to argue. Ask your husband to pray with you immediately about the things that are causing you stress. If he refuses to do that, then do it yourself. Your prayers are powerful enough to break that contentious spirit in both of you.

My Prayer to God

L
ORD,
I ask that Your Spirit of peace would reign in my heart and in the heart of my husband. Whenever we have allowed arguing, grumbling, or strife to prevail between us, I confess that to You as sin. I know it does not please You, and so it is not without consequences. Where a spirit of disagreement is dominating our relationship, I ask that You would break that stronghold by the power of Your Spirit. I resist and refuse any plans of the enemy to come between us and create strife, confusion, and misunderstanding. I declare
Your
ways to be our ways.

Thank You that You have given us the mind of Christ. Thank You for giving us the Spirit of peace, unity, agreement, acceptance, and love. Pour those qualities into our hearts in greater measure than we have been open to receiving before. I pray the Judge will not have to stand at our door, because we have chosen to stop all grumbling, bickering, arguing, or fighting. Strike down any argumentative spirit in either of us so that we can always exhibit Your Spirit of patience and reason. Put an end to all strife between us.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

67

Let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water…
And let us consider one another in order
to stir up love and good works.

H
EBREWS
10:22,24

Y
OU CANNOT HAVE
a close walk with God if you entertain thoughts and feelings in your heart that should be brought to God and confessed. (For example, you can’t keep rehearsing over and over in your mind the things that are irritating you about your husband, and then planning a way to get even or thinking of something less than God-glorifying to say.) Because of the blood of Jesus in His victory on the cross, you can choose to walk in a new and living way that brings life. Because of His Holy Spirit in you, you can be cleansed so that your heart is right. Only when your heart is right before God are you free to view your husband in a way that stirs up love in you for him and in him for you.

You always know when your attitude is bad. You feel it heavy in your heart and mind, and eventually it manifests somewhere in your body. The good news is that you can get free of that by confessing it to God, asking Him to cleanse your mind and give you a clean heart full of love and faith. This is one of the best ways to revive a marriage. And you must make an effort to do that whenever necessary.

Even though it may feel good to hang on to a bad attitude for a while because you feel justified in having it, what you need more is to possess a heart and soul washed so clean that it can stir up something good in your marriage.

My Prayer to God