Thursday 16th January 2020 Devotion
Scripture Reading:- Ephesians 6:11-24
Topic:- How To Pray During Marital Conflict [2]
Text:- Psalm 133:1
B. Pray for Purity and Kindness:
a. Pray that God will strengthen your spouse when he or she faces temptation and that he will enable him or her to be considerate toward the other. It’s vital that you put on the whole armor of God, both individually and jointly, and that you regularly pray with and for each other.
b. Jesus warned his followers not to yield to lust which, he said, was tantamount to adultery. He also taught them to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (or the evil one).” See Matthew 5:28; 6:13.
c. Wives, therefore, pray for your husband that God would strengthen him by his grace when he encounters sexual temptation. Pray that he would be like Joseph who remained strong in the face of persistent temptation and even ran from it when needed. See Genesis 39:12.
d. Husbands, pray that your wives would be pure, holy, and godly, staying away from gossip, slander, and any other sin or spiritual defilement. See 1 Timothy 2:9-10; Titus 2:5; 1Peter 3:2,5.
e. Pray for each other—for wisdom, for relief from stress, for kindness, just as Peter wrote that husbands should be considerate toward their wives (literally, treat them “according to knowledge”) so that their “prayers may not be hindered.” Wives, pray that by God’s grace your husband will treat his sisters in Christ “in all purity.” See 1 Timothy 5:2; 1 Peter 3:7.
C. Pray for Wisdom and Direction:
a. Pray for wisdom, guidance, and direction individually and jointly. See James 1:5; 4:2-3.
b. Your marriage is meant to be a steady ship, secure amid the high waves and torrents of the culture and the spiritual enemy threatening to engulf and entangle you.
c. Pray, therefore, for wisdom, guidance, and direction, both individually and jointly. Remember, you’re no longer two but one. See Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31.
d. While spouses don’t lose their individuality—in fact, a healthy marriage encourages each spouse to develop his or her unique identity to the fullest—they are to be one and unified in jointly moving in the same direction. This calls for wisdom and a sense of God’s calling.
e. Again, pray that God would show you how to partner in your joint mission for him. Pray for unanimity. Pray for your husband to lead well or for your wife to be able to respect you.
f. Pray that God would enable you to honor each other by living out your God-given roles toward each other.
Pray for Fruit
D. Pray for lasting fruit to result from your marriage:
a. At creation, God charged the first humans, male and female, to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” See Genesis 1:28.
b. In fact, being fruitful and exercising joint dominion as God’s representatives is a big part of what it means for humanity to be created in God’s image and likeness. Normally, such fruitfulness and multiplication will mean having children and raising them to love and serve God. See Ephesians 6:4.
c. If you don’t have any children yet, pray that God would allow you to have children. If you do, pray that God would allow you to be devoted parents and to lead your children to trust Christ and follow Him in committed discipleship.
d. In addition, pray for spiritual fruit to be borne through you and your spouse individually and jointly. This includes growth in godly character and the pursuit of Christian virtues, which Paul calls “the fruit of the Spirit.” See Galatians 5:22-23.
e. Pray that your home, marriage, and family be increasingly characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Prayer Point:- I command total unity both spiritual, mentally and physically should begin to manifest in my marriage henceforth by fire, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Have A Glorious Thursday!
