Monday, December 13, 2010

Marriage Mondays: Praying for Your Husband

Today I am thrilled to once again join my dear friend Julie from Come Have A Peace for Marriage Mondays! After an emotional weekend, I'm going to spend my normal "blogging time" praying for my dear husband John and thanking God for blessing me with such an incredible, understanding husband. Enjoy a Marriage Monday repeat.... I'm off to pray for my man!!

First, I should let you know ~ I am not a marriage expert. I am not a trained therapist or counselor. I've not written any profound marriage books. I am just a simple girl, passionately in love with Jesus and my man, trying to figure out how to enjoy marriage and celebrate life together. Thankfully, by God's grace, we celebrated 10 years together this August! (Can I get a "woo hoo"?!)


I wish I could tell you it's been 10 years of pure bliss ~ but I'd be lying. I now look at marriage like a roller coaster ~ an adventure filled with its ups (and downs), twists and turns, excitement and fun, and unfortunately, sometimes, hang on tight, "why did I say yes to this thing?!" times as well.

Thankfully, John and I are enjoying a "Wow, this is really fun" season! And do you know what's the number one thing I've learned to strengthen our marriage over the past decade of being together? The power of prayer!

Years ago, I read Stormie Omartian's book the The Power of a Praying Wife. (If you haven't read it before, please go here ~ you can read/download the first chapter!) Stormie does an awesome job of reminding us of the power and importance of lifting our husbands in prayer.

After a very difficult season of our marriage a few years ago (one that I wasn't sure we were going to make through) ~ I made a promise that I would pray for John and our marriage every single day.

Unfortunately, at first, I struggled with how to make my promise a reality. You know how it goes ~ life gets busy, right? Kids take up our time, energy, affection. Family members get sick. Life keeps going. We get sidetracked with so many other things to do.

But what I've learned is this....I must make time to pray for John and our marriage. Even if it's while I'm brushing my teeth, washing the dishes, or sick on the couch ~ I've made the predetermined decision, regardless of my circumstances, I will pray for my husband and our marriage every single day.

Like Nike says, "Just do it" :)

If you feel like it or not....

If he was loving this morning or not...

If he's praying for you or not....

JUST DO IT! :)

One thing that has really helped me make my promise a reality is my Prayer Guide (click here for my Prayer Guide recap).



Using my prayer guide, I can look at John as I pray, record my prayers, and have a list of specific things to pray for him. (See the yellow post-it notes in the pic? My little Sarah used to sit on my lap while I prayed for "Daddy" and write out her prayers too. Aren't her little notes sweet??)

(In the picture on the left is a download called 31 Days of Praying for Your Husband. You can print it off here)

Please know, I do not use my Prayer Guide everyday (I sure wish I did). There are some days that my prayer time is while I walk the dog, or sit at the bus stop waiting for the kids ~ but thankfully, I can see the FRUIT from committing to praying for our marriage and John every single day. Prayer has breathed new, fresh life into a marriage that was fading fast. Prayer works...of this I am sure!

What about for you?? What have you found has been helpful to strengthen your marriage?? I'd love to hear from you! Also, be sure to join Julie at
Marriage Mondays for more great marriage tips!!

Many blessings to you this week!! Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*!


4 comments:

Lisa Grace said...

Love this post! So glad I clicked on your link over at Marriage Mondays. Off to explore your blog :)

Heidi said...

Really wonderful post! I'm downloading your 31 days of praying for your husband! Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability. Marriage is hard for sure, but we have a God that will get us through and it'll be worth it!
Blessings,
Heidi

Unknown said...

Thank you, Cindy. :D I'll be printing out the "31 days of praying for your husband" list.

Heidi Pocketbook said...

I just printed the list out, thanks for linking to it.

Marriage isn't easy, and I think your comparing it to a roller coaster is spot on. Just when you think you've figured it out, it changes, lol!

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