My Challenge to You
What does prayer look like in the life of a wife who desires to bring life to her marriage?
Could this be a picture of me praying by the kitchen sink while I’m washing my dishes? It could be. And yes–the Lord assures me that my eyes might be open as I take in the view from the back yard. I see the trees that my husband and I planted together, and I praise God for his gift of a husband.
Could this be a picture of me praising the Lord as I snuggle in close to my husband at night? What about that quiet moment in the afternoon when I’m folding his laundry?
Home is the tapestry I weave day in and day out, and prayer is the loom upon which I place my thread. Every prayer is a gift of love I stitch into their lives.
Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (KJV)
Marriage is giving of yourself tirelessly down paths you’d never imagine to travel. Through sickness and pain, poverty and loss, it’s carrying the weight of another. It’s being the smile they see in the morning, and the body they hold close at night. It’s pure love. It’s standing together in the face of adversity. It’s riding alongside each other in a battle that threatens to tear down your marriage and seeks to grab hold of your faith. It’s strength under pressure.
I challenge you as I challenge myself to draw closer to God by equipping ourselves with the gospel, taking time out for prayer, and walking according to His will–not ours. I pray that we will hunger for more than a lukewarm marriage and half-hearted faith, by pursuing God with all of hearts.
This is an excerpt in part from Messy: Beautiful Love by Darlene Schacht. Used with permission from Nelson Books © 2014.
What You Can Expect:
I’ll be posting encouragement on the blog, Monday – Friday during the entire month of October. Each day will have a post or a video, a challenge, and a short prayer. The posts and prayers are based on my new book, Messy Beautiful Love: Hope and Redemption for Real-Life Marriages.
What You’ll Get:
A set of 31 Printable Prayer Cards, “31 Prayers for my Marriage.”
A PDF copy of the Messy Beautiful Love Study Guide
Encouragement throughout the month
How to Join:
Pick up a copy of Messy Beautiful Love
Subscribe to the blog (below) so you don’t miss a post.
Leave a comment on this post indicating that you are committed to praying with us.
Email me at unlockmyfreebies@gmail.com with the words, “Prayer Challenge,” so that I can email you the study guide and printable prayer cards. Note: please allow me time to respond as I’m not always online. Also gmail has a limit of 1,000 emails/day and I’ve had over 1,000 replies so far. For each thousand I have to wait 24 hours again. Hopefully you’ll get my reply within the next 24 hours.
Jumping in Late?
No problem. Commit yourself to 31 Days of Prayer. Don’t go back and start at the beginning, but start on the most current post. Once we reach the end of the month, you can go back and read the ones you missed. That way you’re not left behind.
To find all of the 31 Days of Prayer posts: Click here
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife