I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but today is our second-last marriage vow. The last one will be here on Monday.
But fear not because there are plenty of other great things coming your way. One will be a printable with all of the marriage vows listed, and another will be an eBook free to subscribers that contains all 21 of the marriage vows. I’ll also continue sharing marriage encouragement and inspiration.
Now onto today’s vow…
“To Uphold Our Marriage in Prayer”
This afternoon my daughter called me from school to ask me a question about her schedule. Just before hanging up she said, “Pray for my exam, Mom. This is my career–it’s important to me!”
Totally cute since she’s only in grade nine, but I did make sure to take a few minutes out of my day to pray for her exam.
Again tonight before going to bed she said, “Okay mom, make sure you pray for my marks okay? I’m hoping I did alright on the exam. And can you also pray for my next semester?”
This sudden interest in prayer is new and alive in her. I love to watch how it’s constantly on her mind, and that she’s taking both the little things and the big things to prayer. Most of all I love that it’s more than a ritual or a last resort–it’s a passion.
“We say ‘all we can do now is pray’ like prayer is the last kid picked in dodge ball.That’s so dumb because prayer is not a last resort. Prayer is a nuclear weapon. Joshua prayed 13 words and called the sun to stand still in the sky.” ~ Steven Furtick
I love that, “Prayer is a nuclear weapon.” If more couples prayed together, less couples would struggle. If more couples were united in faith, less would step out of their marriage.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware that the divorce rate is just as high among Christians as it is among non Christians. But I have to wonder how many of those couples were united in prayer–together–seeking the will of the Lord for their marriage.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean that your marriage will be stronger than anyone else’s, but when Christ is put at the center of that marriage it does.
There’s a popular graphic that many of you have probably seen before. It’s called the marriage triangle. The triangle illustrates how a husband and wife who are focused on the Lord will naturally grow closer together.
So it is with life. So many couples would rather travel half the distance and put in a fraction of the effort it takes to make a good marriage work. And fewer yet put God at the center of marriage.
My vow today is to pray for my marriage, and I know that Michael is praying the same.
For those of you who are alone in this–whose husbands aren’t seeking the will of God for your marriage I remind you of this: don’t underestimate the power of prayer or consider it your last resort. The power of prayer is a dynamic force.
Maybe you’ve come to a place where you feel like there’s nothing else that you can do. Pray. You can’t change the heart of a man, but the same God who hung the sun and the moon in the sky certainly can!
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. ~ Proverbs 21:1
Today’s Vow: To Uphold Our Marriage in Prayer
The Challenge: Take time every day to pray for your marriage, and if he’s willing, ask your husband to join you in praying too.
You are loved by an almighty God,
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do you REALLY think that Christians who have divorced did not pray wholeheartedly for their marriages? It’s easy to put a diagram on a blog entry. It’s easy to be judgmental from a safe, secure marriage. It’s easy to offer simplistic solutions when the reality is that marriages between mature, dedicated Christians who pray daily and desire God’s guidance for their lives and for their marriage—end in divorce every day. The church is really failing its constituents in this respect. Christians OUGHT to have a lower-than-the-general-population divorce rate. We need REAL help for Christian marriages, not preachy little diagrams.