Praying Over My Marriage (Pt. 1)

Friend,

To be honest, I am writing this in a moment of anger with my husband. Little hurts can build and manifest into large ones, and before you know it, the hurts can be so stacked that you don’t even have the energy to cry over them any longer.

I’ve been dealing with a lot of these little hurts in my marriage, with the latest being a disagreement over how we will observe an upcoming celebration. When I sit back and look at everything, it’s so lame that such a small thing would upset me, but when I add it to the list of reasons why this upsets me, I can’t help but feel weary, unhappy, and alone in my marriage. I have decided to leave out details of our tiff because I do believe that my husband and I should work this out with the help of spiritual mentors and not the internet.

Recently I started reading a book by Lysa TerKeurst, president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and NY Times Bestselling author. I will discuss that book at a later date, but while I was researching, I visited her website and found under her “Freebies” section a resource that was provided: “Praying Boldly for Your Marriage.”

My husband and I have been married a year and some change. I know we still have a lot to figure out about one another, and no one is kidding when they say that marriage is hard work. It’s easy to believe that you will act one way in a situation, only to find that when you are actually presented with a real-life test, you fall short. I have cried out to God about my marriage so many times, only to feel like the same problems and situations arise. But even with my sessions of prayer, when I came across this resource, I knew it was something I had been lead to by God and a challenge to commit more fully to Him the relationship I hold so dear.

So tonight, instead of going to sleep angry, as I really wanted to do, I got up, grabbed my computer, and came out to the living room to pray Day 1 of the marriage prayer challenge. I can hear my husband snoring in the bedroom, which is oddly comforting to me.

For the next 5 days, I am committing to praying these 5 verses over my marriage, intentionally and continuously. I pray that if your marriage needs a bit of a pick-me-up today, that you would join me. God designed marriage, and He specifically designed your marriage and knew what your ups and downs would look like.

I pray that God would provide the healing and support that you need, and that you would “determine to pray more words over your marriage than you speak about your marriage” (Lysa TerKeurst).

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters … You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light” (2 Samuel 22:17 and 29, NIV).

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6, NIV).

“What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31, NIV).

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV).

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful”(Hebrews 10:23, NIV).

 

Rachael ❤