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"As a 24 year old who felt her marriage was over, I could not understand what had gone so wrong. We were both Christians who loved the Lord and each other. How could we be failing so miserably in our marriage? I cried out to the Lord and turned to His Word, but I have to admit that at first it got worse. Why? Because while I read the verses meant for wives, I focused on the verses meant for husbands. I thought I had discovered the problem: look at all the things he isn't doing! If he would just start treating me the way these verses say, then it will be easy for me to submit, respect and love him."
I don't know if you're like this, but sometimes I look at certain couples and think they must have everything together, because they make it look so easy. You know, so glossy-front-cover-of-Thriving-Family magazine kind of easy.
The above excerpt is from my pastor's wife when she did a 6 week Bible study last year called, "His Word for Wives." Her raw honesty was so refreshing to me and her point of revealing her struggles was not to air dirty laundry or inspire sympathy, but to show women how living out Biblical principles and the power of prayer transformed her marriage. Through time in the Word and prayer, God opened her eyes and allowed her heart to become broken and humble before Him. It's a theme throughout Scripture, isn't it? Humility being a prerequisite to God doing amazing works in someone's life, that is. So, through that humility, she was able to focus on what God was calling her to do as a wife and to commit to praying as she hadn't prayed before (not the "Lord, help him see how he needs to change to be the husband / father I need" prayers, but along the lines of praying for ways to bless him.
A point she mentioned about prayer in her Bible study that stood out to me was, "I know that praying for someone binds out hearts to theirs in an amazing way and is powerful in tearing down walls that might have risen up between us - even when they have no idea we are praying!"
I'm so thankful she was humble enough to share her story and I hope reading this renews your belief in the power of prayer. Feel free to pass this on to anyone who might be blessed by it! :)
