WPB Week 4: His Temptations

Lord,

I pray that You would strengthen my husband to resist any temptation that comes his way. Make him strong where he is weak. Help him to rise above anything that seeks to set up a stronghold in his life. Lord, You've said that "whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls" (Proverbs 25:28).

Amen

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

Prayer topics from Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife. 

Introduction for New Readers

I started this blog in my early 30's in February of 2011 with the belief that my yet-to-be-fulfilled longing for marriage and motherhood could serve as fuel for increasing my prayer life instead of being a source of frustration. The purpose of my Wives Praying Boldly blog is to prayerfully support our marriages - whether you're single and waiting on God's timing, or married and wanting to cover your relationship in prayer, this community is for you. I believe NO marriage or person is ever beyond a miracle! The greatest lesson my Mom & Dad gave me about marriage is that "love is worth fighting for" (my Dad's quote) and they showed me Christ can redeem anything! My Mom has been praying faithfully for her marriage (and for her 5 daughter's marriages) for as long as I can remember. I believe praying boldly is the best gift you can give your husband or future husband. As my life verse says, God is able to do "far more abundantly beyond anything that we can ask or imagine!" Eph. 3:20-21 Please join us in prayer each week & invite anyone who might be interested to join us!

WPB # 3

Week 3: His Finances

Lord, I pray that You will give (my husband or future husband) wisdom to handle money wisely. Help him make good decisions as to how he spends and show him how to plan for the future. I pray that he will find balance between spending needlessly and being miserly. I pray that he will not be anxious about finances, but will seek Your kingdom first, knowing that as he does, we will have all we need. Help us to remember that all we have belongs to You, and be grateful for it. Amen. (all prayer topics from Stormie Omartian's Power of a Praying Wife)

WPB #2

First of all, I need to say thank you to my Mom & Dad who have been an example to me of praying faithfully for their own relationship and the marriages & future marriages of their daughters. I pray with boldness because of you. 

I'm posting this early as I know that some of you might not have Wednesday free and would rather pray today on your lunch break or before you leave for work. There's really no right or wrong way to be involved in this - just set aside time to intercede for the man in your life (or the one who will be!). :) My time is becoming increasingly limited these days, so my friend, Amanda, and I decided to walk & pray on Wednesday afternoons after work, because that's a time slot I can commit to right now. But please do whatever works for you. 

God, I pray that You would be Lord over my husband's work. May he bring You into every aspect of it. Give him confidence in the gifts You've placed in him to be able to seek, find, and do good work. Open up doors of opportunity for him that no man can close. Show me what I can do to encourage him. I pray that his work will be established, secure, successful, satisfying and financially rewarding. Give him strength, faith, and a vision for the future. Help him also to see that he doesn't have to work himself to death for man's approval. Let him be like a tree planted by the stream of Your living water, which brings forth fruit in due season. May he never wither under pressure, but grow strong and prosper. (Psalm 1:3)
Amen.

(excerpt from The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian)

I highly recommend this book, because it helps me stay focused when I pray and it's so specific for every area of a man's life.

And here is the prayer I'm praying for my sweet single friends. It's from Candice Watter's book, Get Married, which is one of the few books for singles I can wholeheartedly recommend. 

Prayer for marriage:

“Lord, You created (insert friend's name). And I believe You created marriage for her good and Your glory. I don’t know Your timeline, but I’m asking You to fulfill her desire for marriage.”

“Thank You, Lord, for this strong desire You’ve placed in her heart. Thank You that You’ve already been where she's headed and that You know what her future holds. Thank You for marriage and for her future husband. Please be with him and prepare his heart to do Your will.

The Best Preparation for Marriage

When I was 18, I used to daydream about preparing for marriage, but it usually involved ways to become outwardly beautiful - workout routines, facials, test driving any product that promised to make my tangled blonde hair more manageable...etc. At 36, though I still want to be beautiful for my future husband, I find myself evaluating my spiritual fitness and beauty far more often, knowing that will impact my future marriage in more meaningful ways than achieving physical perfection (which is an impossible goal anyway!).

Now, I'm not fully awake yet (it's around 3am), but here's what's on my mind as far as marriage preparation goes...

Here's where this all started...hope it's not too jumbled to follow...

Woke up thinking about this quote (I know, I know, why am I up at this hour pondering things like this?) from one of my favorite authors, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, "There is no person who can meet my deepest needs. No one and nothing can make me truly happy, apart from God." I think letting God meet my deepest human needs for acceptance, security and significance will allow me to approach my future husband in a much healthier way. It frees me up to give and serve instead of overwhelming him with my emotional needs.

The common traits I've noticed about the happiest couples I've met are selflessness (interesting how the most satisfied spouses tend to be quick to love sacrificially and seek to serve selflessly), being deeply grounded in their identity in Christ, spending time daily reading the Bible and being faithful prayer warriors.

I remember one of the female speakers at the Pursuit Conference I attended at Focus on the Family this summer saying that the BEST preparation for marriage was to be secure in your identity in Christ. I have 2 sets of what I call Truth cards (statements and verses that affirm my identity in Christ) that I can tuck in my purse or keep on my desk at work to renew my mind with the reality of who God says I am. I'm committing to meditating on these daily. Feel free to join me, if you like. :)

Who I am in Christ

I Am Accepted:

John 1:12 I am God's child

Jon 15:15 I am Christ's friend

Rom. 5:1 I have been justified

1 Cor. 6:17 I am united with the Lord and I am one spirit with Him

1 Cor. 6:19,20 I have been bought with a price. I belong to God

1 Cor 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body

Eph. 1:1 I am a saint

Eph 1:5 I have been adopted as God's child

Eph. 2:18 I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit

Col. 1:14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins

Col. 2:10 I am complete in Christ

I Am Secure:

Rom. 8:1,2 I am free forever from condemnation

Rom. 8:28 I am assured that all things work together for good

Rom. 8:31-34 I am free from any condemning charges against me

Rom. 8:35-39 I cannot be separated from the love of God

2 Cor 1:21,22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God

Col. 3:3 I am hidden with Christ in God

Phil. 1:6 I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will be perfected

Phil. 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven

2 Tim. 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind

Heb. 4:16 I can find grace and mercy to help in time of need

1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me

I Am Significant:

Matt. 5:13, 14 I am the salt and light of the earth

John 15:1,5 I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life

John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit

Acts 1:8 I am a personal witness of Christ

1 Cor 3:16 I am God's temple

2 Cor. 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God

2 Cor 6:1 I am God's coworker

Eph. 2:6 I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm

Eph. 2:10 I am God's workmanship

Eph. 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Another habit that strengthens my spiritual life and will help me in my quest to be a good wife is praying through the armor of God daily. 

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

WPB #1

His Wife / WPB "How To" :)

This quote really encouraged me & I hope you are blessed by it, but more than that, I hope it serves as a catalyst for a more meaningful and dynamic prayer life. May our longings bring us to our knees before His throne of grace!

"You don’t need to deny your longings, your aches, your confusion or your hopes. Rather, let those realities become the powerful fuel for your prayers—for our prayers—for new and robust life."

* For my single readers, please say "my future husband" when applicable. My married or engaged readers will say their husband's name. (the following prayer is from The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. I tend to be more focused when I have prayer topics like this, but you are welcome to pray however works best for you. The point is not a formula - just to encourage women to pray for their marriages and the ones around them)

"Lord ~ help me to be a good wife. I fully realize that I don't have what it takes to be one without your help. Give me a new heart and work in me Your love, peace and joy (Galatians 5:22-23). Only You can transform me.

I pray that the commitment my husband and I have to You and to one another will grow stronger and more passionate every day! Enable him to be the head of the home as You made him to be, and show me how to support and respect him as he rises to that place of leadership. Reveal to me what he wants and needs and show me potential problems before they arise. Breathe Your life into this marriage. Make me a new person, Lord. Give me a fresh perspective, a positive outlook, and a renewed relationship with the man You've given me. Help me to see him with new eyes, new appreciation, new love, new compassion and new acceptance.

I lay all my expectations at Your cross. I release my husband from the burden of fulfilling me in areas where I should be looking to You. Help me to accept him the way he is and not try to change him."

"Ask, and it will be given unto you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

"Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." Mark 11:24

(all prayer topics from Stormie Omartian's Power of a Praying Wife)

Wives in Prayer: A "How To" :)

(I originally wrote this on Monday, February 28, 2011, but am updating some of the information)

I'm so encouraged by all the texts, phone calls and emails already about this Wives in Prayer Venture - I'm excited to see so many who are equally passionate about praying for their marriages (current or future!).

There really is no "right" way to be involved, but for those who would like more guidelines, here's my personal plan:

Each Wednesday, I'm setting aside time to pray for my single friends who desire the ministry of marriage as well as those married friends God lays on my heart. You can pray by yourself, with another friend or group of friends - in person, on the phone, skype - whatever you want! You can also fast (sometimes I do that when I really want to sharpen my focus spiritually) - whether that's from food, sugar, social media or anything He leads you to set aside.

I'm taking some time to pray for all the godly single friends on my list and the prayer (from Candice Watters' book, Get Married,) goes like this:

"Lord, you created (friend's name here). And I believe You created marriage for her good and Your glory. I don't know Your timeline, but I'm asking You to fulfill her desire to be married. Thank You, Lord, for this strong desire You've placed in her heart. Thank You that You've already been where she's headed and that You already know what her future holds. Thank You for marriage and for her future husband. Please be with him and prepare his heart to do Your will."

I hope something in this post resonated with you and encouraged you to pray for your marriage and those around you.

Much love,
Jen

My favorite verse: Ephesians 3:20-21  

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power  that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."