MARRIAGE: Prayer maintains it.

Welcome back to the marriage series I’ve been sharing on. If you are seeing this for the first time, feel free to start from Part one then go on to Part two and to Part three.

My husband and I were great friends before walking down the aisle and it was so beautiful to see our friendship or relationship journey which began in 2010 continue for life. After we were joined in church and reception had ended, we headed home to begin our forever journey.

Now there were two different individuals living together and for me, I love well laid beds, things kept in order, and many more. Thanks to OCD. Now these little things were always getting on my nerves and I also was getting on my husband’s nerves. If I were to mention, you will laugh at the things that tripped us off. But it was real.

Four months into our marriage, I saw a book with a colleague and I went online and searched for it. “The Power of Praying” books by Stormie Omartian was just what I needed. I purchased them and began to read it, digest it and developed a habit of praying for my husband and I soon found out, things I didn’t tolerate, I began to. Things that tripped my dearest off, didn’t. A new lifestyle began. That doesn’t mean we all of a sudden didn’t offend each other. Off course, we did but it became easy and natural to forbear, forgive and to apologize.

Praying for your spouse and your marriage addresses so many areas that words would naturally not be effective in. Every godly marriage should be maintained by prayer. Husbands pray for your wives and wives should pray for their husband. While sometimes the enemy try to always make us see every fault in our spouse, we also need to pray that God takes away the critical spirit in us and replace with a forbearing one.

When I began to see the power prayer has in my home, I’ll rather pray about a matter before telling my boyfriend because after this, I either know how best to bring my request or my husband just is receptive to my request.

The mistake most couple make is that we feel that the man would all of a sudden change and same for the woman; but you must understand that they are humans and something they have always done or a particular way they have always lived, for over 20-30 years doesn’t just take few nights to change. You must be ready to maintain your marriage with prayer. Just like weight loss, you maintain a new acquired weight by exercising and eating healthy, so also your marriage. You’ve gotten the man or woman God has given you, maintain them by praying for them and confessing scriptures over their lives.

Prayer is the one tool that fixes everything but you must know that if you want everything fixed, you must be ready to be fixed by this powerful tool. Answers may not come as suddenly as you expect because many a-times, the prayer needs to work in us to open our eyes and mind to see the results it would bring out in our spouse.

The birth of “Beautiful Wives Prayer Challenge” was as a result of this. To see Christian women and men harness the free powerful tool God has given us and take charge as we build a long lasting and love living marriage. We would be having our third edition in December and I invite you to join in. Twelve days of praying for you and your spouse.

I will be sharing the last on this series next week. Until then, remain in God’s love and stay beautiful.