Today I am thrilled to join my dear friend Julie from Come Have A Peace for Marriage Mondays! John is headed to his first day at his new job (Praise the Lord!) ~ so I’m going to spend my normal blogging time praying for him and this new opportunity! Enjoy a Marriage Monday repeat…. I’m off to pray for my man!!
First, I should let you know ~ I am not a marriage expert. I am not a trained therapist or counselor. I’ve not written any profound marriage books. I am just a simple girl, passionately in love with Jesus and my man, trying to figure out how to enjoy marriage and celebrate life together. Thankfully, by God’s grace, we will celebrate 10 years together this August! (Can I get a “woo hoo”?!)
I wish I could tell you it’s been 9 1/2 years of pure bliss ~ but I’d be lying. I now look at marriage like a roller coaster ~ an adventure filled with its ups (and downs), twists and turns, excitement and fun, and unfortunately, sometimes, hang on tight, “why did I say yes to this thing?!” times as well.
Thankfully, John and I are enjoying a “Wow, this is really fun” season! And do you know what’s the number one thing I’ve learned to strengthen our marriage over the past decade of being together? The power of prayer!
Years ago, I read Stormie Omartian‘s book the The Power of a Praying Wife. (If you haven’t read it before, please go here ~ you can read/download the first chapter!) Stormie does an awesome job of reminding us of the power and importance of lifting our husbands in prayer.
After a very difficult season of our marriage a few years ago (one that I wasn’t sure we were going to make through) ~ I made a promise that I would pray for John and our marriage every single day.
Unfortunately, at first, I struggled with how to make my promise a reality. You know how it goes ~ life gets busy, right? Kids take up our time, energy, affection. Family members get sick. Life keeps going. We get sidetracked with so many other things to do.
But what I’ve learned is this….I must make time to pray for John and our marriage. Even if it’s while I’m brushing my teeth, washing the dishes, or sick on the couch ~ I’ve made the predetermined decision, regardless of my circumstances, I will pray for my husband and our marriage every single day.
Like Nike says, “Just do it” 🙂
If you feel like it or not….
If he was loving this morning or not…
If he’s praying for you or not….
JUST DO IT! 🙂
One thing that has really helped me make my promise a reality is my Prayer Guide (click here for my Prayer Guide recap).
Using my prayer guide, I can look at John as I pray, record my prayers, and have a list of specific things to pray for him. (See the yellow post-it notes in the pic? My little Sarah used to sit on my lap while I prayed for “Daddy” and write out her prayers too. Aren’t her little notes sweet??)
(In the picture on the left is a download called 31 Days of Praying for Your Husband. You can print it off here)
Please know, I do not use my Prayer Guide everyday (I sure wish I did). There are some days that my prayer time is while I walk the dog, or sit at the bus stop waiting for the kids ~ but thankfully, I can see the FRUIT from committing to praying for our marriage and John every single day. Prayer has breathed new, fresh life into a marriage that was fading fast. Prayer works…of this I am sure!
What about for you?? What have you found has been helpful to strengthen your marriage?? I’d love to hear from you! Also, be sure to join Julie at Marriage Mondays for more great marriage tips!!
Many blessings to you this week!! Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*!
The prayer guide is an awesome idea. I have a hard time remember to actually sit down and pray, like most of us I tend to pray on and off throughout the day…multitasking prayers I suppose.I linked up to you on my monday post!
Wonderful posts!!! Even if it is a re-run, it's still relevant.I joined the SHMILY group on Facebook. The challenge is to pray through The Power of a Praying Wife every day in June.Even though I've used this book for years now, I've never made the commitment to do it every day.It is making a difference in my marriage.We have been married for almost 16 years now and I can say that we NOW have a pretty strong marriage and are still growing by leaps and bounds.God is faithful to bless us in our union.I just posted this morning for Marriage Mondays and one of my first lines is "Prayer does work". I know that with my whole being.Be blessed as you pray for your man in this new adventure!Kela
This is exciting, Cindy, and it sounds like you are spending your day well! I'm rejoicing with you and John and can't wait to hear about it. This message of ministering to our men by praying for them is SO important. Glad you added to Marriage Mondays today. Enjoy this day of gladness in God's provision!!!~Julie
That prayer guide is an awesome idea! I think that would really help me.I totally know what you mean about the roller coaster of marriage, but one day sitting in Sunday school, I noticed a new couple all lovey dovey and mentioned to hubs that they must be newlyweds. When I found out they had been married over 5 years, I was really convicted. I wanted to be "assumed" to be a newlywed – what a testimony!So now I just strive to be my husband's girlfriend every single day, and it sounds like you do too!
I used the prayer guide as a guide to hand write my hubby a letter every day. I wrote the specific prayer for the day and added my own words afterwards. He enjoyed getting these little "love" letters of prayer and devotion.Pam