PRAYING FOR A WHOLE SPOUSE!!

"Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."  1 Peter 3:7 (KJV)

A lot of women want to point out the last part of the above scripture, citing that the husband's prayers will be hindered when/if he's not giving honour to the wife.  But why is the wife worthy of honour?  The scripture also says that the husband and wife are "heirs TOGETHER of the grace of life", so in order to be an heir, the wife also has some requirements.  Verse 6 says that "Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord..." I know I probably lost a lot of you right there!  If we go back to the start of the chapter...to verse 1 of 1 Peter, chapter 3; it's spelled out.  When wives submit to their husbands, with a pure heart and out of reverence (first to God), then to the husband; the bible says that the husband may "be won over without words by the behavior of their wives".  All the wife has to do, is seek God, pray, keep her peace and let God do the rest.

And while you're at it ladies, pray that your husband grows spiritually.  Not that he becomes a preacher or starts hosting bible study every week (and there's nothing wrong with that either), but you want his spiritual growth to be authentic and genuine.  You want his spiritual growth to be based on application of God's word in his life and a real relationship with God.  This spiritual growth may be hindered, if your husband's emotional growth is stunted.  

A lot of men, especially African American men, are emotionally immature.  I'm not saying that in a judgmental way, but moreso because men were boys that were taught to stifle their emotions or let them rage.  Most men were never taught to process or even better explore their emotions.  As a result, their emotions are cocooned until a trauma rips them from incubation prematurely, struggling to recover.  When they show up again, it's usually in a relationship with a woman who is expecting more than he has the capacity to give.  This is why praying for your husband's emotional growth is important.  You want his emotional growth to begin with healing the hurt and trauma of the past.  You want his emotional growth to be healthy and thrive, so that you can grow emotionally together and enjoy one another physically.  

Lord, we lift up our husbands to You and ask that You draw them nearer.  We pray that they desire a closer walk with thee.  Help us to be sensitive to the hurt in their past that is manipulating their interactions with us now.  We pray for a renewing of their minds with regard to their physical health and that they present their bodies as a living sacrifice to You.  In Jesus name, Amen!

PRAYING FOR REPAIR!!

In every relationship there are at least two people.  That means there will always be two sides to everything.  Before you constantly point the finger at the other person and determine that he/she is the one that's wrong, you must examine yourself, your role in every issue and most importantly, your brokenness.  If you truly want to mend the broken pieces, start with you and your part!  Today's prayer, though six (6) years old, is right on time.  FIX IT JESUS!!!

A MOMENT OF PRAYER - written by The Honorable Kimberly Cocroft, October 28, 2014

Good morning, Father! Thank you for this opportunity and privilege of prayer and for allowing us to see another day!

This morning, we come before you lifting fractured and broken relationships. Some of us went into situations with the best of intentions and, for whatever reason, things fell apart. We said the wrong thing, we did the wrong thing, we talked too much, we didn't talk enough, we were selfish, we took people for granted, we weren't honest, we were disrespectful, we weren't ready to be or do what we said we could be or do - there is so much that went haywire. And now, many of us are left hurting, resentful, confused, disappointed, disenchanted, disengaged and unable to press past the pain. But your Word says that you heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds. Your Word declares that you are the Repairer of the Breach.

So today, God, we call on you to be the mender of shattered things. Work on us as we work on our relationships. Give us the courage and compassion to fix what we've messed up. Give us the humility to make things right, even if we've done nothing wrong. Give us the strength to move forward with a spirit of restoration and understanding. Make all things and situations new, in the name of The Lord.

Please continue to keep us and our babies safe from all hurt, harm and danger. We thank you for hearing this prayer and count all of these things as done in your Son's name - Amen! God is good! And don't forget - take the time to show love to someone on today. Life is short and time is precious!

#corporateprayer

#prayerchangesthingsandpeople

#gobackandmakethingsright

PRAYING SO I DON'T SLIP!!

"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.   Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?   And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."  Pslams 73:21-28 (NIV)

The hardest thing to do, in my opinion, is to pray for someone that you feel has hurt you or betrayed you.  In our human/flesh state, we don't feel that the person deserves our prayers and if we're honest, oftentimes we want the total opposite of blessings for someone that has caused us pain.  The pain is deeper, the closer that person is to you or the more value put on the relationship.  There are many relationships that can cause pain in our lives, familial, friendships, even work relationships; but the one that can hurt the most is the marriage relationship.  Why?  It's because our spouse is the one person to whom we're most vulnerable.  Accordingly, our spouse is one person that can hurt us like no other.  So when that happens, our natural inclination is not to pray for them.  However, if you don't want to find your foot slipping and yourself headed for a fall; you must pray for them!  When we do good, despite the wrongs done to us; "...the Lord shall reward thee" (Proverbs 25:22).  Now when you read that scripture, it's talking about an enemy and I'm not saying your spouse is your enemy.  I AM saying that satan will have you believe your spouse is the enemy and that's why it's even more important that we combat the REAL ENEMY with the proper weapon.

Lord, I know that Your love is for everyone.  I know that even when/if I don't feel like loving my spouse; You still love them!  In my bitter and broken state, it is easy for me to yield to my flesh and not Your spirit.  If I'm honest Lord, I'm tired of going through the motions, but You have not given up on me, so I won't give up either.  You continue to hold me close, so I will continue to hold on.  I give You all my hurts and fear.  If pain is weakness leaving the body, as I am weak in your presence; I now know that You are taking the pain away and strengthening me.  Your word says, "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12).  Thank You Lord for never letting me go...never letting us go.  Amen!