The devil issuch a bad devil. But thank God we have a good God! Left for the devil, he doesn’t want any progress for your life or marriage. So he comes up with several devices, just to keep you ultimately away from God.
He would use just anybody around you to fight and attack you and bring weariness and tiredness to your soul. He would incite strife, depression, and moodiness just to create problems.
The fire in marriage should not be allowed to go out. The fire in you as a child of God must not die.
Are you in that place and it looks your spiritual life dropped after you got married?
There could be a lot of reasons responsible for that. It could be a result of unexpected pressures arising from the transition from being single to becoming a married person. It could be that marital activities and the desire to please your spouse overtook the time you usually spend with God.
However, it is your passion for God that must be prioritized.
As David noted:
Psa 42:1 (KJV) As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
This panting, this passion, must not be substituted with any other thing!
I so much love how Message Translation puts this.
Psa 42:1 (MSG) A psalm of the sons of Korah. A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek; I want to drink God, deep draughts of God.
You must keep drinking from God, deeply. This is what ignites the fire in your soul and in your marriage.
The fire in your life must not go out. The fire in your marriage must not go out. The fire in your bedroom must not go out.
Keep the embers fired up with honesty, faithfulness, love, submission, and absolute focus on God and your spouse.
May God’s help never cease in your life and marriage!
Have a beautiful day and see you tomorrow for another word from the Lord.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marital fire will not be extinguished.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that you will remain on fire for God even after marriage
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Psa 42:1 (KJV) As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY What were those things you did before getting married? Are you still doing them?
The last way we will look at, in this series where we are learning how to pray, is by listening and watching others.
At home, listen to how your parents pray. Notice their choice of words, what they use to pray, where and how they pray, whether they hold hands, do they pray in the Holy Ghost? Do they shout or mutter to themselves? When do they raise their voices? What do they do then? Do they say a prayer at night? How often? What time at night? Do they say a prayer in the morning? How often? What time in the morning? This is a way of learning how to pray.
This list is just a way for you to see how prayer is done. What you notice might not be how you would want to do yours, but it would certainly help you to learn the art of prayer.
At church, watch how people pray. Sure, you will see tons of differences there. Again, you are not meant to follow everything you see. The Holy Spirit can give you your own way. He will supply you with the words to use. That is how unique you are to God. Yes, you are unique to God and He will teach you how to pray too.
Watching and listening to fellow Christians praying is meant to point out to you where you need to improve, how to improve, what to stop doing, and what to continue. You learn, unlearn and relearn.
The bible says we should not abandon the gathering of brethren. I believe this is to help us grow spiritually. Part of spiritual growth in Christianity is learning how to pray. When in the presence of other brethren regularly, we grow our prayer muscles.
Iron sharpens iron as the bible says, so, if you want to learn how to pray, one sure way to do that is to watch and listen to other believers when they say a prayer. Be a sponge and soak what you see. Also, as a sponge get ready to be squeezed – flushing out wrong perceptions about prayer, building your prayer muscles for more spiritual growth, and learning new ways and things about prayer.
May God bless you with the grace to learn how to pray. Amen.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for the wonderful believers you have surrounded me with. I ask that you enable me to glean from their prayer life. Let the Holy Spirit lead me on which to use, let go of, and continue using, in Jesus name, amen.
Action point: Learn how to pray by taking a good look at your parents when next they pray. Note how they do so – time, words, gestures, voice intonation, et cetera. Look at three believers you know, either at church or elsewhere, notice how they say their prayer too. What do you like about how all these people pray? What does the Holy Spirit say about them to you?
Yesterday, we started on how the Holy Ghost helps us to pray as children. Let’s continue with more benefits of praying in the Holy Ghost.
Sometimes, while praying in the spirit, God could drop a word that you should continue to pray or stop. He could also give you simple instructions.
More benefits of praying in the Holy Ghost is that it helps you to trust the Holy Spirit more and more. You trust the process – that every time you engage in prayer using the Holy Spirit, He connects you directly to the Father and helps speak what is on your mind to Him.
The bible says the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf with groaning. He teaches us what to say, when, and how to do so. This was evident in the lives of the disciples after they received the Holy Spirit.
More benefits of praying in the Holy Ghost is that it helps you pray with ease. It’s a language you don’t know how the words are formed. Even if you write them down, they don’t follow any earthly language pattern. They just flow out of your spirit.
You can also praise God in the Holy Spirit. Praising God in a language you don’t know. How sweet does that sound? God hears you call Him beautiful names in the language of heaven. Don’t you think God will smile?
One final thing the Holy Spirit can do is to lead you to pray for someone somewhere who might be in danger at a particular time. This is also part of more benefits of praying in the Holy Ghost. He asks you to pray to help avert danger or get help. This way, he leads you to intercede on someone’s behalf as He does on our behalf with God. So, you can see the immense benefits of having the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit can be imparted into you either by another believer or the Holy Spirit Himself. If you are yet to receive the Holy Spirit, ask your parents, pastor, or another believer full of the Holy Spirit to lay hands on you.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will come upon you in Jesus name. Amen.
Prayer: Dear Holy Spirit, thank you for all that you are. LORD, open my eyes to more benefits of praying in the Spirit. I ask that you come upon me and teach me how to pray. Help me to pray from the heart of the father in Jesus name. Amen.
Marriage is the placewhere you will have to come to terms with the practicality of forgiveness. In other relationships, forgiveness is also essential but it may not be as that of marriage.
In marriage, you will have to forgive for the relationship to be healed. You and your spouse cannot avoid each other. You live together, have children together, for the sake of peace and progress, forgiveness is very necessary.
The standard of the Word of God is so high. That’s why it is a narrow road that leads to heaven. The Bible does not mince words when we are told to love our enemies. Hmmm. I thought we should love our friends and well-wishers and stay clear and avoid our enemies.
The bible tells us to love them, and bless those who curse us. That is pretty hard; a hard pill to swallow. I believe that is why we have to live in the spirit so we do not gratify the lust of the flesh. We need the Holy Ghost power. We cannot do it in our own natural strength.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44 KJV
Our differences will most often act as a threat to our marital union and our mandate as couples. It will pose a problem to our becoming one. The natural man tends to be selfish and only the one that is submitted to Christ and His word can love genuinely.
It is easier for women to hold on to hurts and have difficulty forgiving. Women are hurt deeply essentially because they are emotional beings and because they analyze more. Whichever way, let God be true and every man a liar. The standard of God’s word must be followed. A different gospel is not for men and another for women. We are to follow and obey the same word. We should allow the Holy Spirit to rightly discern the situation and analyze it for us.
God is not saying we should not be hurt, angry, or need time to heal. We should do that and then get over it and move on. That’s where power lies. That’s where victory begins. The Word says we should be angry but we are not permitted to sin.
We sin when we over-analyze. There is a spiritual way to analyze things that instead of being bitter we become better. When we allow bitterness we open the door for other demons to enter our lives and afflict us. Disobedience opens the door for the enemy of our souls. We open the door for sicknesses, diseases, poverty, disfavor, et cetera.
Joseph could have wasted his life being bitter. He could have lost years by being bitter. He could have lost opportunities, but he chose to enjoy where he is on his way to being better and his way to where God is taking him to.
Joseph saw his brothers who sold him into slavery and he analyzed the situation well with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said what they meant for evil, God used it to preserve many lives. Can you allow that situation to become a tool in the hands of God?
I am not saying it will be easy. That’s where taking up your cross daily and following God is about.
Couples, learn to give that situation to God. You are reviled, persecuted, unjustly treated, abused, afflicted, cheated, et cetera. . Surrender it to the Lord. Give it to Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to make you see what it really is. Until Joseph saw correctly, he could not forgive and forget.
Jesus was able to pass through the cross because he saw well. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. He could say father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. God is able to turn things around and make your mess a message that will liberate thousands.
Don’t fight your spouse, forgive and move on. Learn what you are to learn. Don’t be afraid of being misjudged or treated unfairly. Jesus was wrongly and falsely accused. He shut His mouth and didn’t answer back. It was though, but in the end, He was justified and glorified
Ask the Lord to help you see well and He will come to your aid.
God bless your marriage
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I amseeing well. I choose to forgive ahead.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask for the help of God concerning your marriage.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Matthew 5:44 KJV But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
A few things to note: 1. Let the leadership of the church be in the know with your decisions. Not with the intent of manipulating you, but to provide counsel relating to your decisions.
2. Don’t join a church for the sole purpose of getting a guy or a lady. Go there because you want to serve God. 3. Serve God genuinely and get busy for Him. When you get busy for God, God will get busy for you. 4. Let the pastor know before you ask a lady for her hand in marriage. It helps you to be orderly about it. In one of the churches where I had pastored, a guy went to propose to a lady who is already married with child. This could have been avoided if he went about it the right way. 5. Before you say ‘Yes,’ tell your pastor about it. Ask questions about him, what he does and where he is coming from. Imagine this kind of conversation:
Lady: Pastor, I will be getting married next month. Pastor: Good. To who? Lady: His name is Buddy Pastor: What does he do? Lady: I don’t really know… I think business. Pastor: Is he born again? Lady: He said so Pastor: Where does he worship Lady: ehmmm…I have forgotten the name of his church Pastor: Is he a worker in his church? Lady: He said he will start after marriage Pastor: Does he drink? Lady: He said he has stopped…. except for small stout for his health.
And so on.
Is this lady doing the right thing? No! You don’t fall in love with strangers! This is why weddings are canceled a few days before the proposed date. 6. Let God guide you, not your feelings alone. Feelings come and go, but God’s word will endure forever. 7. Become friends first. Let it grow. Don’t go and tell somebody you met two hours ago that you are in love. You cannot love somebody you don’t know! There is a difference between love and lust. 8. If a guy in church who is active or who is a leader is asking for jeru trip, disconnect from such a person, or you will soon yield to the pressures. You don’t visit such a person at home! Definitely, something will happen.
For those in courtship, do you find yourself in a situation where you think you might have made a mistake? Well, you need to stop afflicting yourself. What you need to do now is the way forward and not some regretful emotions. Get into a prayerful mode and ask God to intervene. Seek counsel from your pastors and mentors as well. God will surely send help to you and make everything new for you.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not fall in love with the wrong person
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask that God opens the eyes of your understanding
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. (Psalms 143:10 KJV)
