The ultimate goal of every marriage is for both the husband and the wife to grow increasingly in love and intimate with each other.
When you look at your marriage, can you say of the truth that you and your spouse are growing in love?
You may start out not being so close with each other in terms of understanding each other, but as the years roll by, you should be growing in intimacy.
However, it takes some couples longer years to grow to that level of intimacy. Some couples are like cat and mouse. They have not been able to work out their differences.
It is like a rat race, the husband always wants the wife to be exactly like him and vice versa. They always want to fashion their wife into what they want or what they feel she should be like. The same thing with the wife, always trying to make her husband into her image of what a husband should be.
God has not called us to the ministry of changing our spouses. It is a futile ministry, a ministry that will never prosper. If anything, you will end up having a spouse who is a clone of himself or herself.
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Allow your spouse to grow at his/her pace. Don’t try to change your spouse. Your spouse is not essentially your primary responsibility in terms of monitoring him /her. Do more prayer and intercession for your spouse and allow God to get through to him/her.
Don’t let us be too hasty in judging our spouse. Let’s learn to rather commend them to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build up and give them an inheritance among them that are sanctified, as instructed in Acts 20:32
Here are some characters to watch out for that can hinder intimacy in marriage
1. Immaturity Learn to handle things in your marriage maturely. Learn to separate issues from your spouses’ personality.
2. Being temperamental When you are too strong on your personality or being a difficult person.
3. Being too emotional
4. Not forgiving easily
5. Not respecting your spouse as an individual and God’s child.
6. Not being easy to talk with
7. Lack of understanding If you don’t understand that you and your spouse are different and that you see things from different standpoints, intimacy is going to be difficult
All these and much more are things that can prevent any marriage from experiencing the intimacy they so much desire.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I choose to be intimate with my spouse
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Oh Lord, teach me how to love my spouse with all my heart
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gen 2:24[NKJV] Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Register for KHC Couples camp meeting
We’ll be discussing the topic “Demonic Activities Versus Fleshly Lust in Marriage” in our devotional for couples today
In severalcounselling sessions I have been privileged to be in with my husband, I have heard cases that are so difficult to resolve.
Now, after a few years of marriage, I have come to realize that some of those messy scenarios have their foundations in demonic influences.
We need to be conscious of this so that it helps us to effectively address issues well. We need to establish the fact that the devil HATES marriage. He loathes it with a perfect hatred. A good marriage irritates him and infuriates him. He is not just a nuisance but an enemy of your marriage and mine.
Having an understanding of who our enemy is, it becomes easier for us to properly wage war against our enemy.
Most of the issues or problems we face in marriage are due to demonic influences. I pray that God will open the eyes of our understanding today to recognize who the real enemy is.
There is the flesh that we all must see to it that we crucify. For example, a choleric husband can be given to anger. He sees himself always getting angry. It could be his flesh. All he has to do is crucify or mortify his flesh. If he doesn’t do that, his marriage will suffer for it.
And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Galatians 5:24 KJV
On the other hand are the activities of the devil through demonic influence or evil spirit. The aim of these spirits is to torment and torture us as married couples. They also don’t want is to know or serve the Lord effectively.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 KJV
The abundant life Jesus came to give us, they want to make sure it is a mirage.
For example, anger becomes demonic when demons or evil spirit makes one angry at every provocation in an uncontrollable and harmful way.
In marriage, your spouse will do things that you don’t like. The devil torments and doesn’t make you enjoy your marriage when there is a spirit of anger.
Some of the emotional or attitudinal issues we experience are the activities of the evil spirits. For example, most depression, fear, rejection, sicknesses, selfishness, etc.
What we need to do to these evil spirits is to cast them out. Cast them out of our marriages and life
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19 KJV
I will continue tomorrow by God’s grace.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have control over my weaknesses.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give you the wisdom to stay above sin
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and overall the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19 KJV
When Solomon decides to write about ladies or women, you better listen. You will never be able to break his record. Seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines is a Guinness Book of Records feat.
Solomon had them all, the tall, the short, the neither tall nor short, the light complexioned, the dark complexioned, the in-between, the choleric, the sanguine, the phlegmatic, the melancholy and the ones without temperament, if there is anything like that! When Solomon sleeps with a woman, he tells her ‘see you in some two years time.’ The roster is a long one! I wondered how he fed them and how many children he had! Solomon’s harem was a whole city!
Even though he was the wisest man, at a time, he began to make mistakes and started marrying strange women. These strange women had some characteristics and he writes about them. Let’s see what he wrote.
1. God’s word has the capacity to keep you from the strange woman.
It will protect you from them. So, you must find a way out of your busy schedule to read God’s word daily.
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words (Proverbs 7:1-5 KJV)
2. Her targets are men without understanding.
For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house (Proverbs 7:6-8 KJV)
Message Translation calls them men without sense. When you see a man looking for Jericho traps with strangers, the scriptures refers to such a man as lacking understanding.
3. Her operations are usually at the night
In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night (Proverbs 7:9 KJV)
Strange women don’t sleep in the night, that is when they work.
4. There is a dressing of the strange woman.
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart (Proverbs 7:10 KJV)
You can know a strange woman by how she dresses. Her dressing is in no way decent. The Message Translation says she is deliberately dressed to seduce! Listen to me, young ladies, never dress to seduce. Lest you be caught with a strange spirit. The purpose of dressing is never to seduce!
5. She hardly stays at home, she is always moving around, from campuses to another from cities to another.
(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner (Proverbs 7:11-12 KJV)
The strange woman is everywhere, tempting seducing and stubbornly looking for preys.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am guided by God. I have wisdom.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will keep you from falling into wrong hands
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Talk to Wisdom as to a sister. Treat Insight as your companion. They’ll be with you to fend off the Temptress–– that smooth–talking, honey–tongued Seductress (Proverbs 7:4-5 Message)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Check your life and make adjustments with the help of God’s Spirit
Lift up your voice and give thanks to God for his goodness and mercies.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 107:1
Nation/Church
Intercede for your nation and church.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18
Pastors/Parents/Mentors
Father, grant my pastors, parents and mentors wisdom and understanding.
And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15
Finances
I receive supernatural supply for all my needs in the name of Jesus.
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Family
(SINGLES) – Relationship and settling down.
(MARRIED) – Spouse and Children
Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone. Zechariah 10:1
Warfare
Pray in the spirit.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. Isaiah 11:2
Desire this Month
Mention your specific request for the month of May to God in prayers.
His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; Isaiah 11:3
Psalm 91 Declaration
Recite the whole of Psalm 91 prayerfully and believe every word in your heart.
Psalm 91
Blood Declaration
By the blood of Jesus, I receive the life of God in the name of Jesus.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54
I am filled with knowledge, wisdom and understanding in the name of Jesus.
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; Colossians 1:9
Healing
I receive my healing now in the name of Jesus.
He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Psalm 107:20
Favour/Mercy Today
I receive mercy and favour today in the name of Jesus.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
