Today’s dare: "Ask your spouse if you can begin praying together. Talk about the best time to do this, whether it's in the morning, your lunch hour, or before bedtime. Use this time to commit your concerns, disagreements, and needs before the Lord. Don't forget to thank Him for His provision and blessing. Even if your spouse refuses to do this, resolve to spend this daily time in prayer yourself."
Prayer is humbling. During prayer I have to let my guards down, to allow God to surround me, and I must recognize my need for God. The dare asks me to start praying regularly with James. Praying together seems to be significant to God because in Matthew 18:18-19 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” I must get to agreeing with my husband in prayer about our marriage, our life, and our ministry.
God says knock and the door will be opened, seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you. In our marriage, I rarely knock, I rarely seek, and I rarely ask. If I want doors to be busted open within our marriage, I have to get to knocking! If I want to find the depths of love that God has for us in our marriage, I need to start seeking God in this area. If I want to be given blessings in our marriage, I need to start asking. We need to start knocking, seeking, and asking so we can begin to have doors open, find that which was lost, and be given God’s blessings.
God decides to use us for his glory, humans being the agents of his hand. What a glorious responsibility! Prayer is one of the ways that God uses us to change our world. Prayer changes lives! I want God to change my life; even more, I want Him to transform my life and marriage daily. Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds; I believe that that applies to my marriage too! God can transform my marriage into a new creation. I think we so often get caught up in thinking of marriage as a human institution that we forget that God has a divine plan for marriage. A transformed marriage consists of two transformed individuals who seek God’s will for their life and marriage. The marriage becomes a vessel for God to use to bless others and to change lives. Marriage is beautiful if we dedicate it to God in prayer.
My Favorite Verses on Prayer:
2 Chronicles 7:14, (NIV1984)
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Luke 11:9-10, (NIV1984)
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Psalm 141:2, (NIV1984)
“May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.”
James 5:15-16, (NIV1984)
“And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”Revelation 5:8, (NIV1984)
“And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”
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