Day 11 of 40 Days of Prayer: "Do not Worry"

"Do not worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4: 6-7 (NLT)

Let's Pray:

Lord, I pray that (___) will not worry about anything; but instead pray about everything. I pray that he will tell you all he needs and thank you for all you've done. I know that if he does this, he will experience your peace that exceeds anything he could understand. I pray that your peace with guard his heart as he lives in Christ Jesus. Help me, too, Lord, to remember not worry about my husband but continually keep him in my prayers everyday. Thank you Lord, In Jesus' name, AMEN.


Wives,

Keep praying!! As I had my quiet time with God this morning. He spoke to my heart about praying WITH my husband everyday. What? I thought. He'll laugh at me. But I knew I needed to be obedient, so I marched my little fanny upstairs and luckily God helped me to not sound really cheesy!

Well, we prayed but no lightning or rainbows or miraculous transformations occurred. But because I know God fairly well, I have learned that I just do what He says no matter how cheesy I think it is. : )

-Kristy

Day 10 of 40 Days of Prayer: "Prayer for Trust"

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

Proverbs 3: 5,6 (NLT)

Let's Pray:

Lord, I thank you for giving me promises in your word to live by! I pray (____) will trust in you with all his heart. I pray he will not depend on his own understanding. I pray he will seek your will in all he does and you will show him which path to take. Thank you Lord for loving (____) and helping me to love him, too. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Wives,

Just like we pray that our husbands will trust in God and not depend upon their own understanding, we need to do the same. I find that I quickly forget all the miracles God's done in my life and often worry about the silliest of circumstances.

No matter how dismal your marriage may look right now, remember your perspective is limited. You might not understand why your circumstance hasn't changed or why your husband is hurtful with his words even after all your prayers for him to change. You may not understand why he hasn't kissed or hugged you in weeks and your heart is grieved with loneliness.

Can I share with you that I have been there. Some of you may be ready to call it quits right now, and I would beg you not to give up. Though I have felt like quitting more times than I really care to admit; God has proved faithful. He has reminded me so tenderly that even though I do not understand why certain prayers are answered quickly while others aren't, He will and has so many times worked miracle after miracle and I need to continue to trust that He loves me and knows what is best for me.

He loves you and knows what is best for you, too; so don't give up, keep praying!

Kristy

Day 9 of 40 Days of Prayer: "Prayer for Complete Understanding"

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases him."

Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

Let's Pray:

Lord I thank you for working in (____) giving him the desire to obey you and the power to do what please you! I thank you for hearing my prayers because you tell us that you are close to all who call upon you sincerely! I also ask that you will give me the desire and power to show love--your love, to my wonderful husband. I ask these things, in Jesus' holy name, AMEN.

Wives,

I strongly encourage you to continue to pray over the rest of the 40 days and don't let distractions keep you from this extremely important act of love for your husbands. I myself get distracted so easily. I hate to admit, one of my biggest flaws is lack of follow-through. Yep, I haven't even stuck to blogging each day consistently. I have been distracted by Busyness, and her sister: Laziness. My great intentions to blog each of the 40 days was rudely interrupted by Busyness and Laziness keeping me from accomplishing what God has called me to do.

I'm going to keep Philippians 2:13 in view on my desk throughout the rest of the 40 days so when Miss Busyness comes calling, I will remember that God will give me the power to obey Him and do what pleases Him!

Kristy

Day 8 of 40 Days of Prayer: "Prayer for Guidance for Our Husbands"

"Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil."

Psalms 119:133 (NLT)

Let's Pray:

Lord, I pray that you will guide (____) steps by your word, so that he will not be overcome by evil. Thank you Lord, for your protection. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Wives,

Remember as you pray for your husband each day, Satan will step up his game. So do not be surprised if things get a little rough at times. Jesus warned us that this life is not going to be easy but I can assure you that the fight is worth it. Not only is your husband benefiting from your prayers but your whole family is going to benefit. AND, if you have enlisted any other wives to pray along with you, they will benefit, too. How? you ask. When you pray to God, and tell others about it, when God answers, not only does your faith grow, theirs does, too!!!

True to form, as I shared in the last post about my personal struggles with my husband and the situation with our daughters racing in motocross; God answered my prayers in a big way! The girls placed in the top 10 of their class out of 30 riders. This was way better than either of us expected and it encouraged us that all the time and money we are investing in this sport is worth it! But as only God can do, he always surpasses what our expectations are and because I sat the girls down and had them pray with me through the struggle, their faith grew because they saw God work a miracle. Had I prayed alone and didn't include them, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to see God at work in their lives answering their prayers.

I encourage you to also enlist a close friend to pray with you for your husbands. We are better - together!

Kristy

Day 7 of 40 Days of Prayer: "Prayer For a Transformed Heart"

"I'll give you a new heart and I'll put a new spirit within you."

Ezekiel 11:19 (MSG)

Let's Pray:

Lord, I thank you that you hear my prayers! I thank you that you are working everything together for good in my life and in my marriage even if I can't always see it. I pray that you will give (____) a new heart and put a new spirit within him. I pray you will also fill me with the love I need to love my husband. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Wives-

I don't know the state of your marriage right now. I can, however, share with you what I am facing right now, this week. As I am writing these blogs and praying along with you, my marriage is under immense stress.

My daughters race motocross and we are at a national race this week. If you are not aware, motocross is an extremely expensive sport. My husband and I disagree on how well the girls should be doing at this event. I don't want to go into details, but the atmosphere in our motor home was really intense after their first moto. My first reaction to my husband was to retaliate in the girl's defense. And of course when that didn't get through to him, I resorted to the bedroom for prayer and reading scripture. Notice I retaliated first then went and prayed. (obviously a mistake)

I started writing in my journal things I am thankful for; prayers He has answered, impossible circumstances He has made possible; and blessings he has poured upon me far beyond what I could ever ask for.

All I can tell you is that during my time of prayer and journaling, my whole attitude changed from despair to joy. I can not stress enough the power of prayer.

I immediately called my two daughters into the motor home for a "rider's meeting" as we call it. I told them that we were going to continue to pray that if its God's will for them to pursue their dream of going "pro", He would make what seems impossible for us right now --POSSIBLE!

What started out as extreme anger and frustration with my husband has turned into quiet confidence in my God. God has given me the power and strength I need to be loving when everything in me wants to seek revenge. God is teaching me that, though I may hate my husband's behavior, I can still choose to love him.

-Kristy

What is 40 Days of Prayer??? You're asking...

It is a special time you set aside each day for period of 40 days where you pick scripture verses specifically chosen for a special person and turn them into prayers to God.

Day 6 of 40 Days of Prayer: "God's Power and Strength"

"God is my Savior. I will trust Him and not be afraid. The Lord gives me power and strength."

Isaiah 12:2

Let's Pray:

Lord, I know you are (___) Savior and I pray he will trust in you and not be afraid. I pray you will give him power and strength for whatever will come his way today. Also, I ask you to help me to remember that you are my Savior, too and I need trust in you and not be afraid. I thank you for your promise to give me power and strength; no matter what difficulties I may face in my marriage. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Wives- Just like you, I often face challenges in my marriage on sometimes even a daily basis. God tells us in His word that we "will" have troubles, not we "might" have troubles. So I need to accept it and learn to trust in God through the troubles knowing He will provide the power and strength I need to keep on keeping on.

If you're going through trouble in your marriage right now, I strongly encourage you to spend time each day praying these prayers for your husband. God will hear your cries for help and He will give you the power you BOTH need to get through it.

Until tomorrow!!

Kristy

Day 5 of 40 Days of Prayer: "Your Way, Lord"

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways; declares the Lord."

Isaiah 55:8

Let's Pray:

Lord, I thank you that you love (____) and want the very best for him. I ask you to help him to understand that your thoughts are not his thoughts and your ways are not his ways. I pray you will help him to learn to relax more knowing that he needs only to follow you and you will make his path straight. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Well, I don't know about you, but I will often try to help God out. I will let my husband know just what he should and shouldn't be doing. Is it just me or have you also noticed that this does not work? In fact, I have found that it often backfires and produces the opposite of what I had in mind. I have to remind myself of Isaiah 55:8, frequently. I have to remember that God is God and I am NOT. : )

See you tomorrow,
Kristy