Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Day 16~ Love Intercedes





You cannot change your spouse. As much as you may want to, you cannot play God and reach into their heart and mold them into what you want them to be. But that's what most couples spend a large part of their time trying to do — change their spouse.
Insanity has been described as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But isn't that what happens when you try to change your mate?

You can become a "wise farmer."
A farmer cannot make a seed grow into a fruitful crop. He cannot argue, manipulate, or demand it to bear fruit. But he can plant the seed into fertile soil, give it water and nutrients, protect it from weeds, and then turn it over to God. Millions of farmers have made a livelihood from this process over the centuries. They know that not every seed sprouts. But most will grow when planted in proper soil and given what they need.

There is no guarantee that anything in this book will change your spouse. But that's not what this book is about. "It's about you daring to love. If you take the Love Dare seriously, there is a high likelihood that you will be personally changed from the inside out.

Prayer really does work. It's a spiritual phenomenon created by an unlimited, powerful God. And it yields amazing results.

Do you feel like giving up on your marriage? (Luke 18:1)
Are you stressed out and worried? Prayer can bring peace to your storms(Philippians 4:6-7)
Do you need a major breakthrough? Prayer can make the difference(Acts 12:1-17)

Today's Dare

BEGIN PRAYING TODAY FOR YOUR SPOUSE'S
HEART. PRAY FOR THREE SPECIFIC AREAS
WHERE YOU DESIRE FOR GOD TO WORK IN

YOUR SPOUSE'S LIFE AND IN YOUR MARRIAGE.

Questions
Have you experienced the power of prayer in the past? What did you choose to pray about? Was it easy for you, or did it feel foreign to you?

6 comments:

Peggy said...

I pray for my spouse daily. Recently I have become discouraged - not with the Love Dare, but with our ongoing discussions about Religion. He just does not believe and I am beginning to think I am supposed to just accept that.

GraceFromHim said...

Peggy, don't get discouraged. The Bible tells us

(I have had to remind myself of these things)

And let us not be weary in well doing : for in due season we shall reap , if we faint not . Gal 6:9

The other verse I think that is key for us who have backslidden or unsaved hubbys is

Likewise , ye wives , [be] in subjection to your own husbands ; that , if any obey not the word , they also may without 427 the word be won by the conversation of the wives ;

The word CONVERSATION here is not talking about what you 'say' it means BEHAVIOR....here is the definition below.

manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment

So it is best if we just do not get into spiritual talks with our husbands, we must PRAY and be submissive wives as the Bible leads us to.

I struggle in this area as well but I have done damage trying to explain God to my husband. When I do this I am unknowingly assurping authority over him (kinda the I am at a higher moral standard then you attitude)
This is from experience and also from what my husband shared after he got saved. He still struggles with being the leader of the home, and one of the reasons is because to my shame I have sqenched his leadership by trying to be his Holy Sprit.

Hope this helps.
Don't loose faith....you may not see results but I promise you if you are praying God is doing a work in your husband. (And what you may be seeing is him just fighting the spirit)

Before my hubby got saved one way I also prayed was that God would bring someone in his life that loved the Lord and that would be a influence to him.

You may not be the one to lead him to the Lord, however you ARE planting seeds and now you need to just let God do the watering :)

(((BIG HUGGS)))) your way sweetie!

momstheword said...

Wonderful post. So many times a woman seeks to change her husband into what she thinks he should be, instead of allowing God to change him into what He wants him to be.

They have the best of intentions, but like you said, the wives can't do it. Only God can.

My husband is a believer but my dad wasn't for many years and my mom prayed faithfully and waited for him to come to the Lord.

Funny how when we pray "Lord change them" he usually winds up changing US instead!

I am looking forward to being bloggy friends too. Thank you for your sweet comments!

Isabel said...

I'm 2 days behind and oh do I need to work on these last 2 dares!

I have always given first proirity to kids. Sometimes he has to scream for attention too! As for todays dare I must take this more seriously and more regularly!

A House FULL of Grace said...

Love what you're doing here and am joining in, albeit a little late. It's so important to have this encouragement. It is comforting to know that a book has been written and others are blogging about daring to love, it means I'm not the only one who struggles in this area! :o)

Peggy said...

Thank you Brandie for your words of encouragement! I guess I am impatient. My frustrations come from the conversations we have that most of the time, he starts! So, that is a good thing. The fact that he wants to talk about, question, debate Christianity. It is something! I will always continue to pray. You are right, I need to pray for someone else to come into his life. A mentor. I honestly believe that that person may be at my Church right now. It looks to me like there are a lot of men at my Church that my husband could find friendship with. I will work on my Faith. God knows my struggles.