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5 P’s To Pray Over Your Marriage

Marriage is one of the biggest blessings in life, yet 40%-50% of marriages end up in divorce.  If marriage is such a blessing, then why do so many marriages fail?  I think there are many factors at play–a person’s background and upbringing, parents who had a loving successful marriage, children, poor role models, trials, dysfunctional habits.  But I think one of the most important factors that help couples STAY together is PRAYER.

A study written by the National Association of Marriage Enhancement stated out of 1156 couples, those who prayed together on a daily basis less than 1% ended in divorce.  The study went even further to analyze what the couples did at home together.   Were they apart of the same denomination?  Did they attend church together?  Did they share the same beliefs and values?  Did they do any worship activities at home?

The study found there was a higher level of marital satisfaction when the couples shared the same religious practices at home which included reading the Bible together.  Unfortunately, despite knowing this information, only 4% of Christian couples pray together on a daily basis.  The important message from the study was if you want a strong marriage that is long-lasting and able to endure trials and hardships, develop a consistent pattern of prayer and reading your Bibles together.

Who is ready to start praying!?!?!?

It all starts with prayer.  Here are 5 P’s to pray over your Marriage.  Make a commitment to pray together for the next 30 days and see what happens.  If you are ready to start reading the Bible together there is a Bible reading plan as well.  Those who pray together stay together.  Those who read their Bibles together become deeply rooted in God’s word.  God’s word then becomes alive and living in their lives.

5 P’s to Pray Over Your Marriage

1.  Prosper

Pray for your marriage to grow, flourish and prosper.  Pray your marriage will bear God’s fruits and grow deeply rooted in his love.  Pray your communication with one another will be effective and prosper.  Pray for unity, peace, and harmony with each other and in your marriage.

Verses to pray, Galatians 5:22, Ephesians 4:3, Ephesians 3:17-21, Colossians 3:13-14.  

2.  Preparation

Pray God will equip and prepare you for what he has in store for you.  Pray for patience along the way, because it will be tested.  Patience prepares us for God’s plans.  Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to be working within you to dwell richly in your hearts.  Pray for strength and courage to endure and persevere any trials that come your way.  Pray to be in a position of readiness, to be alert and aware of anything getting in the way of God or putting your marriage at risk or in danger.  Ask God to rid our hearts of any arrogance, pride deceit, malice, anger or bitterness (Mark 7:21).  

Pray for God to fill your heart with His desires.  Pray these verses over your marriage, Psalm 37:4, Romans 12:12, Galatians 6:9, Philippians 4:13, Joshua 1:9, Colossians 3:16.

3.  Praiseworthy

Pray your marriage will be a godly example, admirable and meritorious for God.  Pray that you will be gracious towards one another, express gratitude and thankfulness.    Pray you are gentle, kind, patient and forgiving towards one another.  Pray you will see your spouse through God’s eyes and praise your spouse daily.  Pray you will love your spouse the way God loves them.  Pray you will be encouraging towards one another and build each other up (1 Thes. 5:11).

Pray these verses over your marriage, Philippians 4:8, Ephesians 4:32, Galatians 5:22, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Psalm 115:1-2.

4.  Purpose

Pray your marriage is a godly marriage that shines the light of Jesus (Matthew 5:15-16).  Pray God will be the center of your marriage giving your marriage power and purpose.  Pray you will not get in the way of God’s purpose and plan your lives and marriage.  Pray for God to be Lord over our lives and marriages.  Pray for your husband to allow God to be Lord in His life and be the spiritual leader he has called him to be.  Pray you will give love and respect to one another.  Pray for willing and obedient hearts that allow God’s purpose and plan to become alive in your lives.  Pray you will allow God’s will to be done in your lives and marriage.  Pray God will use your marriage for his greater purpose and plan.

Pray these verses over your marriage Romans 8:28, Psalm 138:8, Matthew 5:15-16, Jeremiah 1:5, Jeremiah 29:11.

5.  Protection

Pray for protection against Satan, lies, doubt, temptations, sin, and discouragement.  Pray the enemy will stay out of your marriage.

Pray the armor of God over your marriage in Ephesians 6:10-20.  Pray your marriage will stand strong in the Lord by putting on the armor of God.  Pray you will not fight against each other but in prayer against the enemy.  Pray you will stand firm in God’s truth by buckling the belt of truth tightly around your waists.  Pray the breastplate of righteousness will guard your hearts.  Pray your feet will be fitted with readiness by putting on the shoes of peace (the gospel).  Pray the shield of faith will be an extra layer of protection that will extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Pray the helmet of salvation will help protect and guard your minds against doubts, lies, and temptations.  Pray you take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers to stay alert and keep praying.

Most of all, pray you will stay committed and dedicated to prayer and reading the Bible.  Praying these verses over our marriages gives power and purpose to our marriages.  If you don’t have a Bible, download the YouVersion Bible app to your phone to be able to look up Bible verses.

There is so much more than we could add to our list.  If there is something lacking in our marriages or that we’re struggling with–cover it in prayer.  Maybe both sides struggle with patience or need to communicate better.  Or maybe there needs to be more encouragement towards one another.

It doesn’t matter what our circumstances are or if we are going through a trial.  When we are covered in prayer and in God’s word, nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38).  Prayer keeps us protected against the enemy attacking our marriages, keeps us alert to what we need to pay attention to and keeps us in communication with God.

Every marriage will endure trials and hardships.  Is our own strength and love enough to get us through?  No, but God’s strength and love are.  The love of Jesus is the glue that keeps our marriages together and builds us stronger than we ever were before.

When we fail or fall short, God’s grace makes up for our short comings (Romans 6:23).Click To Tweet

Is your marriage worth fighting for?

How do you get through your trials?  Where do you find your hope?

We need the love and strength of Jesus to help our marriages prosper, be prepared, be praiseworthy, be purposeful and protected.

Do you desire a strong, long-lasting marriage that is filled abundantly with God’s eternal blessings?

Those who pray together stay together.Click To Tweet

Will you pray and/or read the Bible with your spouse for the next 30 days?  

Pray the 5P’s over your marriage and watch them come alive in your life.  God’s Words and prayer are transformational when they are active and living in our lives.  

Whatever we lack in our lives, we are made complete in God.  In Jesus, we have life and have it to the full (John 10:10)!  In God, we lack nothing.  We don’t need to look for another source to fulfill us when God is in the center of our marriages.  I promise, your faithfulness and patience will reap great rewards than you could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20)!

Marriages are not meant to defeat us but to fill us abundantly with God’s eternal blessings Click To Tweet

Have a blessed week!

Print out this Free Printable Bookmark to help guide your prayers or print out this post.  Keep this handy in your Bibles so you can reference it when you pray and read.  You can also follow along with the 30 day Bible reading plan to help fill your hearts with God’s Words!

Marriage Prayer-Click to Download PDF

       

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I would love to hear from you! Leave your comments below!

This post was first published on www.alaskachristianwomensministry.com.


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God’s Timing is Perfect

Have you ever been waiting on God? Waiting for Him to answer a prayer you have been praying for a long time? Have you ever wondered when is God going to answer MY PRAYER? Or is He ever going to respond?

I think we all have been there—In God’s waiting room. Waiting for answers, waiting for results, waiting for the unknown. Sometimes waiting in God’s waiting room, He teaches us valuable lessons we would have never learned if we weren’t in waiting.

I do think God answers our prayers; just not always in the way we may want or like. God may answer us with ‘Yes!’, or ‘No,’ or even ‘Not yet, or not now.’ But these in fact are God’s answers to what we ask of Him. Just as a parent doesn’t give a child everything their heart desires, because they know what is best for their child, is the same thing God does with us. His delayed responses or answers is not a way to punish us, but a way to help us learn what He is trying to show us.

There are so many lessons we can learn from God’s timing. Here are three things I have learned.

3 Things I Have Learned From God’s Timing: In God’s Timing I learn,

1. It’s Always Perfect- God is God. He has the most perfect plans ever. We cannot put a deadline on His timing. When we give God a deadline we are demanding our desires to be God’s desires. It doesn’t work that way. God’s ways and desires are so much better than ours. God created the heavens and the earth; He knows what He’s doing. Will you trust God with the plans He has for you?

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

2. He has the best plans ever– If I never waited for God in His timing or always went ahead of Him, I’d never know how great the reward of His plans really are. How many times have you gone ahead of God, looked around and said God ‘where are you?’ Then realize, you never consulted God in the first place? I sure have, many times. My impatience has made me make some not so good choices at times. I have learned when I don’t wait on God, I get myself into a whole lot of trouble. I can almost see God tapping his foot with His hands on His hips, saying “If you just wait for my timing, I will have something so much greater and better ahead for you, Just Wait For ME!”

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

3. How important it is to grow my patience- If I never had to wait on God, I would never learn how important it is grow my patience. Waiting in God’s waiting room, grows our patience. We need patience when going through and enduring our trials. If our patience was never tested, we would never know we needed the patience’s of God to get through what we are going through. If we didn’t have patience, how could we ever accomplish what God is asking of us?

Sometimes in our waiting, God reveals to us very convicting, yet valuable lessons. In His waiting room, sometimes I realize, maybe God is really waiting on me? Maybe God is asking me to do something that I have not done yet. It is God’s waiting room, He reveals what is in my heart, what He desires of me and that I only need to trust in Him.

God never wastes anything, especially the time He has given us. He desires us to use the time He has given us in a certain way, the way He created it to be used. When you feel like you have been waiting for a long time or don’t seem to ever have enough time, ask God “How can I use the time you have given me more wisely?” “Please Lord, Help me be patient and wait for your timing.”

There are great rewards in our patience.

What have you learned from God’s timing?

Have you been in God’s waiting room for awhile? What is He trying to show you?

Did you enjoy this blogpost? Please share with others! Want more encouraging messages sent right to your inbox? Subscribe to my blog and receive a weekly Monday Message or like my Author Facebook page to catch the latest posts.  Have a blessed week!

I would love to hear from you! Leave your comments below!

This post was first published on www.akchristianwomensministry.com.


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