Sunday, September 2, 2012

Week 1 - Revive Your Prayers - Revive Your Marriage!



Revive Your Prayers!




Home is the tapestry I weave day in and day out. 
Prayer is the loom upon which I place my thread.
~ Time-Warp Wife

I know that some of you have really got it together when it comes to prayer. You can pray over a Big Mac as eloquently as one would thank God for Filet Mignon. I'm not that way. In fact I'm one fry short of a Happy Meal when it comes to saying the right thing.

ADD hasn't helped. I've knelt through prayer meetings thinking about everything but the prayer: How funny my eyes must look when they're shut closed... wondering if I'm squeezing them shut too tightly... knowing that I should keep my eyes closed, but curiosity keeps telling me I should look if even just this once...

Yeah, I'm one of those sneak-a-peak, lift-a-lid prayers who squirm in their chair.

And then I remind myself that I'm supposed to be concentrating on the Lord. I shuffle my position and get official until my thoughts drift off once again...

When I look at King David I see a different picture of prayer. One that's far less about man than it is about God:
Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. ~ Psalm 119:164, NIV
Words like that move me to say, "More of you, Lord... less of me."

What might that look like in the life of a wife who desires to bring life to her marriage?

Could this be a picture of me praying by the kitchen sink while I'm washing my dishes? It could be. And yes--the Lord assures me that my eyes might be open as I take in the view from the back yard. I see the trees that my husband and I planted together, and I praise God for his gift of a husband. 

Could this be a picture of me praising the Lord as I snuggle in close to my husband at night? What about that quiet moment in the afternoon when I'm folding his laundry?
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV
What I'm forever learning is that prayer has everything to do with the Lord and nothing to do with my righteousness. For righteousness is imputed to us by faith. We merely need to seek Him with a pure heart.
But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:13, NIV
This week's challenge is to seek God in prayer for your marriage. When and where will be up to you. Use your wedding ring as a constant reminder to pray for your marriage and for your husband. You might also pray that God will equip you in your role as a wife.

Want a little fuel for the fire? 

Come back on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. I'll be sharing 31 Ways to Pray for Your Husband!!

Want a free eBook on the subject of prayer?
My friend Rachel is giving her book away Monday and Tuesday only (Sept. 3&4) on Amazon. Here's a link. Grab it while you can!

 The Sensational Scent of Prayer




Are you taking the challenge?  Let us know by leaving a comment on this post!  And if you are a blogger- grab this button link to one of our sites and then link-up below!




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               TLHV button
You are loved by an almighty God,



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36 comments:

  1. thank you! I will be joining you this month :)

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  2. Thank you for sharing and inspiring the power of prayer!

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  3. I am doing the challenge, I love anything that will grow our marriage, and me closer to God. Thank you

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  4. I have been excited for this series. I find when things are going well I don't pray as well so it is a good reminder. However, that being said, our family is going through some extremely hard times & could use some prayer. Thank you & keep up the wonderful work you do.

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  5. I am taking this challenge! Thanks so much for the encouragement and your love for the Lord! I want to "Revive my Marriage"!!

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  6. I needed this gentle reminder to pray for my marriage and my husband. Thank you for this series I am looking forward to it!

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  7. Awesome. So glad to see so many of you on board. I hope this challenge draws us nearer to God and our husbands.

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  8. Taking on this challenge as well! Very excited! Anytime I do any type of study on marriage and my husband, he gets doted on and loves it so much!

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  9. Hoping to be able to follow through on this challenge. Thank you all for your ministry!

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  10. I LOVE my Hubby dearly and think we have an amazing relationship. The thought of this challenge really EXCITES me....closer to GOD and my Hubby....Lets go ladies, I'm READY!!

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  11. Thank you for putting this together. I look forward to joining you. Your take on prayer is spot on to how I pray. For some reason, I can't do long prayers, eyes closed....but I talk with the Lord on a continual basis about everything. Sometimes all I can do is just repeat the name of "Jesus" over and over....and let the Holy Spirit intercede for me.

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  12. I will be joining your challenge this month, or at least giving it my best shot!

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  13. Excellent article, Darlene. I love your verse on prayer. I am taking the challenge and I have blogged about it too. I hope I can influence a lot of other wives to take the challenge as well.
    Blessing hugs,
    Teresa

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  14. Thank you, Darlene, for this post. It encourages me to pray more for hubby. I look forward to this entire series!
    Christianna :)

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  15. Your blog is such an inspiration to me. It is the first place I stop by every morning. I am looking forward to doing this challenge!

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  16. I am taking the challenge! Thank you so much for being such an inspiration!

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  17. Joining in, thank you for the opportunity to grow closer to God and strengthen my marriage.

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  18. I found you from Courtney's blog. I too struggled with the "proper way" to pray until I realized that I could just talk to God like my best friend was there. Sometimes I still go off on a tangent about groceries, but God knows and understands, and loves that part of me too. One thing I do is pray for each person as I fold clothes. So if it's my husband's shirt I thank God for my husband being employed. For my boys it might be that they continue to grow and love the Lord more each day. It's not every day, but great when it happens ;)

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  19. I am taking the challenge! Thank you for all the time and work you are putting into this series. May God bless you!

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  20. I'm in for the challenge. We have been struggling since we got married. We (I) desperately need to see the hand of God move in my life, my marriage and our family.

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  21. I will take this challenge to pray for my husband and not to take him for granted.

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  22. I am taking this challenge! My husband and I have been married for 32 years and a lot of family changes going on in our home as we have girls all moving away from not only our homes but, now out of state. So our home needs prayers right now. I will join this challenge!

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  23. Thank you for the challenge.... I look forward to being with you all this month!

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  24. I'm excited for this challenge. My husband and I have been married for 17 years and only recently started going to church. I was raised in home where God was not first and I never knew I could have a relationship with my Savior. My husband was raised in a family where religion was forced on him and he rebelled from church and turned his back on God. Now, we are allowing God to be in charge of everything in our lives and, although it has be hard to let go of being in control, it feels great! I know we need more prayer, more of His Word and more of His Grace in our marriage and this challenge will be another tool for us! Thanks!!!

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  25. I'm excited for this challenge! My husband and I have been married for 17 years and we just recently started going to church. I was raised in a house where God was not first and I didn't know I could have a relationship with my Savior. My husband was raised in a house where religion was forced on him and he rebelled against the church and turned his back on God. We know we can use more prayer, more of His Word and more of His Grace in our marriage and I know this challenge will be a tool to help us.

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  26. Thank you for this challenge..it is a great encouragement for me right now. And this going to help me be more intentional on praying and letting it become a habit.

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  27. I am in! I'm praying for restoration of my marriage! My husband & I have been separated for 2 months! I pray God will speak to his heart & send him home! This separation is not something I want & it has broken my heart! I love him w/ all my heart & soul & I know God has a plan in this!!

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  28. I look forward to joining you and strengthening my relationship with God and my husband. I am encouraged by your story and your enduring strength and hope.

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  29. Yes I'm taking the challenge. We really need it as my husband is not a practicing Christian (says he has the Lord in his heart but shows no outward signs) and struggles with alcohol and anger isues. I'm not perfect but it is a constant struggle. I am hoping this challenge will help me with the strenghth and faith I need to not give up. THANK YOU, this blog has been a real encouragement to me!

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  30. thanks for this encouragement..God bless all marriages

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  31. Hola amiga es una bendicion contar con los materiales que publicas aunque me cuesta un poco traducilas , soy de paraguay y no hablo ingles, pero tengo un Blog y una pagina en FB y voy a compartir estos materiales claro siempre respaetando los derechos de autores este es el enlace de mi blog http://flordecr.blogspot.com/ es nuevo lo estoy creando hace pocos dias Dios te siga bendiciendo ricamente mi hermana!

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