Last year I heard someone share a story about how the Lord spoke to her and said, "Hey.. who's praying for your husband today?" And she thought... "Hmmm.. no one?"
I thought.. wow. That's true for me too. Have I ever stopped and considered this... Who is praying for Brandon today? Probably no one, which is shocking and heartbreaking.. but true!
It's so important though that we do this regularly. That everyday as spouses we are praying for each other. One of the enemies number one targets is the family. You may have seen the trend of this. HE is literally ripping families apart. He likes to keep us distracted from each other during the best times of our lives... through time constraints, work, finances, having our priorities out of whack, maybe the disease to please... scrolling on social media or binge watching Netflix.
When is the last time you prayed for your spouse? When is the last time you actually THANKED God for your spouse? That's the easiest way for me to get my prayers rolling is by thanking God. It causes you to realize how blessed you truly are. I saw this quote once; "Dear God, I want to take a minute not to ask for anything but to simply thank you for all I have. Please let me never forget to be grateful for the things I have." Love that.
I encourage you to think.. what are some of the things that you are truly grateful for about your spouse?
I know that it is my responsibility to pray for Brandon.. We made our commitment to each other on May 14, 2011 to honor and serve one another and it most definitely means to pray for each other as well, d a i l y. My favorite thing to pray over Brandon is verses from the bible. It's powerful when you align Gods word (that is alive and active: Hebrews 4:12) with your spouse. Try it! There are plenty articles that map out a way to do this. You can also grab a great book called: The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.
"BUT WAIT Amanda.. I don't even like my spouse right now. Like, I love him but we aren't seeing eye to eye on some things, so..."
If you are in a season where you are finding trouble praying for your spouse... keep reading.
I was invited to a women's conference and everyone who was attending was asked to bring in a photo of them as a toddler (2-4 year old). During the conference they showed the pictures on the screen of all the little girls. You can imagine.. the bonnets, floral dresses, big bows.. the innocence that was accompanied with each picture. This was a reminder for us to know that this is ultimately how God views us. He doesn't care about our sin, the things we have done wrong, our bad decisions, our mistakes, our failures in this life. He sees us as his children.. innocent and forgiven.
When I got home from that conference I put two and two together.
1.) I made it a priority to pray for Brandon daily. I WILL do this. It is my responsibility and frankly, I love praying for him. I respect and honor him so much as the leader of our family.
2.) I went through a box of old photos and I pulled out a photo of Brandon as a toddler. He is about 3. Looks just like Bennett. (See pic below!!) I hung this photo on my bathroom mirror. It's a reminder for me that no matter what is happening in life or in our four walls this is how Jesus sees him, this is how I need to see him, this is the heart posture I need to have and how I need to pray for him.
Who is praying for your spouse today? I hope it's YOU!
❤️
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