Two are better than one,because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Two months into my first marriage, my husband quit his job.  I had to withdraw plans to start school three weeks later, and we had to pack up and move back to his hometown.  That decision he made started a cycle of unemployment/employment that made our marriage very stressful and very hard.  Between the financial problems we faced and the addiction problems he faced during our over nine years of marriage, his adulterous affair and our divorce was a relief for me.  I was very much over marriage, had no desire to even date, and never intended to be in a relationship with a man again.  Six weeks later, I met Gregg.

Gregg will say, tongue firmly planted in cheek, that his first marriage was great all the way up to the honeymoon.  The two years they were married created such a cycle of mistrust and disrespect that it was well into my marriage with Gregg before he even identified that darkness inside of him.  Her adulterous affair finally ended the turbulent time for him.

Yet, even though we both walked into marriages with the experience of big beautiful church weddings and our bright futures wide open to us only have those dreams trampled and our hearts broken, we both committed to each other before we got married that we would never consider divorce an option.  In our darkest days, when we faced things that would destroy even the strongest of marriages, we held onto that and made it through to the other side.

The Biblical model for marriage has God at the head of the marriage, and a husband and wife unconditionally loving and respecting each other, working together as one, serving God first and raising their children to love Him and serve Him.  I believe that marriages become a focused attack for Satan, because if he can crumble at the base of a marriage, he can destroy that family and remove God from the headship.  Once God is removed from the headship, once hearts are broken and families torn apart, there is a lack of focus on God.  Score one for the devil.

Gregg and I pray together at least once, sometimes twice a day.  One of the first things he and I individually do is thank God for our marriage, thank Him for bringing us together, and pray that He continue to strengthen our bond with each other.  Praying out loud with my husband hearing, hearing him pray out loud that commitment to me and that desire to be even closer to me, knowing God will hear that prayer and do work with it, keeps our marriage and the status of our marriage a focus for both of us.  I think that is important.  As soon as we start taking advantage of our marriage or each other, we will become vulnerable to attack.

Our marriages are our stronghold in this evil world.  If we hold tight to our husbands and pray for our marriages, pray for our relationships, and keep our love and respect for our husbands a focus daily, then our stronghold strengthens and our homes become a sanctuary to that world.

Read chapter 21 of The Power of a Praying Wife and consider the following discussion questions.  They are also posted on the forum at Hallee’s Daily Brew here, but the comments are open on this post if you prefer to discuss it here.

1.  Have you or your husband ever been divorced?  If so, on a sheet of paper, write a prayer breaking the spirit of divorce over your lives.  If not, write a prayer that a spirit of divorce will never enter into your marriage.

2.  Is there divorce in your husband’s family, especially with his parents or grandparents?  Is there divorce in your family?  Explain.  Write a prayer breaking any generational tie that would cause a spirit of divorce to become part of your lives.

3.  1 Corinthians 7:10-11 says, “Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.”  Have you or your husband ever viewed divorce as an option which you would consider?  Explain  On a sheet of paper, write a prayer breaking the power of those thoughts of divorce.

4.  Have you or your husband ever committed adultery during your marriage or any previous marriage?  If so, on a sheet of paper, write a prayer asking God to deliver either one of you from the bondage of that sin.  If not, pray for protection, strength, and grace to keep each of you from ever falling into anything like that, even in thought.

5.  1 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”  How does this scripture inspire you to keep praying for the strength of your marriage?

6.  Is there any person or thing that threatens the stability of your marriage?  Write a sentence, taking authority over that threat in Jesus’ name and commanding it to be removed from your life.  If there is nothing threatening your marriage, write a prayer asking God for protection over your marriage so no person or situation will ever be allowed to harm it.

7.  Read the prayer out loud on pages 155-156 in The Power of a Praying Wife.  Include specifics about your marriage.

Hallee

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