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Archive for Prayer – Page 2

Chapter 11: His Health

Posted by Kathryn on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 in Bible study | Comments (1)

This week we are talking about our husband’s health. This covers exercise, eating right, sicknesses, etc. Having husbands in the military makes it very easy for them to keep up with exercising. However eating right is a different story! Here is what Stormie said she did, when her husband wasn’t being very healthy.

“For years my husband cared little about exercise. I would give lectures and meaningful talks, leave magazine articles in his path, and plead and cry about how I didn’t want to be a widow, but it all fell on glazed eyes and deaf ears. Then one day I got the brilliant idea that if praying worked for other parts of his life, it might work for this, too. I decided to employ my ‘shut up and pray’ method and ask God to give him the desire and motivation to exercise regularly. I prayed for a number of months without any results, but then one morning I hear an unfamiliar noise coming from another room. I followed the sound and much to my amazement, it was my husband on the treadmill. I didn’t say a word. He has been using the treadmill and lifting weights about three days a week ever since. When he later remarked how much better he was feeling and wished he had started doing it sooner, I exercised admirable restraint and didn’t even allow the words ‘I told you so’ to be formed with my mouth. To this day he doesn’t know I prayed.”

This story just really amazed me! God cares even about the little things we do in life like exercise and eating right. I have been where Stormie is, begging my husband to eat some vegetables, but sadly my husband refused to eat anything that is green (vegetables) or healthy! I know that prayer is not magic. Just because I pray does not mean my husband may change overnight. But we can all pray for our husband’s heart to change and they will start to have a different view on health, exercise, and eating right. It is something small we can do and it is definitely better than nagging them about it!

“Your husband’s health is not something to take for granted, no matter what his age or condition. Pray for him to learn to take proper care of himself, and if he becomes ill, pray for him to be healed. I’ve seen too many answers to prayers for healing in my life and the lives of others to doubt that the God who healed in the Bible is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I believe that when God said, ‘I am the Lord who heals you,’ (Exodus 15:26) he meant it. I have the same faith as Jeremiah who prayed, Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed’ (Jeremiah 17:14). I trust His word when it promises ‘ I will restore you to health and heal your wounds’ (Jeremiah 30:17).”

“Remember, however, that even though we pray and have faith, the outcome and timing are God’s decisions. He says there is ‘a time to heal’ (Ecclesiastes 3:3). If you pray and nothing happens, don’t beat yourself up for it. God sometimes uses a man’s physical ailments to get his attention so He can speak to him. Keep praying, but know God’s decision is bottom line.”

Prayer:

“Lord, I pray for Your healing touch on (Husband’s name). Make every part of his body function the way You designed it to. Wherever there is anything out of balance, set it in perfect working order. Heal him of any disease, illness, injury, infirmity, or weakness. Strengthen his body to successfully endure his his workload, and when he sleeps may he wake up completely restored. Give him a strong heart that doesn’t fail. I don’t want him to have heart failure at any time.”

“I pray that he will have the desire to take care of his body, to eat the kind of food that brings health, to get regular exercise, and avoid anything that would be harmful to him. Help him to understand that his body is Your temple and he should care for it as such (I Corinthians 3:16). I pray that he will present it as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to You (Romans 12:1).”

“When he is ill, I pray You will sustain him and heal him. Fill him with your joy to give him strength. Specifically, I pray for (mention any area of concern). I pray that my husband will live a long and healthy life and when death does come, may it be accompanies by peace and not unbearable suffering and agony. Thank You, Lord, that You will be there to welcome him into Your presence, and not a moment before Your appointed hour.”

Power Tools:

-Psalm 103:2,3

-Psalm 107:19,20

-II Kings 20:5

-Isaiah 58:8

-Jeremiah 33:6

If you would like to discuss the Bible Study with others, please join the message boards here:

http://community.wivesoffaith.org/

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Chapter 10: His Choices

Posted by Kathryn on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 in Bible study | Comments (1)

This week we are talking about the choices our husbands make. There are good choices and there are also bad ones. We can’t make our husband choose the right choices, but we can ask God to. Here, Stormie relates a story about a choice her husband made, what she did about it, and how God turned it around.

“There was a business deal my husband entered into that he did not mention to me until it was already in motion. From the moment I learned of it I did not have a good feeling. I thought the idea was great and his vision for it was excellent,but I couldn’t escape the distinct lack of peace I had about it. In fact, the more I prayed, the stronger I felt. When I mentioned it to him he said defensively, ‘You don’t trust me to make the right decision.’ He made clear this was something he wanted and he was not about to hear any opposition.

“The only recourse I had was to pray, which I did. Time and again I said to God, ‘Show me if I’m wrong about this. I would love for it to work out because it’s a great idea. But if what I’m sensing is correct, reveal it to him in time to stop the process. Show him the truth and close the door.’

“At the eleventh hour, just before contracts were to be signed, Michael’s eyes were suddenly opened to a number of incidents that called into question the true intentions of the other parties involved. The revelation of God exposed the other parties to him and the entire deal was called off. As hard as it was for him to accept at the time, he is grateful to have been spared much grief.”

I think we have all witnessed our husbands make bad choices at one time or another, but I think it is how we handle it that matters. Do we nag and get angry? Or we pray for him to do better next time? Realizing that  prayer alone is the only thing that can change him is the key.

“We have to remember that all men think they are doing the right thing.”

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.” -Proverbs 21:2

“But God is the only one who can give true discernment. He can give us wisdom when we ask for it. Wisdom brings success, and it enables us to learn from experience. We want our husbands to be wise men.

“The opposite of a wise man is a fool. The Bible describes a fool as someone who only ‘trusts in his own heart’ (Proverbs 28:26). He despises wisdom (Proverbs 23:9). He only wants to talk and doesn’t want to listen (Proverbs 18:2). In other words, you can’t tell him anything. He is quarrelsome (Proverbs 20:3), and he rages and is arrogant when you try to reason with him (Proverbs 14:16). A fool is someone who is incapable of weighing thoroughly the consequences of his actions. As a result, he doesn’t make wise choices. If you have a husband like that, pray for him to have wisdom.

“If your husband is not a full-time fool, so to speak, but he does occasionally engage in foolish behavior, don’t try to fix him. God is the only one who can do that. Your job is to love and pray for him. The Bible says, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding’ (Proverbs 9:10). This means you start by praying for the fear of the Lord to overtake him. Then pray for him to have godly counsel. If you keep praying for your husband to have godly counsel, then even if he does make a bad decision, you can enjoy the comfort of knowing you did your part and God will bring good out of it.

“So much of our lives is affected by decisions our husbands make. We are wise to pray that they make good ones.”

Prayer:

“Lord, fill my husband with the fear of the Lord and give him wisdom for every decision he makes. May he reverence You and Your ways and seek to know Your truth. Give him discernment to make decisions based on Your revelation. Help him to make godly choices and keep him from doing anything foolish. Take foolishness out of his heart and enable him to quickly recognize error and avoid it. Open his eyes to clearly see the consquences of any anticipated behavior.”

“I pray that he will listen to godly counselors and not be a man who is unteachable. Give him strength to reject the counsel of the ungodly and hear Your counsel above all others. Instruct him him even while he is sleeping, and in the morning, I pray he will do what’s right rather than follow the leading of his own flesh. I know the wisdom of this world is foolishness with You, Lord. May he not buy into it, but keep his eyes on You and have ear to hear Your voice.”

Power Tools:

-Proverbs 1:5

-Proverbs 3:7

-Proverbs 1:7

-Proverbs 1:28-30

-Proverbs 21:16

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The Name Says It All

Posted by Guest on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 in Faith | Comments (0)

Isaiah 9:6:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

When I went with my two friends to Israel, I earned a nickname that is rather funny. I earned the name of “banshee” during a very bizarre cab ride. It would literally take me 20 minutes to give you a complete picture of the cab ride, but I will keep it to the moments before I screamed loud enough to wake the dead. You see, I believe the cab driver must have been having mini strokes for him to be driving in the manner he was. When you don’t speak the language and you are in a somewhat dangerous country, you do not just jump out of a cab when you don’t know where you are located. That vulnerability will make you endure events that you would not in your native country.

While sitting in the back seat, quietly having a conversation with God on how to get out of the cab, I noticed that we were about to hit a stopped city bus. As we got closer and I continue to question in my head on what to do, we hit the stopped bus and folded the entire front end of the Mercedes cab. As crazy as it sounds, the bus just pulled off and we then followed behind them. Then came the pedestrian that the cab driver was now aiming for with the damaged cab. I couldn’t take it anymore. I mustered every sound that I had in my body and screamed “Stop!” so loud that every human in earshot trembled. Thank you God, we stopped! Now we still could not get out of the cab for about another ten minutes but when we did, my girlfriends laughed at me. My friends knew me and it was not common for me to go around yelling at people or making big public displays.

My nickname was given to me as a tease towards something that I did that seemed out of the norm for me. Was God joking when He proclaimed the names of Jesus? Many could question the name “Prince of Peace” because there is no peace on this earth. In fact you could argue that the opposite is true about peace on earth. Or is it?

When you get to know Jesus you learn that the Prince of Peace is a relationship peace. I know this because when I was mentally or emotionally wrecked from life, I called on Him and He answered me with His bold peace.  Several times because of events, my insides went numb from too much pain. When I miscarried, for weeks all I could utter was the words “dear God.” When my mom suddenly died, my prayer was “this hurts too much, God; help.” Every time I prayed, I felt His wonderful presence. Now the pain did not go away, but for that moment I did not feel that hope had left my life.

My dear friend is completing her first deployment. In a five-month period she lost her grandmother to a stroke and just recently her mother to a sudden heart failure. I know what is in store for her for the next few weeks. Unbelievable numbness with periodic thoughts of this is just a bad dream.  When loss happened to me, I walked around in a fog performing what was needed of me, thinking the entire time, “my world as I know it is gone.” I am not a person that questions God, but I do suggest if you are, ask those questions directly to God. Don’t stop the communications. I challenge you to take this verse and challenge God with it. If you truly believe in God and have faith in His will, then proclaim this verse in your life.

Your circumstance will not change; in my case, this meant my baby was not coming back to life. All I knew was that my dream of motherhood just died and I felt that God cheated me. After long conversations with God and proclaiming the many promises in the Bible, I understand that most things are way beyond my comprehension. I just have to trust. I just have to believe. I just have to ask God to give me peace with my circumstance.

I cannot figure out why some people walk through fire after fire. I do not understand. I don’t think we are supposed to because we cannot see the big picture from God’s view. What I can do is tell you what I do understand and believe. I believe that God’s will is perfect. I believe that I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me. That does not mean that I am always happy or that I want to endure the circumstance in front of me. It just means that I have the power and might to fight the evil that plagues this earth and I have a choice to a peaceful life even with severe loss.

My Jesus gives me hope and there is no peace without hope. Thank you Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace for my hope.  Thank you that I can proclaim your names as a promise from You to me and all those who follow and believe.

_______________________________________________

Today we are pleased to welcome our guest blogger, Kathleen Cline! Kathleen is the author of God + Military Spouse: United Our Families Will Stand and I Want To Be the Fat Pretty One: Reflecting God’s Esteem. You can read more about Kathleen at her website.

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Chapter 9: His Purpose

Posted by Kathryn on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 in Bible study | Comments (0)

This week we are discussing our husband’s purpose. I really liked this chapter a lot and I hope you do too!

“Everyone has a purpose. It’s the reason we exist. It’s our life’s mission, objective, or plan. Generally, we’re here to glorify God and do His will. How that specifically translates in our lives is unique to each of us. Your husband needs to know the reason he exists. He needs to be sure his life is not just an accident, but that he’s here by design. He must be certain he was created for a great purpose. When he discovers that purpose, and is doing what he was created to do, becoming what he was created to be, he will find fulfillment. This can only contribute to your happiness as well.”

I just really love this. I think everyone needs to know what their purpose in life is. I believe that this does not just mean your job, but who you are and everything you do in life. Our husbands have an amazing purpose and it is our job to help them find it and support them along the way.

“If I’ve learned anything being married two and one half decades, it’s that a wife can’t put pressure on her husband to be something, but she can pray for him to become it. She can pray that he be molded according to God’s plan and not anyone else’s. Then, who he becomes will be determines by whether he hears God’s call on his life or not.”

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.“ -II Timothy 1:9

“You can always tell when a man is not living in the purpose for which God created him. You sense his unrest. You get a feeling something is not quite right, even if you can’t put your finger on what it is. When you’re around a man who is fulfilling his calling and doing what he was created to do, you’re aware of his inner direction, confidence, and deep security. How do you feel about what your husband is doing with his life? Do you lack peace about it because he is on a path that’s unfulfilling, beating him down, or going nowhere? If so, the pray, ‘Lord, take my husband from this place, reveal to him what You’ve called him to be, and open doors to what he should be doing.’ Praying that doesn’t mean your husband will be pulled out of what he’s doing and dropped into something else. It can happen that way, but often what takes place is a change in man’s perspective.”

“Whatever God has called your husband to be or do, He has also called you to support it and be a part of it, if in no other way than to pray, encourage, and help in whatever way possible. For some women that means creating a good home, raising children, being there for him, and offering prayer support. Other women may take an active role by becoming a partner or helper. In either case, God does not ask you to deny your own personhood in the process. God has called you to something, too. But it will fit in with whatever your husband’s calling is, it will not be in conflict with it. God is not the author of confusion, strife, or unworkable situations. He is a God of perfect timing. There is a time for everything, the Bible says. The timing to do what God has called each of you to do will work out perfectly, if it’s submitted to God.”

How incredible to think that our calling fits into whatever our husband’s calling is! God doesn’t make mistakes. He knew exactly who you would marry and what each of your callings would be. No matter what our husbands do, we need to work to support them in prayer and encouragement. As military wives that would be mean not groaning and moaning over another PCS or another deployment. If this is your husband’s calling, then God has a plan in it. Even the deployments! Who knows how God could use your husband or YOU in a new place or while your husband is away. Pray for your husband daily and remember that God has a very special purpose for him.

“If you husband is already moving in the purpose for which God has called him, you can count on the enemy of his soul coming to cast doubt–especially if he hasn’t realized the success he has envisioned. Your prayers can help cast away discouragement and keep it from taking hold. It can help your husband to hear and cling to God’s revelation. It can cause him to live his life on purpose.”

Prayer:

“Lord, I pray that (husband’s name) will clearly hear the call You have on his life. Help him to realize who he is in Christ and give him certainty that he was created for a high purpose. May the eyes of his understanding be enlightened so that he will know what is the hope of Your calling.”

“Lord, when You call us, You also enable us. Enable him to walk worthy of his calling and become the man of God You made him to be. Continue to remind him of what You’ve called him to and don’t let him get sidetracked with things that are unessential to Your purpose. Strike down discouragement so that is will not defeat him. Lift up his eyes above the circumstances of the moment so that he can see the purpose for which You created him. Give him patience to wait for Your perfect timing. I pray that the desires of his heart will not be in conflict with the desires of Yours. May he seek You for direction, and hear when You speak to his soul.”

Power Tools:

-I Corinthians 7:7

-I Corinthians 7:17

-II Thessalonians1:11

-Ephesians 1:17-19

-Psalm 20:4

Questions:

1. Have you been praying for your husband at least 5 minutes a day?

2. Last time we talked about our husband’s fears, were you able to pray for him in this area.

3. Did you find out any fears you may not have known about before?

If you would like to discuss the Bible Study with others, please join the message boards here:

http://community.wivesoffaith.org/

Popularity: 2% [?]

Chapter 8: His Fears

Posted by Kathryn on Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 in Bible study | Comments (1)

This week we are going to talk about our husband’s fears. It’s funny because when you think about men you don’t really think about them being fearful. You think about them being courageous and brave, but men and especially husbands can be fearful too. Here are a few things Stormie says about our husband’s fear.

“There are many things in this world to be afraid of; only a fool would say otherwise. But when fear seizes us, tormenting and ruling our lives, we have become captive to it.” Fear is something I understand well. I have struggled with fear and worry and panic attacks since I was little. I understand the panic, the overwhelming fear, and the desire to just be safe. But God does not want us to fear, he wants us to trust. And in order to help our husbands we need to understand fear, and how it works.”

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7, KJV

“Men are often susceptible to that because without even realizing it, they get attacked by the “what if’s.” “‘What if I can’t make enough money?’ ‘What if something happens to my wife and children?’ ‘What if I get a terrible disease?’ ‘What if my business fails?’ ‘What if I can’t be a good father?’ ‘What if I become disabled and can’t work to support my family?’ ‘What if I’m overpowered or threatened?’ ‘What if I can’t perform sexually?’ ‘What if no one respects me?’ ‘What if I’m in an accident?’ ‘What if I die?’ Fear can take hold of a man (Psalm 48:6) and cause his life to be wasted. If he is “seized with great fear” (Luke 8:37), it can keep him from all God has for him.”

Wow! So many things are husband can be fearful of. I never realized how much a man can be fearful and to think we can lift up our husband in prayer to help combat these fears, and we can encourage him to go to God with his fear and give them over to Him.

“There is a difference between a fearful thought that comes to mind as a prompting to pray for a particular thing, and a tormenting spirit of fear that paralyzes. You don’t want to undermine the promptings of the Holy Spirit to your husband’s heart, but you do want to support him as he battles destructive fear. The only kind of fear we are supposed to have is fear of the Lord.”

“When you have fear of the Lord, God promises to deliver you from your enemies (II Kings 17:39), protect you from evil (Proverbs 16:6), keep His eye on you (Psalm 33:18), show you His mercy (Luke 1:50), give you riches and honor (Proverbs 22:4), supply everything you need (Psalm 34:9), reveal all you need to know (Psalm 103:17), give you confidence (Proverbs 14:26), a satisfying life (Proverbs 19:23), longevity (Proverbs 10:27), and the desires of your heart (Psalm 145:9). What more could you ask? Pray for the comforting, securing, perfect love of the Lord to surround your husband and deliver him from all his fears.”

Prayer:

“Lord,  You’ve said in Your Word that ‘there is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.’ (I John 4:18). I pray You will perfect my husband in Your love so that tormenting fear finds no place in him. I know You have not given him a spirit of fear. You’ve given him power, love, and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). I pray in the name of Jesus that fear will not rule over my husband. Instead, may Your Word penetrate every fiber of his being, convincing him that Your love for him is far greater than anything he faces and nothing can separate him from it.”

“I pray that he will acknowledge You as a Father whose love  is unfailing, whose strength is without equal, and in whose presence there is nothing to fear. Deliver him this day from fear that destroys and replace  it with Godly fear (Jeremiah 33:40). Teach him Your way, O Lord. Help him to walk in Your truth. Unite his heart to fear Your name (Psalm 86:11). May he have no fear of men, but rise up and boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ (Hebrews 13:6) ‘How great is your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You’ (Psalm 31:19).”

“I say to you (Husband’s name), ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you’ (Isaiah 35:4). ‘In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.’ (Isaiah 54:14). ‘You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.’ (Psalm 91:5,6). May the spirit of the Lord rest upon you, ‘the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of cousel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Lord’ (Isaiah 11:2).”

Power Tools:

-Psalm  34:7

-Psalm 34:4

- Psalm 23:4

-Isaiah 41:10

-Psalm 27:1

Questions:
1. Have you been praying for your husband at least 5 minutes a day?
2. Last time we talked about our husband’s mind, were you able to pray for him in this area?
3. Did you notice any changes?

If you would like to discuss the Bible Study with others, please join the message boards here:

http://community.wivesoffaith.org/

Popularity: 2% [?]

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