Water Your Faith Wednesday - The Power of a Praying Wife (Part 4)

Hello everyone! Welcome to "Water Your Faith" Wednesday! How do you feel after spending your Sunday at church praising and worshiping our Lord? I know I feel great! I start my week fired up and ready to face what's in store. Oftentimes, however, by Wednesday, life begins to drag me down. My goal is provide a way to overcome the spiritual doldrums with encouraging words, scriptures, devotions, songs, etc. Let me know what you think!

 

  Week 1, the introduction: The Power.

Week 2, His Wife.  

Week 3, His Work. 

Week 4, His Finances. 

Today, we are continuing our devotions with the fourth chapter in The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian: His Sexuality. 

 

"The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." - 1 Corinthians 7:4-5 

 

My Thoughts: I feel like this is one of the most important parts of making a marriage prosper and last. It is also one of the hardest parts for women to understand because we don't need sex like a man does. As Stormie states, "for women, sex comes out of affection... for a man, sex is pure need" (pg. 57). As the verse above states, our body is not our own. It is to be used to "comfort and complete the other person" (pg. 58). When the husband is deprived of this one need, it opens up temptation and other problems in a marriage. 

So what do you do when you don't feel like it, but your husband does? Stormie gives us a great idea. She says, "when your husband communicates to you what he has in mind..don't roll your eyes and sigh deeply. Instead, say "give me fifteen minutes" (or however long you need). During that time, do something to make yourself feel attractive... pray for God to give a renewed energy, strength, vitality, and a good attitude" (pg. 59). Hopefully, when that time is up, your coming together with your husband will be that much better and he will appreciate the time you took to get ready, just for him.

What do you do when your husband is the one withholding the sexual relations in your marriage? Find out why. Pray about it. Stormie says that he might be feeling depressed, like a failure, etc and that is causing the strain in your relationship (pg. 60).  By praying about it instead of getting angry, feeling resentful, and locking yourself away, you can help your hubby resolve the problem and move forward in a more productive way (pg. 60).

This was a short, yet insightful chapter about how sexual relations play a big part in your marriage.