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!
(See the Week 1, the introduction: The Power).
Today, we are continuing our devotions with the first chapter in The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian: His Wife.
"Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." - Proverbs 24:3-4 NKJV (pg. 44)
I picked this "power verse" because I think it sums up well what the chapter is about. The most painful part of this chapter was admitting to myself that change starts with ME, not my husband. Let's face it, no one wants to admit they have to change. But by asking God to change OUR hearts, OUR way of thinking, and OUR lives, He will be better able to hear our prayers for our husbands.
My favorite three-word prayer; Who, me?.. Change..."The hard part about being a praying wife," says Stormie, "...is maintaining a pure heart." We sometimes sabotage our own prayers because we don't pray with the right heart. A right heart is a heart without anger, unforgiveness, and an ungodly attitude. So, instead of praying "change him, Lord," our prayer should be, "change ME, Lord." "The most effective tool in transforming him may be your own transformation." (pg. 23-25)
The Ultimate Love Language...
Prayer is the ultimate love language. By praying for our spouse, you are bringing more love into your life and marriage, as well as unity in your home. (pg. 26-27)
I don't even like him - how can I pray for him?
The first thing to do about this, says Stormie, is to TELL GOD ABOUT IT. Be honest with God. Tell Him how you're feeling toward your husband. That thought mortifies me, but when you get right down to it, God already knows how you REALLY feel. (Pg. 28)
Shut up and pray!
God's word tells us there is a time for everything under the sun... that includes when to speak and when not to. "There is a time to speak and a time not to speak, and happy is the man whose wife can discern between the two." (pg. 29) "Sometimes anything we say will only hinder what God wants to do, so it's best to...well...shut up and pray." (pg. 29) This was the hardest part of the chapter for me to grasp. Everything within me rebels at the thought of holding my tongue, especially during an argument, but I see the wisdom in it. If we listen, God will give us the right words to say and the appropriate time to say them. If we give into our emotions and spew it all out, our husbands will be less receptive to it.
Creating a home
As a wife, you are the heart of the home. Your husband is the head. That doesn't make one more important than the other, God created these positions to be equal. One point that Stormie makes is that your husband expects you to take care of the home. As much as I hate to admit it, I am a horrible housewife. I hate cleaning, cooking, laundry, and all the stuff that goes along with making a home. But guess what, we can ask God to help us with these things! That creates a whole new perspective for me to work on and ponder. I never thought to ask God to help me have the desire to do chores. (pg. 33-36)
Letting go of expectations
"Let go of as many expectations as possible," says Stormie, because we will be disappointed when our husbands don't life up to the big list of expectations we have for them. Accept him the way he is and pray for him to grow because when he does change, it will be in God's time and it will be lasting. (Pg. 37) Strive to be the wife described in Proverbs 31 and respect your husband. Everything else will eventually fall into place according to God's timing and purpose. (Pg. 37-40)
