Fwd: Does God Save Marriages?

[Felix wanjala]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Steve & Cindy Wright" <em...@marriagemissions.com>
Date: Sep 12, 2015 7:39 PM
Subject: Does God Save Marriages?
To: <wanj...@gmail.com>
Cc:

MARRIAGE INSIGHT: Does God Save Marriages?

Does God help save marriages? With all our hearts we believe He does. We personally know of many (including our own), and have heard of a lot of others where God helped them turn their marriages completely around. They now have great marriages. Does that happen often? Not as often as it should. Why not? We believe it’s because it takes humility, a renewed commitment, and a willingness to approach issues completely differently –God’s way instead of ours. But first, it begins with prayer. Sadly, many would rather give up than persevere to that extent.

The Marriage Insight we want to share with you is especially appropriate this week as the movie “The War Room” just came out… dealing with prayer and the war we are to wage against the enemy of our faith –not with each other. If the enemy of our faith can get us to keep fighting with each other, we aren’t fighting him, and the forces of darkness. Sadly, the strategy is working.

But something that David Clark writes in his book, “A Marriage After God’s Own Heart” shows that sometimes there IS victory. In it, he writes of a couple he counseled, “whose marriage was over. At least, they thought it was over. Years of neglect and unresolved conflict” had done its damage. They talked with him at great length, and from the outside, it all looked hopeless. But Dr Clark “asked them to spend the next week thinking, praying, and soul-searching about their marriage,” and then scheduled another appointment with them for the following week. 

When they walked in, their countenance was completely different. “They were holding hands, smiling, and laughing –just as couples do when they’re in love.” They then told Dr Clark their “incredible story. They said that they had gone home after the previous week’s session ready to end their marriage. After three days of silence, the husband suddenly asked his wife to pray with him. He told her that he was desperate and the only option left was to turn to God. And so they prayed. And prayed. And prayed. For three solid hours, they cried out to God on their knees in their bedroom. They confessed their sins in the relationship and repented of many things they had done to hurt each other. They admitted their resentments and gave them all to God. Through tears they asked for forgiveness—from God and from each other.

Dr Clark said, "They told me that something amazing happened after those three hours of prayer. Forgiveness and healing happened. They felt cleansed. They felt hopeful. They felt love for each other for the first time in years. With God's help, they knew they could start over. To be sure, this couple still had hard work to do in therapy. We spent several months clearing away old debris and building a new marriage. But their prayer marathon was the beginning of their journey."

There is a lot more we can say on this subject (which we do in this Insight, posted on our web site at www.marriagemissions.com), however, the most important point we want to make here is that a resurrected marriage IS possible. But for it to be all it can be, with God’s help, it starts on one’s knees. Sometimes it’s just one spouse praying in the beginning; sometimes it’s both. But we dare not be so prideful and independent that we overlook or dismiss God’s miracle working power. We pray you won’t. We pray that you will look to God to help you in the ways you most need it. 

"May the Lord direct your heart into God's love and Christ's perseverance." (2 Thessalonians 3:5) 

Cindy and Steve Wright

P.S. If you know anyone who could benefit from these weekly insights, please forward this insight and encourage them to subscribe on our web site at marriagemissions.com. Just click on “Subscribe” and fill in the necessary info. If you don’t have access to the Internet, send an email to subs...@marriagemissions.com with “Subscribe” in the subject line. To unsubscribe, send an email to unsub...@marriagemissions.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. We have a Prayer Wall on the Home Page you can use, plus every week new articles & comments are added, so return often. Also, we're on Facebook at facebook.com/marriagemissions and Twitter at twitter.com/mrgmissions.

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