Prayer for the wedded

Anyone that has been married longer than a few minutes becomes a target. It’s like having a giant bull’s eye painted on you with long range missiles being sent to you. The attack starts off small but it is steady. It begins as jokes, quips and anecdotes. You receive friendly jabs and condolences for joining together in Holy Matrimony. I believe it is the word holy that does it actually. If you are not a Christian, then this doesn’t apply. The more holy you try to live the greater the attack. So it is with the people that go to church. That includes the casual congregant all the way to the fiery preacher that should have it going on. Well, they do have it going on; they have a full scale assault on their spiritual life. Too many fail to remember their vulnerability and appeal to the enemy.

I’m praying for all married Christians right now to understand that what is going on in their lives is not unique. One of the best tactics in warfare is to divide and conquer. The family that is broken can’t grow. The couple that is fighting does more damage than they know. There is an African proverb that says, “when elephants fight, it is the grass the suffers.” We are all connected.

The man of God that is not right towards his wife will have his prayers hindered. Preachers, that is like taking the bullets out of your weapon. You can’t shoot the enemy without ammunition. It’s a sword that you can’t take out of the scabbard. It’s a dog without teeth. How are you going to win a fight without a weapon?

I’m praying for the wife that has internalized everything and is ceasing to function. I am praying for the husband that doesn’t know how to communicate his pain, his shortcomings, or his mistakes and allows it to build a wall around him. It’s like plaque in his arteries and its choking his soul. I’m praying for the man that seeks release from his guilt and instead goes deeper into darkness. I am praying for the woman that seeks release from her hurt in the same place. The dark places can be the bed or a bottle. It can be a pill or a person. It can be complicated or computer connected, wherever it is outside of Christ it is dark.

Speaking of darkness, the devil is good at his job. He has been using the same tricks effectively since the world began. You are never tempted with something you don’t like. The old girlfriend always says the best stuff. The old boyfriend looks better now and is more secure. The new office mate is hotter than Georgia asphalt. The other married person has seemingly great advice. Whatever your thing is, it’s out there waiting for you. There is nothing new under the sun. Our struggles are not new and not unique. Though we have landed on the moon, have satellites in the sky, have DVD’s, CD’s and MP3’s we haven’t improved mankind. We still crash and burn. We still make mistakes. We still do dumb things even though we might be wealthier than any of our family before us, more educated than our peers or accomplished some thing. When you add children, ex’s, parents, money, and sex or the lack thereof to it; tada! Give your mate a break, again. Don’t surrender.

Married people are supposed to be two separate people that God is trying to blend into one. The Bible calls it, one flesh. Scientifically it could be called one organism. We should no longer be two struggling but one with Christ as our head. It is not an automatic or an overnight event. And sometimes, you have to pass the test of fire. This might be it for you. Don’t quit. Losers never win. Pray, repent; seek to hear from God, repeat…

I’m praying for myself, for my friends, and you if you want me to.

kvb