Trying2Live-Post #3

[faithrunner]

Ladies,

I don't know if any of you are fans of Joel Osteen, but I emailed a prayer request on his website about a week ago and the completely forgot about it. Well, lo and behold, I received this in my email today and I thought I would share it with you b/c it was really good.



We love you here at Lakewood Church and we consider it a privilege to join our faith with yours in fervent prayer. I encourage you to meditate on and confess the attached scriptures until they take root and come alive in your heart. As you do, the Bible promises that “the Word of God is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it]". (1 Thessalonians 2: 13 AMP) God bless!

Psalm 147: 3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows]. AMP

Almost nothing is more devastating to someone than discovering that their spouse has been unfaithful to them. It rips at the heart and grieves the soul, and no one escapes unhurt. Not only do they feel rejected and betrayed, but they also find it very difficult to rebuild any trust.

This is one reason God condemns adultery so strongly. God gave marriage to us, and His perfect plan is for a husband and wife to be faithful to each other as long as they both are alive. The Bible warns, "Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished" (Proverbs 6:27, 29).

The key to rebuilding trust between you and your spouse is to rebuild your marriage—and the key to that is to commit it to God. If you have never done so, ask Christ to come into your lives, and then make Him the center and foundation of your relationship. Learn to pray together ... read the Bible together ... attend church together ... and love God together. Let Christ's love be your example; a love that looks beyond your own needs and desires, and seeks to help and strengthen each other.

This isn't easy; the scars of the past may take time to heal. But when we know Christ, He forgives our past, and He also gives us the capacity to forgive others. Don't give up, but ask God to help you start again. With His help you can.

We join our faith with yours as you pray this prayer:
Dear Lord, You know my heart is broken, that I have a troubled spirit, and a longing for your comfort and the answers I seek during this time of despair. So I thank You for your word assuring me that from the very beginning You created my marriage as a one flesh covenant relationship, saying that what You joined together, no one should separate, and that You hate divorce. And thank You for your promise to heal my broken heart, and bind up my wounds, that You will comfort me as I mourn, and that You will bestow on me a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Thank You, Lord, that instead of shame or disgrace, I will rejoice in my inheritance, that I will inherit a double portion in my life, and that everlasting joy will be mine, as You restore my marriage, which Satan came to destroy. I thank You that in accordance with your word, I can approach your throne of grace with confidence, and receive mercy and grace to help me in my time of need.

Thank You for your promise that all things are possible with You Lord Jesus, and that You, and You alone, will give me peace that transcends all understanding. Thank You for the assurance that no wisdom, no insight and no plan can succeed against You. And thank You for having ________’s heart in your hand, and for directing her heart like a watercourse wherever You please. Thank You for assuring me that she cannot plan or understand her own way, because You are the one who determines and directs her steps.

Please teach me how to express my faith in love, because your word tells us that unfailing love is what everyone desires. And I ask You, Lord, to work in me to will and act according to your good purpose, to make me the husband You want me to be. I believe You and I am your disciple. I want to understand and live according to your teachings, because then I will know the truth and the truth will set me free. Thank You for your word, because it is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. You are my refuge and my shield, so I put my hope in your Word.

Thank You for upholding me and the covenant of my marriage with your righteous right hand. Thank You for making anyone who is incensed against me and the sanctity of my marriage as nothing; that they will be ashamed and disgraced. Thank You that anyone who contends with me or wars with me and comes to destroy or put asunder my marriage, is as nothing, as a nonexistent thing, for You, the Lord my God, hold my right hand, telling me to “Fear not, I will help you.”

And thank You for the comfort of knowing that even though my wife may have other plans in her heart, from You comes the reply of the tongue, and that the words that come out of your mouth do not return to You empty; that they will accomplish what You desire and what You sent them to accomplish! And thank You for the assurance that You honor and uphold the covenant of our marriage that was made when You witnessed our marriage vows, and that YOU will defend it against the treachery of unfaithfulness, divorce and remarriage. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.