Chapter 22- His Emotions

I often forget that my husband has emotions too. He is so logical sometimes that he seems like a robot. Negative emotions can have such a powerful effect in a marriage and it is so important to not only recognize them when they occur, but to commit to root them out of our minds and hearts.

Heavenly Father I ask that you would help my husband not to have negative emotions. I pray that he would recognize them as such when they occur. I do pray that he would never be controlled by anger, depression, anxiety, jealousy, fear, hopelessness or inadequacy. Help me not to be pulled down by any negative emotions. Let me not get angry when Amos is angry. Help me to remember to pray in all things. Help me to understand my husband and give me words to speak to him that will encourage him to seek You in all things. I pray that he would always remember You and Your faithfulness regardless of circumstances. I pray that he would always know that he can share his deepest feelings with me. Surround him with godly men that he can open up with and be held accountable to also. Give him patience and self control. Fill him with joy. Help him to always trust in You and walk wisely. Restore his soul and lead him in the paths of righteousness for Your sake. Help him to always trust you and stand on Your firm word of truth. May he always put Your truth before his emotions.

Chapter 21- His Marriage

Since I been married, the idea of marriage has become far more sacred to me. I find myself diligently praying for couples whose marriages are struggling and shedding tears over couples who are separating or getting a divorce. When I married my husband I made my promises to God. I have never even really thought of the promises Amos made to me, because I have always known that in light of the commitment I made to God, it was not about the promises made to me, but my commitment to the Lord in spite of anything life may throw at us. I try to always remember that God is faithful and perfect even when my husband is not.
Praying for my marriage is something I take very seriously. I know that for my husband and I to have a joyful marriage we need to remain focused on the Lord and each other. Putting others before yourself is a biblical principle that we so often forget to apply in our relationship with our spouse. My greatest prayers for our marriage have been, "Lord, help me to be less selfish. Help me to put my husbands needs before my own." Sometimes I say it through gritted teeth, but I know that God desires me to put others before myself.

Lord, I want to take this time to pray for my marriage. I pray that you would always protect us from neglect, adultery, and selfishness. Please let us always be on watch for anything that has the potential to harm or destroy our marriage. Let us be in continual prayer over such things. May we continue to never use the "d" word. That was some of the best advice ever given to us. We went into this marriage knowing that divorce was not an option. I pray we would always remember our commitment to God and each other. Help us to disregard any past hurts in our relationship or any others. Help us to never have unrealistic expectations of each other. I pray that we would guard our hearts and minds against anything that would threaten our marriage in any way. I pray we would always guard our minds against lusting, whether emotionally or physically, for other people. Help us to always only see each other. Help us to always be great friends and to desire understanding from each other. Help us to always seek first to understand and not to be understood. Please help us to let go of all immaturity, anger and unforgiveness. Help us to always set aside time to nurture our relationship. Let "date nights" always be a priority in our relationship. Help us to always put our relationship first so that our children can feel confidant in their security. We were both raised by single parents Lord, and because of that we have an even stronger desire to leave a legacy of love and faithfulness to our children and grandchildren. Let it be so, Lord. Thank you for the blessings of marriage. Help us to see the joy in being made perfect through our trials.

Chapter 20- His attitude

As much as I adore my husband, in my opinion, he does have a tendency to be a "negative Nancy". He often doesn't see what he is saying as negative, but there are definitely some glass half empty ideas in that mans head. For example, instead of rejoicing in the blessing of our home, he is often overwhelmed with all the things we have to do to the house and the yard. I really liked her prayer for this chapter and am going to use lots of it in my prayers for my husband this week.

Heavenly Father I do pray that you would fill Amos with your peace, your peace that surpasses all understanding. Give him a sense of calm and remind him that you are in control and there is no need for him to worry or stress. Help him to walk through life with a clean and perfect heart. Let him be so set apart and different that the brightness of his light shines onto all those around him. Especially help him at work to have a good attitude and a serving heart. I know it is difficult for him as a probational fire fighter, but Lord I pray that all those around him would see that he serves with a willing heart and a great attitude. Give him the strength he needs to do that. Fill him with Your love, Lord. Help him to be kind and patient. Help him to be selfless and not easily angered or provoked. Release him, daily, from any anger, anxiety, worry, selfishness, or desire to be in control. Give him a spirit of joy and help him to take captive any thoughts that are leading to bad attitudes. Help him to truly give thanks for all things in all circumstances. I pray that he would truly learn to be content in whatever state he is in. Bless him and keep him, Lord and let Your face shine upon him. Be gracious to him and give him peace. I pray that he would be anxious for nothing and that he would go to You in prayer with a thankful heart making his requests known to you. Give him a heart and spirit that are grateful and peaceful. Help him to enter into your gates with thanksgiving, and your courts with praise. Give him the desire to continually bless Your name, Jesus. amen.

Chapter 19-His Past

And oh what a past he has...

I know all of our husbands enough to know that this is an important area to pray about. We have our own pasts too, and we must remember that the way God deals with our past isn't necessarily the way He is going to deal with our husbands. For me, God healed me of all my long time hurts in a moment. He gave me a new heart and from that moment on I knew that I was forgiven. There have been very few moments I have dwelt on the things of my past. But for me, all my past sin and hurt had been revealed to me prior to my healing. That is not always the case. I have an unconfirmed feeling that God will reveal some areas of hurt from the past to my husband that he has yet to see or deal with.

Lord I pray for my husbands past. First Lord I ask that you would help him to see his past as something to learn from and teach from. I pray that he would not live in the past or assume that everyone will make the same mistakes he did. Renew his mind and help him to recognize any bad habits that need to be changed. Help him see the negative things that have happened as you see them now. Help him to feel completely forgiven and healed. I pray that he would be able to clearly discern Your voice from all others. Let him not get caught up in the past, but let him be continually looking forward. Help him to always remember that he is a new creation in Christ and that the old things of his past are not an issue anymore. Especially guide him in areas where there may still be consequences for past sin. Help him to see Your purpose in all things. I pray that he would truly believe that you work all things together for his good, even accounting for his past sin and hurt. Help him to continually put off the old man and put on the new man daily. Thank you Lord for making my husband the man he is today. Thank you for using his past for good, even where it seems the darkest. Help me to put his past behind him also. Help me to remember to be merciful and forgiving in regards to his past. Use me to show him that he is a new man, a godly man, seeking after righteousness and purity.

Chapter 18- His Fatherhood

I liked this chapter. There were so many things that I could relate to as far as wanting to pray for Amos.

Lord, please help Amos to be the kind of father to our children that you are to us. Help him to require obedience, but be quick to give grace to a repentant heart. Help him to always set the example of how a husband and father should behave to our children. Now, even with Elijah so young, I pray that he would be aware of his parenting choices. Help him (and myself too) to instill godly discipline into our family. Help us to know how to discipline in a way that is pleasing to you. Please help Amos to always take the time to spend with his children. May his relationships with them always be priority over other things he feels "need to get done." I pray that he would get all is fatherly wisdom from you. If there are issues he has with his dad, I pray that you would bring them to the surface and heal him of any hurt or anger. Restore him, so that he can be the kind of father you desire him to be. Help him to fully understand Your heart for us as your children so that he can better understand how to be a father himself. I pray that he would never provoke our children to wrath, but that he would bring them up in the instruction and admonishment of You. Help him to always realize what an important role he plays in our family and especially to our children. Thank you Lord that his desire is to be a great a father. Let his focus be on drawing nearer to you, knowing that his relationship with you will directly affect the way he treats our children. Thank you Father for a man who desires to please you and be a good father and husband. Please keep gratitude for what I have on the forefront of my mind.