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FAITH
Scripture: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” -Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
Devotional: When people ask us how Tam and I have made it to where we are today, there is really only one answer: Jesus. Because of our faith in Jesus, we have seen miracles in our marriage. Because of our faith in him, we have been able to encourage one another through anything.
I’ll never forget when our youngest child, Tia, turned two years old. She was sick, and at first, we thought she had a common cold. Despite our efforts she was not getting any better. Then her illness got worse, so we thought it was the flu. Her condition grew worse and worse, so we took her to the hospital. By that point we were scared. She was crying without tears, and she wasn’t urinating. Doctors evaluated her and said she had an infection and was severely dehydrated. Without immediate intervention she would die. These are words no mother or father should ever have to hear.
We looked at each other and agreed, “We’ve got to trust God.” The situation was out of our control, but God was in control. While Tia was in that hospital room, I prayed like never before. I believe God heard our prayers and healed our daughter.
I can’t stress enough how important prayer is to the health of anyone’s marriage. Prayer is the key to living a peaceful life with God. Prayer is the root of our communication with God. It is the way we connect to heaven. And when life seems impossible, the confidence we have is in this one undeniable truth: God hears us. God hears our cry, and God hears our needs. He has never stopped listening to us. Knowing that has helped us to get through the rough days when we just wanted to let it all go. A threefold cord is not easily broken. When God is in the middle of your marriage, and when you both are committed to developing a relationship with Christ, the two of you can survive any storm. You can overcome any obstacle.
WILL YOU PRAY WITH US? Father, thank you for the gift of faith. Thank you for the gift of love. When belief is combined with compassion, the consequence is blessing after blessing after blessing. Help me to continue to believe in my spouse. Help me to love through thick and thin. You have been the unbreakable cord that has kept us together. Without you, we can do nothing. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scripture:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do I pray for my spouse daily?
2. Am I more inclined to try to get my spouse to do what I want, or do I take our issues to God in prayer?
3. When have you been successful in praying for something to change and it did? What were you doing during that time while you were praying?
4. Before I confront my spouse for something he/she isn’t doing right, have I allowed God to work on me?
Visit https://www.tillymannmusic.com/book.html for a listen of a chapter from David and Tamela Manns’ audio book and the Biblical Marriage activity.
