It's "Marriage Prayer Friday!"

Once again, we are praying for marriages to be refreshed, renewed, healed, restored and thriving. Whether you are praying for your own marriage or standing in the gap for a friend, thank you for joining us in seeking the Lord for the protection and fruitfulness of this sacred union.

A prayer for your own marriage—

MERCIFUL GOD, it is marvelous for me to contemplate your infinite wisdom, love and power to form me in my mother’s womb and then keep transforming me daily into Your image (2 Cor. 3:18)! Thank you for having such tremendous patience with me when I struggle with weakness, imperfection and sin. Help me to have that kind of grace for my spouse. He/she, like me, is on a journey that is bumpy. Each of us is new creation from the first moment we embrace relationship with You (2 Cor. 5:17) and yet our sanctification and spiritual growth is a process — a race that feels like a grueling marathon sometimes, Lord (Acts 20:24)! Help me to respect my spouse’s personal process and faith journey. It is different from my own but no less precious to You. Forgive my impatience and high expectations. Show me how to keep You, Jesus — not my spouse — as the supreme object of my hope and expectations. Jesus, You are the author and perfector of our faith both personally and as a couple (Hebrews 12:1-3). Please increase our unity in the faith and help us grow more and more into a couple and family that brings glory to You. AMEN

Something to pray for a friend's marriage—

MERCIFUL GOD of infinite wisdom, love and power, thank you for forming me in my mother’s womb and then transforming me daily into Your image (2 Cor. 3:18). Thank you for doing an ongoing sanctifying work in me and in the marriages around me. Help me and my married friends to grasp the enormity of the privilege that it is to be saved in Christ even as we all struggle with weakness, imperfection and sin. Strengthen my married friends to have Your grace for their spouses. Show them how to demonstrate respect for one other as each of them grows in their own faith. Show them how to keep You, Jesus — not their spouses — as the supreme object of their hope and expectations. Jesus, You are the author and perfector of our faith as individuals and couples (Hebrews 12:1-3). Please increase my married friends’ unity in the faith and help them catch a vision about how they can grow in their relationships with you TOGETHER. Please empower my friends’ marriages to bring glory to You. AMEN

Suffering Can MULTIPLY Life!

Lord Jesus, we hold before You today so many friends who are weary under the burden of disability, health crisis, marriage storms, financial strain or other kinds of suffering. Our comfort comes from knowing You are always present and loving with a Plan to use all circumstances for our good and Your glory when we trust You. Thank you, Almighty God, for the countless reassurances in Your Word that the Good News of Your grace and power are MULTIPLIED through suffering — and this is just as true today as it was in days long ago when the earliest Christians were being persecuted. As we ponder these few verses right now, Lord, enlighten us to catch a clearer vision of Your perspective and purposes in our own personal challenges. Strengthen us to press on with hope, peace, and joy even when things aren't going the way we would like them to. Thank You, precious Holy Spirit, for the gift of Your comfort, counsel and might! AMEN

Acts 6:7
"And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith."

Acts 8:1
"And Saul approved of (Stephen’s) execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles."

Acts 8:4
"Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word."

Acts 9:16
"For I (God) will show him (Paul) how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."

Acts 9:31
"So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied."

It's "Marriage Prayer Friday!"

Last week we committed to join with you every Friday in praying for marriages to be refreshed, renewed, healed, restored and thriving. Whether you are praying for your own marriage or for the relationships of others you know, we hope you appreciate the value of this frontline weaponry in the battle for strength in this sacred union.

A prayer for your own marriage—

MERCIFUL GOD, your Word tells me to ponder things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8). Yet I confess that, when it comes to my marriage, I am often fixated on why I feel disrespected, discouraged, irritated, misunderstood or just under-loved. Thank you that I can lay the longings of my heart openly before you but help me to share them with others more sparingly and respectfully. Please strengthen my resolve to celebrate the good things more and criticize less. Make me an encouragement to my spouse, Lord Jesus, rather than a resounding gong or clanging symbol (1 Cor. 13:1). Help me to bring more of Your Light into my marriage so that this family experiences more joy and the kind of health that flows out of a marriage anchored in the Good News (Prov. 15:30)! AMEN

Something to pray for a friend's marriage—

MERCIFUL GOD, your Word tells us to ponder things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8). Yet I have a friend who sometimes feels disrespected, discouraged, irritated, misunderstood or under-loved in his/her marriage, Lord. Help me to be a good listener when my friend is struggling but keep me from enabling gossip or slander. Give me courage and gentleness to point my hurting friend back to You (2 Cor. 1:3-5). Show me how to help my friend celebrate more about what is good in his/her marriage in a way that doesn’t make him/her feel like I am minimizing the pain. Let my conversation be full of grace and seasoned with the salt of Your love and wisdom so that I know how to contribute to the health and strength of the families around me (Col. 4:6). All of this is for Your glory, Lord! AMEN