It's "Marriage Prayer Friday!"

It seems like everyone I know has just been experiencing an unusually busy week or season of life. May I offer warning? Busy-ness is a marriage killer. If you have been too busy to pray for your marriage or someone else's marriage this week, PLEASE slow down for a moment right now and join with us in prayer for marriage. Be still, dear souls. Your Maker and Rescuer awaits.

A prayer for your own marriage—

MERCIFUL GOD, you never promised me an easy life but You do promise me a life abundant with blessings. Lord, you know my marriage is not always easy. We face obstacles and carry burdens that are overwhelming sometimes. Thank You, holy Lord, that You will never leave me alone in challenges and You will use everything in my life and marriage — whether comfortable or painful — for good purposes because I love You. No turmoil occurs in this family without Your permission. Every detail of what unfolds in my marriage is authorized by You for Divine purpose. Where I have any need or opportunity to surrender my part in this family to You, Jesus, I do that right now and ask for Your grace and power to cover us. When hard things come, please stretch, strengthen and equip me and my husband/wife to respond as a team. Where there is sin, please make Your way out clear and compelling to us so that we can be free indeed. Please help us to have your perspective about things like financial pressure, vocational dissatisfaction, illness, and parenting challenges. Help us to catch Your vision for the Kingdom value in every experience we face so we live with our hope, decisions, and actions anchored in Your ways. God, please use my marriage story to point people to You. You can do this, in Jesus’ name! AMEN

Something to pray for a friend's marriage—

MERCIFUL GOD, you never promised an easy life but You do promise a life abundant with blessings. Halleluiah! Lord, my married friends need to be reminded that You know their marriages are not always easy. They face obstacles and carry burdens that are overwhelming sometimes. Lord, please reassure them that You will never leave them alone in challenges and You will use everything in their lives and marriages — whether comfortable or painful — for good purposes because they love You. No turmoil occurs in their families without Your permission. Every detail of what unfolds in these marriages is authorized by You for Divine purpose. Give my friends a spirit of humility to recognize any areas where they have need or opportunity to surrender themselves to You, Jesus. Please cover my friends with Your grace and power. When hard things come, please stretch, strengthen and equip my friends to respond as a team. Where there is sin, please bring a spirit of conviction while making Your way out clear and compelling to them so that they can be free indeed. Please help my friends to have your perspective about things like financial pressure, vocational dissatisfaction, illness, and parenting challenges. Help them to catch Your vision for the Kingdom value in every experience they face so my friends live with their hope, decisions, and actions anchored in Your ways. God, please use my friends' marriages to point people to You. You can do this, in Jesus’ name! AMEN

FINDING GLORY Wednesday

As always, today’s scripture and discussion question are taken from the Finding Glory in the Thorns: Group Discussion Guide. As we did last week, we continue to dig deeper into this challenging but rewarding issue of sharing our stories and lives together.

"To keep me from being conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10

How much did Paul share about the specifics of his "thorn?" How do you maintain an appropriate level of privacy (or respect for family) while sharing your struggles with transparency and authenticity? The following verses are helpful in discovering God's ways in this: Ephesians 5:33, Ephesians 6:1-4, Romans 14:13.

Instead of giving testimony about what God is teaching us, we can all have a tendency to fall into the trap of telling our stories like a droning novel. What is the difference between talking about your life's circumstances and sharing your faith story?

For more information about Finding Glory Groups, visit http://www.findingglory.com/findingglorygrou.html.

Today's reflections are copyrighted excerpts from Finding Glory in the Thorns: Group Discussion Guide.

Who has Walked in Your Shoes?

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about kids having seizures. Larry and I deeply empathize with parents facing the horrifying moments, hours or even years watching their child suffer with uncontrolled seizures. We are very thankful that our daughter Carly’s seizures have been well managed for several years now and we never take it for granted. Even the non-seizure episodes she has are so similar to a seizure that they serve as a regular reminder of how helpless, scared and lonely a person can feel when watching a loved one suffer.

I got to thinking about the first time Carly had a seizure and what it meant to have a neighbor walk through that shocking and overwhelming situation with us. We knew nothing about seizures at that time and it lasted well over an hour so you might imagine we appreciated a quick education and the good deal of comfort we got from having someone there who had been through it before us.

That night in the emergency room, our friend stood in the wings offering reassuring words and prompting us with questions we might ask the doctors. In the 11 years since that night, we have reminisced frequently and fondly about the treasure it was to experience her empathy, prayers, and quiet, respectful guidance.

Over the years, we’ve had friends come alongside us in remarkable ways, especially when we’ve been in the midst of adversity. There have also been times when we have felt quite forgotten, and sometimes even abandoned, by our friends. For as wonderful and important as it is to have someone come alongside of us when we are feeling hurt, confused, scared or tired, people will never fully satisfy us. Only God can do that.

And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

I know there are others reading this today who, like me, need to review God’s promises frequently. We need to remember that Jesus has walked in our shoes. Not only does He perfectly understand our situations and our needs but also, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God is present and available to us at all times to empathize with us, guide us, strengthen us and give us His peace. We don’t have to earn that accessibility — it’s simply a gift to be received.

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119:114

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. Isaiah 49:13

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

COME, LORD JESUS! Help me to trust in your presence, power and great love for me. Cause these promises from Your Word to sink into my soul and become deeply personal to me. Give me godly friends to encourage me through life with but teach me how to rest my heart and life completely in my relationship with You, Lord God. AMEN