It's Marriage Prayer Friday!

Today's prayers for marriage are inspired by Ecclesiastes 3:1-12.

A prayer for your own marriage—

LORD OF ETERNITY, thank you for creating seasons in life and love. As it relates to my marriage, God, please help me to see the beauty in each season and to be refreshed in the changes. I confess that it is tempting to enjoy the beauty of the changing leaves this fall and forget to credit the hand of You who created that beauty in the first place. Likewise, when things are going well in my marriage, I tend to forget how You are at work in our hearts and in my marriage relationship to glorify Yourself and bring us joy.

My husband/wife and I desperately need Your help to prepare for and enjoy each new day. Strengthen us to endure the difficult seasons and help us to thrive. Whether we are in a season of hard work, a time of grief, a season of planting or feeling uprooted, a time of harvest or a season of waiting, help me to remember that you have good plans for me and for us. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on You in every season, Lord — good and bad — so that the beauty of the covenant commitment we made will be fully enjoyed by my family and all those who intersect with it. AMEN

Something to pray for a friend's marriage—

LORD OF ETERNITY, thank you for creating seasons in life and love. As it relates to marriage, God, please help my married friends to see the beauty in each season and to be refreshed in the changes. It is tempting to enjoy the beauty of the changing leaves this fall and forget to credit the hand of You who created that beauty in the first place. Likewise, when things are going well in the marriages around me, I tend to forget how You are at work in my loved ones' hearts and marriage relationships to glorify Yourself and bring joy to Your people.

My loved ones desperately need Your help to prepare for and enjoy each new day. Strengthen them to endure the difficult seasons and help them to thrive. Whether they are in a season of hard work, a time of grief, a season of planting or feeling uprooted, a time of harvest or a season of waiting, help them to remember that you have good plans for them. Help them to keep their eyes fixed on You in every season, Lord — good and bad — so that the beauty of the covenant commitment they made will be fully enjoyed by their families and all those who intersect with them. AMEN

FINDING GLORY Wednesday

Thank you for joining us here to explore God’s ways as it relates to growing, thriving and experiencing Him through adversity. Please do more than just read. Share your perspectives! Finding Glory Wednesdays are designed to be a conversation in addition to opportunity for private reflection. God is doing big things through the intersections of your life with others.

Today’s scripture and discussion question challenge us in the area of surrender.

Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!” Joshua 1:16-18

When you believe you are being prompted or led to follow God’s call in certain direction in your life, what helps you respond like the Israelites did when they said, “whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go?”

These “Finding Glory Wednesdays” posts are an online discussion series based on the books Finding Glory in the Thorns and the companion Finding Glory in the Thorns: Group Discussion Guide by Larry and Lisa Jamieson. For more information about Finding Glory Groups, visit http://www.findingglory.com/findingglorygrou.html.

Active (not passive) Waiting

I am a grateful follower of The Gospel Coalition Blog. It feeds me with truth and food for important thought while keeping my heart looking more broadly at the issues facing Christians today than I am sometimes inclined to look if left to my own narrow vision.

A few weeks ago, my husband Larry forwarded me one of their posts which I had missed. The post by Phil Tripp, titled God's Will for Your Wait, resonated deeply with us. The last number of years have involved many seasons of waiting for us. Things we have waited for include healing, jobs, a book publisher, financial recovery and security, ministry clarity, partnership opportunities and so on. I know there are many who can relate to that struggle — experiencing some seasons of clear vision and mobilization and other seasons of waiting and wondering about God's presence and purposes.

If you have ever wondered about God's will in your waiting seasons or if you are wrestling, like us, through one of those right now, please take a few minutes to read that post. It offers very practical and gospel-centered direction.

Our family is traveling as you read this (some work and some play in Nashville). It's been a time for continued prayer seeking God's heart about the direction of our ministry and family. Even as we wrestle through wishing we could know more about God's higher ways, we are also grateful for the ways that wrestling draws us into closer step with Him. Knowing that Abraham's waiting (Romans 4:18-21) was also for our benefit is a great encouragement and an inspiring model.

Let us remember we are never alone in our waiting and let's be active in the process — celebrating, studying and yielding to the One who credits our faith to us as righteousness.

Lord, may our waiting be an act of worship! AMEN