31 Days to a Happy Marriage: Day 26: The First Resort

When I look back at my marriage at the times when it was most difficult and there was no peace, I know I wasn't praying.  And, by praying, I'm not talking about kneeling-by-your-bedside-hands-crossed-praying-for-hours kind of praying....I'm talking about just simply talking (and listening) to God.  I was too busy being focused on me and the problems, that I wasn't focusing on God and his answers.

James 1:5 tells us, "If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought."

God wants to help us...He wants us to ask Him for help.

Most of the time when we have marriage issues we talk to everyone but God.  God should be our first (and most of the time only) go-to guy.

We don't need to be under pressure about praying some holier-than-thou type of prayer.  Get real with God. He's a big boy and can handle it.  Talk to Him like you would talk to your best friend.  He's listening.

Praying is also not just for when times are hard.  It's a time to thank God for what He's done and a time to ask His direction for different areas of our lives.  You don't have to wait for a problem to show up to start praying.  You can pray for your spouse's job, stress-level, friendships, parenting issues, etc.

Instead of making prayer a last resort, let's make it our first.  We can usually get a lot more accomplished in our relationship if we talk to God about our issues without even bringing it up to our spouse. We give God the opportunity to change our outlook, which is usually the biggest issue. Ha!

Find a list with links to the other posts in this series here.*