“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.” Matthew 19:6
Being the inexperienced chicken owner I was, I came home one day to a yard full of feathers. My entire flock of chickens were wiped out in a single day. Why? Because I thought I could free range them without the fear of predators. I mean, until now I had never seen a hog, coyote or anything else for that matter on my property. Little did I consider predators that could fly. I had to call in reinforcement and called my life long friend who is an expert at all things chickens. Her and husband gave us a list of materials needed for a new fence and tricks to keeping our flock safe. She even helped replace all the chickens I had lost so I could get back to egg making. Aren’t friends great?! I’ve got automatic doors that lock my girls up tight, owls on my posts to deter birds and a high fence to keep four legged creatures out. We bolted up the doors tight so no slithering snakes will creep in either. What safeguards your home? Security cameras, gates and locks? Do you have alarms on your cars? Do you keep a password on the access to your bank account? All the added security keeps your family and your valuables safe against people trying to do harm. But what about your marriage? We need safeguards in place to protect our most valuable asset, which is the covenant we made under God. I never played well with others in my sandbox if you know what I mean. So you can bet on your momma that I want to make certain that I am taking every precaution to keep satan and his schemes out of my marriage. Communication is key! Ask the hard questions. Identify the areas each other struggle with and put safeguards in place. Admit where you feel weak and tempted. I know it’s not easy and it may even feel uncomfortable. But the 5 minutes of awkwardness is way better than finding out your marriage has been infiltrated.
Prayer prompts:
Ask the Lord to help you identify areas of your marriage that are vulnerable.
“What God“ has joined together, let no man separate.” Mark 10:9“
Lord, I pray that you would reveal any areas of our marriage that are vulnerable to attacks. Open my eyes to the enemies tactics. Let me recognize what is happening is not of you, Lord. Give my husband the strength to tell me when he’s struggling with anything that could be seen as infidelity, temptation or stepping outside the bounds of your covenant. Likewise, I pray that I will have the strength and courage to tell him when I’m struggling or have been tempted. I pray that we would both respond accordingly and put proper measures in place to safeguard our marriage.
Ask the Lord for a hedge of protection around your man from Jezebel spirts.
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.” Romans 16:17-18
Lord, I pray that you would wrap a hedge of protection around us. Please keep any person away who wants to cause division between us. I pray we would both recognize when there are people who do not keep Gods commands or respect our marriage. I pray that if we have anything on our devices that make it easy for us to be tempted, that we would delete and do away with them.
Pray your husband always looks for a way of escape to avoid temptation and takes it.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
Lord, I pray that if my husband is ever tempted he would look for a way of escape and utilize it. I pray he would turn and run from anything that could cause harm to himself and our marriage. I pray that my husband would trust me to come to me with anything and that I will have an understanding heart to receive his most vulnerable moments. I pray that I would not react in my flesh.
Challenge
Can you be bold enough to simply tell him this? “Hey babe, I know there’s a lot of pressures and demands everywhere. If you are struggling with anything, I just wanted you to know I’m here for you and I’m willing to help and talk about anything.”