Saturday, August 20, 2016

SHOULD WE PRAY FOR.....A SPOUSE? ( NEW SERIES)

1. Genesis 2:18 "And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 
2. Ruth 1:9a "The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” (The prayer of Naomi on behalf of her widowed daughter-in-laws Ruth and Orpah).
There are some things where we need to use experience, guided by wisdom  or self-interest as well as just plain common-sense.  For instance, we know that if we get that second huge helping of spaghetti and meatballs, we will bloat up and our clothes will become uncomfortable.  But there are some really important decisions in life for which we do need divine guidance.  Those who do not believe in God will consult their “inner person” or a close friend, who knows as much about the future than some psychic conman. We, who belong to Christ, pray to God. We pray.

We pray to God, not just for an answer to a specific question, dilemma or proposal, but we also pray for clarity of thinking. Thinking biblically will always lead to common sense solutions and accurate decisions. The first issue we plan to examine here,  is very crucial to anyone who has contemplated marriage. The burning question for any person, young or older is “am I about to marry the right person?” or better yet “is he or she THE ONE?”

The very first recorded instance of a person asking God for a spouse and the Lord provided the right one is the account of Abraham’s son, Isaac. Here is what the Lord Himself said occurred, from Genesis 24:12-14a  12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac". 

So prayed, so answered as the Lord lined up the entire divine appointment. Isaac then married this same young woman - Rebekah - from whom the Lord brought forth Jacob and Esau. Jacob became Israel.

But what about us 4000 years after Isaac and the Old Testament?  Does that work? Can we or SHOULD we still pray for God to give us the right spouse?  The answer is YES….from firsthand experience. After a visit with my future fiancĂ©e in 1988, I felt the huge tug in both the pit of my stomach and my heart that something could be amiss.  I then proceeded to pray daily for hours for about six weeks straight looking up into the cold winter sky, from my favorite park bench on the end of a frozen lake.  
There comes a point in every person’s life when, if you are thinking right, questions need to be answered as to the direction a certain potential relationship should be going.  When that point is reached, only God can provide clear and accurate guidance. He is the Only Being in any universe Who can see the end from the beginning and thus, why shouldn’t we pray to Him?

In my case, the answer came after 6-7 weeks of intense prayer for hours on end.  Most times, God uses people to give answers to prayers.  The answer to my prayer came in the form of a phone call, just about the time I was close to being late for the subway downtown to work which floored me with what God ordained.  Arriving late to work that morning was suddenly not as important as what I was hearing at the other end of the phone. Wasting no time, I proposed over the telephone and we have been married going on 28 years. Yes, God does answer prayer for a prospective spouse, if this person you are praying for and about, lines up with His Perfect Will. The opposite is also true. If you remain completely submitted to the will of God and surrender the decision to Him, He WILL show you if this person is NOT the one He has in mind for you! The choice is then with you to trust and obey, or to go your own way

Oh kind gracious and most merciful God, Giver of Life and Creator of all thing, I thank You and am so humbled, grateful and amazed that You, the God of the Universe would even listen when I call, I prayer, even pain and always in supplication. My God and my Father, You know what we need before we even ask and You see everything – not just the end from the beginning, but everything in between and all the variables which affect our lives and more. Lord, knowing all this, I trust You fully with my life, surrender to Your Lordship and Sovereignty over my life and accept the choice which You have ordained as far as the special person, with whom I will spend the rest of my days, until You call me home. Thank You, oh God, that You have ordained marriage in Genesis 2:24 as a reflection of the Messiah Jesus’ relationship to those whom He calls the church. You ordained marriage as the nucleus of the family from creation until the End of the Age. We graciously thank You for that and for giving us families and societal systems, throughout all time, which will stand the test of time in the Age to come. We love, praise, magnify and adore Your precious and Holy Name, in the Name above ALL the other names, we pray. Amen

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