Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 2
Today is the day when it should start becoming clear that this Love Dare you embarked on was not really for your spouse, but for you. Yes, the ultimate benefit may be that your husband’s heart may be changed, but this is more about how this dare will change your heart. As I’ve discussed in previous blogs, we all know that marriages have two imperfect people, sinners, who have come together to live life as one. That’s an impossible task if not for one part…God. When God is a priority in your marriage and everything that occurs has to go through the filter of God’s knowledge, teachings and warnings, things can change. In a big way. My marriage is evidence of that. Are things perfect? Absolutely not. Are things different? Absolutely. In fact, I think where my husband and I are now is even better than where we were when we first said our vows. Wow! How did that happen? The answer. God and lots of prayer.
As the book states, there is NO GUARANTEE that anything in this book or anything YOU do with regard to this book will change your husband’s heart. Only God is capable of doing that. You can only do what you can from your side of things. More than likely, your journey through this book will change you and as a result, your husband will see that change. Your husband’s head and heart may sense there is something different about you. Men like a challenge, so he may be challenged and intrigued enough to find out what that change is in you and want that for himself. That is the hope.
The one aspect of the whole Love Dare process that is vital to this even having a chance is prayer. If you are not the ‘praying kind’, now is the time to start. There is nothing more important than going to God in prayer and asking, pleading, even begging for His wisdom and guidance for your marriage. Prayer is a supernatural act. When you pray to God, there is power.
Some verses about prayer from The Love Dare:
- Feel like giving up on your marriage? Jesus said to pray instead of quitting (Luke 18:1).
- Are you stressed out and worried? Prayer can bring peace to your storms (Philippians 4:6-7).
- Do you need a major breakthrough? Prayer can make the difference (Acts 12:1-17).
Now is the time to turn your complaints, your need to change your spouse, your worries and fears into prayers. Your husband needs your prayers, just as you need his. There is nothing more loving you can do for your spouse than pray. Pray without ceasing. Pray like you have never prayed before. Your marriage is worth it!
Today’s dare.
Begin praying for your spouse’s heart. Pray for three specific areas where you desire for God to work in your spouse’s life and in your marriage.
At the end of the day, answer these questions:
1. Have you experienced the power of prayer in the past?
2. What did you choose to pray about?
3. Was it easy for you, or foreign to you?
Congratulations! You have completed Day 16! Tomorrow’s dare is Love Promotes Intimacy.
