WW & I both subscribe to a prayer request group. She doesn't know I am subscribed as far as I know, but This is her request that was e-mailed to everyone today:

02/03 pray for me as I am going through a divorce and my husband is threatening to take the kids from me. I wanted to settle this amicably, but he has hired a lawyer which in turn made me have to as well. I don't have the money for all this legal stuff and I don't understand a lot of it. I meet with my lawyer today. Please pray she will, with the Lord, be an advocate for me, and the Judge will give me favor. I have to confess I initiated this divorce, but only did so after struggling for 16 years. I ask the Lord to forgive me for my weakness. Thank you

What are your thoughts? Should I discuss this with her?

I sent in a request of my own 3 days earlier, and it wasn't sent out to everyone until 2 days AFTER she sent in hers, so I know hers is not a manipulative response to mine.

My request:

01/29 Please pray for my wife, WW. She has been involved in an adulterous relationship with a man from her past since the beginning of November. She moved out of our Family home at the beginning of December, and her boyfriend moved into her apartment with his 2 kids In Jan. We have 2 kids of our own a son who just turned 15, and a daughter that is 12. Please also lift up these two gifts from God, as they do not deserve to have to go through what they are. My son has been suffering from severe depression for almost 3 years, and this separation & pending divorce is really taking a toll on him. My daughter is being very quiet so I can't tell how she is handling everything. I have re-dedicated my life to the Lord, and He is making awesome changes in me, I now know what it means for me to be the spiritual head of the household, and I only wish I had listened to Jesus sooner. I am asking Jesus to convict WW's spirit, soften her heart, and encourage her to return to HIM, then if it is God's will she will return to our family.

<small>[ February 09, 2005, 09:36 PM: Message edited by: Hosea_2004 ]</small>

Hosea,

Yours was fine. The Lord will definitely bless you for being faithful.

God did not even hear her prayer!

In His arms.

<small>[ February 09, 2005, 09:53 PM: Message edited by: Mortarman ]</small>

Hosea, taking our "wants and desires and requests" to the Lord in prayer is good, right, and what God expects us to do. It is good that both you and your wife "get this." However, only you seem to have reached the point where you know "how" to pray.

Remember, while we are actively sinning and in rebellion against God's commands, God will NOT even "hear" our prayers. That is the position your wife is in and would appear to be why she is soliciting the prayers of other believers. The thought there is that other "prayer warriors" can do an "end around" for her and God will listen to THEM.

You, on the other hand, are soliciting other prayer partners to join you in praying that if it is God's will, your request be done.

Know, too, that if it is NOT God's will that your wife repent and that your marriage be reestablished in Christ, that God WILL provide what you need, simply because you are His child.

Since God KNOWS your wife's heart, if the issue is that she has never really accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior, God will use this tragic circumstance to put before her the NEED to make a choice FOR or AGAINST Jesus Christ and salvation of her soul.

The number one issue IS your wife's relationship with Christ, as it is your number one issue. The number two issue for both of you is your marriage covenant, with Christ, and with each other.

Hosea, know that God has heard your prayer. Know that your wife's repentance and walk with Him is God's priority. Know that God WILL accomplish this in His timing, so when it seems like it is "taking forever," remind yourself that "God's timing is not Man's timing" and that God is in control.

(((((Hosea)))))

God bless and comfort you so that you may know and feel His presence with you in this "valley."

Should I try to minister to her regarding this?

I do not have a clear indication from the Lord on whether I should or not. I know that God's timing is perfect, and I also know that it rarely matches up with the timing we would prefer in our impatience.

Hosea

Hosea, IMHO you would not be able to minister to her. She is caught up in her sin and will not be able to hear you. {{Hosea and kids}}

Faithful is correct. You are the LAST person she will "listen" to.

Leave her getting the message up to God. He is very capable of getting messages across to people. Especially His children (believers).

Forever gave you great insight into how God hears prayers, and that what you are doing will be reqarded by Him...while your wife's requests fall on deaf ears. As a matter of fact, the Bible does say that if you are in rebellion to God, He hears none of your prayers, considers none of your requests, and sends you no blessings. And believe me, those prayer warroirs, if praying properly, will be praying for God's will in this.

And speaking of, I wanted to clarify one thing that Forever stated. It is never God's will for your marriage to end. Never. As someone said to me while I was in the middle of my mess..."Mortarman, if you are waiting for God to tell you to move on, to tell you it is okay to move on, you are going to be waiting a long, long time. Because He will never tell you that." God HATES divorce. And in the same chapter of Malachi where He expresses this, He also says that he never changes.

Divorce is ALLOWED, it is permitted, for certain reasons. But it is not commanded, nor is it what God wants. It is just allowed, as in that God will not hold it against the person divorcing if their spouse is guilty of the offenses that allow divorce.

God's will is ALWAYS for restitution and for marriages to succeed. ALWAYS!!! But we tend to get in the way, dont we? So, if your wife choses not to listen and she divorces you, or you cant take it anymore and you divorce her...God will still get His will played out. How? Well, His will was for the marriage to succeed...but He also gave us free will. So, in that freewill, our will gets played out also. But in the end, His will and His glory will play out in you, Hosea. The blessings will come to and thru you.

Anyway, just wanted to clarify that.

In His arms.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

As I have said I recently re-dedicated my life to the Lord, so I am having to re-learn his word, and I am doing that daily (several times a day actually) <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

I am so thankful for other Christians that can help me through this.

Last Sunday I prayed and laid my marriage on the alter, I now am waiting for Jesus to iether fix it & give it back, or give me claer guidance on my next steps.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> Remember, while we are actively sinning and in rebellion against God's commands, God will NOT even "hear" our prayers. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Hi there!

Not to thread-jack but FF or Mortarman, could you please tell me where in the bible this is mentioned? To be honest, I never heard of this before, in church or in my own studies.

Thanks!

Sure Chackler...

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">This passage is to believers. God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers. But He als does not listen to the prayers of believers that do not pray in faith. And what is that? It is praying for God's will, in God's way. Not our way. And it clearly states here that if we do not approach prayer and approach God this way...if we dont say that whatever God says and whatever He wants me to do, I will do, no matter how I feel about it...then the Bible says here that this Christian should expect NOTHING from God.

God is not into suggestions, He is only into commandments. So, if we are going to debate about whether we are going to do His will, He isnt even going to reveal His will to us for us to reject or debate about.

There are many passages in the Bible on how to pray. If you dont pray with the intention of God's will to be revealed and to be done, then He will not listen to your prayer, and the Christian should be under no expectation that He will answer that prayer.

In His arms.

One other note. It talks about being a double minded man. Wha tthat means is that is a Christian that doesnt know whether they are going to obey the Lord or obey the Devil. You see, you cannot be a neutral Christian. You are either following Him and His will, or you are following the Devil.

You see, we tend to say "I dont know what I want to do." Well that is the WRONG answer. It may be a TRUE answer...you may not know what you want to do, but it is the wrong answer. You see, if we want God's will...and that is the problem here. You see, we dont know what WE want to do. As long as you are stuck there, you will be confused forever.

Instead, we need to ask "What would God have me do in this situation?" You see, that is different. Because God is very clear...He is not double minded. Hosea's WW's "prayer" weas just someone wanting God to ratify her decisions, even though they werent God's will. God will not listen to that, nor will He ratify that.

We must come to God and ask for His will. A former pastor I had in New Mexico siad this about his marriage counseling sessions: </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">When a couple comes to me, the first thing I ask is that once we have revealed God's will in this marriage and what you should do, I want to know right now that you will follow that will. If one or both state that they dont know yet, or they will have to see what God's will is...this pastor would say "this counseling session is over." Because as long as either of them is not saying "Thy will be done," and they are not willingto bend their knee to whatever God commands, then the counseling is useless. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">You see, we all do this. We want God to ratify our decisions. But like I said above, God isnt into suggestions, He is only into commandments!

That is why Hosea's prayer was a true prayer, and God heard it and wil lact on it. His WW? Well, her request fell on deaf ears.

In His arms.

Behold , the Lords hand is not shortened , that it cannot save; nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.


Isaiah 59 v 1,2


(ps: I am glad you are here, Mortarman .)

Thanks Shul...you too!

I had forgotten about that one!

In His arms.

Isn't it amazing how fog-babble even makes it's way into prayer? I'm surprised that anyone even considers that God might listen to that stuff.

Good Luck Hosea, keep your chin up and Godspeed to you!

FR <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="images/icons/wink.gif" />

I wish there was a way for me to get her to read those passages. but then I know she knows the Word better than I do.

I will just let Jesus tell her about them in His own way in His own time.

Have you ever listened to the Garth Brooks song..."Unanswered Prayers".
I prayed so hard for God to bring my WH back to me and for me to have a baby like we had wanted for so long. Neither one of those were answered. I do believe that God knows best. All you can do is leave it in his hands and do the best you can.
I thank God everyday for me not getting pregnant. I would have been left while pregnant or an ifant. It would have been much harder for me.
Just a thought.

Have you ever listened to the Garth Brooks song..."Unanswered Prayers".
I prayed so hard for God to bring my WH back to me and for me to have a baby like we had wanted for so long. Neither one of those were answered. I do believe that God knows best. All you can do is leave it in his hands and do the best you can.
I thank God everyday for me not getting pregnant. I would have been left while pregnant or an ifant. It would have been much harder for me.
Just a thought.

Tree,

I can't listen to anything except Christian radio, or wierd al yankovich (DD loves him) yet. It is a major trigger because WW and OM used to send each other love songs on our home computer before she left including that song. She even sent Vince Gill songs and commented about him & Amy Grant to OM (rationalising the A I'm sure).

I know that the Lord answers all prayer, and that sometimes the answer is No. I can live with whatever His answer turns out to be, 3 weeks ago I probably couldn't have.

I know He has plans for me, and I am looking forward to seeing His face, and fulfilling His plans in my life.

Hosea...
I know what you mean about not being able to listen to love songs. It's getting easier for me now but it does bring back memories.

I know God is there for both of us...all of us for that matter....and he will get you through this. Keep your chin up and keep your faith. God works in mysterious ways. I believe that this happened for a reason...weather it be to open our WS eyes or to open ours. Things will work out. Hang in there!!!
HUGS!!!!

Hosea...
I know what you mean about not being able to listen to love songs. It's getting easier for me now but it does bring back memories.

I know God is there for both of us...all of us for that matter....and he will get you through this. Keep your chin up and keep your faith. God works in mysterious ways. I believe that this happened for a reason...weather it be to open our WS eyes or to open ours. Things will work out. Hang in there!!!
HUGS!!!!