It seems that I am living this chapter. I certainly have been posting on it for the past few weeks inadvertently.<P>"_____was concerned that her husband_____ was not growing spiritually." (Fill in the blanks) "She didn't want to be the spiritual heavyweight in the family". Does that or doesn't that sound like what I have been posting more or less. <P>Well I've blown Stormie's advice right and left. I should of remembered POGP's advice.......shut up and pray! Trouble is I have been praying, for years!<P>There is a statement on page 185 which I need to hang on to. "If your husbands disobedience to God's ways has already brought down your house in some manner, know that God will honor <B>YOUR </B>obedience and He will see that you will not be destroyed."<P>Father, I pray that my h will not continue to have a hearing problem when it comes to your voice. Give him the strength, courage, and motivation to act on what he hears. I pray this as well for all the husbands on this forum. Also Lord, forgive me for the ways I have been critical and resentful to my H. Help me Lord to be a woman with a quiet and gentle spirit, waiting for You to accomplish Your will for my life and that of my marriage. IJN<P>This is a tough chapter for me Ladies, I struggle so with the waiting game. Forgive me my poor testimony.<P>Taj

Oh, dear Taj, I should be praying that prayer! Each word of your prayer echoes what I need to pray <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Lord, forgive me for the ways I have been critical and resentful to my H. Help me Lord to be a woman with a quiet and gentle spirit, <B>waiting for You to accomplish Your will</B> for my life and that of my marriage<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I'm having a hard time with the waiting thing. Please forgive me too.<P>Thank you Taj. I'll be posting more on this subject tonight (if their site isn't down again....) This is a very important chapter for me as well.<P>Love ya,<BR>AW

Ouch and amen.<P>lizzie

His Obedience. My H doesn't even know he's supposed to be obedient to the Lord. It seems like he's walking around this world, not knowing which way to turn. Confusion, depression and stress fill his life. I have prayed long and hard for the Lord to give me the right words to say to him that will draw him to the Lord, but all I hear Him saying is to be patient, keep praying and being an example of Christ's love for my H to see. I think this chapter for me needs to be "Her Obedience". Here I am back to Chapter 1, "change ME Lord". <P>Page 184, Par. 3 says "If you clearly observe your husband walking down a wrong path, should you say something". Great advice from Stormie to take it to God first and weigh it on HIS scales. He may instruct you to just be quiet and pray. This is what the Lord is telling me to do. <P>I believe with all my heart that the Lord is working on our husbands' hearts. He wants them to be obedient to Him, more than we do. They are all searching for that elusive sense of peace and serenity, trying the wrong things to find it, whether it be through affairs, alcohol, drugs, over-involvement in sports, etc. How easily they would find that wonderful peace that can only come from God, if they would listen to the Lord's word, and <I>be obedient</I>. <P>I'm resting on faith, knowing that God's word says that God will honor my obedience, while my H is choosing to be obedient to Satan. We, as praying wives, must continue to pray for our husbands to be obedient to God so that their prayers will not be hindered. <P>Dear Lord, we praise You, and worship You. All the glory is Yours Lord, thank you Father for lifting up each praying wife, showing them how to pray for their husband's obedience. I pray that you will show each husband Your ways, and teach him to follow your paths, leading him in Your truth, into total obedience to You. Thank you Father for moving in these husbands lives. Help our husbands to not turn their ears away from hearing what You say, so that their prayers are not an abomination. Help us Lord to know when we should say something to our husbands regarding their obedience to You, and when we should be quiet and pray. Thank you Lord, we praise You from the bottom of our hearts, IJN AMEN

My H went to a men's one day retreat today. The title of it is "The 7 seasons of a man". Please pray that the Lord softens his heart to be obedient and to give him a new insight today, another way of looking at things that he had not considered before. Ask for the Lord to put a quelch on his emotions to the extent that he doesn't personalize what is taught in a negative way, that is, that he can see his own behavior and not blame others for his lack of contentment or happiness. Thanks!<P>Father, I do praise You for softening my husband's heart to even agree to go to this retreat. Bless his time and block all thoughts that are not gloryifying to You. Guard his mind that he can stay focused on what is being taught, that he can identify which season he is in and find some sense of wellness and wholeness with this information. Bring some of the men in the body along side of him to mentor him and to show him the love of Jesus. Wash him anew, refresh him, encourage him. In the name of Jesus, I bind all powers of evil that will attempt to lead his mind astray, particularly in regards to his emotions, that he does not allow his feelings to think for him, that he is able to process the teaching and find relief, that he be broken to the extent that he will begin the journey towards what your purpose for him on this earth will be. Remove his anger Father, cut it away like a piece of dead skin and replace it with Your mighty unconditional love. Help him to come away from this with a renewed commitment to our marriage and place You where You belong, first and foremost in our couplenss. I thank you for caring, for never leaving us, for Your faithfulness when we are not. Teach me the empathy necessary to encourage him, the wisdom to shut my mouth until You tell me to speak and the strength to set boundaries which will honor You. Thanks my dad, I love you! IJN.

SueB,<P>What a wonderful opportunity for the Lord....He's got you h for the entire day. He must be open to change to expose himself to a time of teaching in this way. You don't go to something like that without a desire to learn more of God. Men usually don't seek out these "whole day" sessions so it is surely God ordained. And a Saturday even! <P>Father, I ask that Your Holy Spirit might move in a mighty way in this man's life. Thank you Lord that you have called this day apart for a purpose. You have been inundated with prayers for this man and surely You are at work. Reveal truth to him where error has become a stronghold. Reveal peace to him where conflict and turmoil have taken root. Reveal Your vision of manliness where the lies of the world have cloudy concepts. Let healing take place in this man's life so that SueB and him can begin to grow in Your grace together. IJN

My H told me today that people don't change.. What kind of thinking is that???? I cannot see how a Christian can think that people don't change.... Im at a loss here ladies.. if a person thinks that you cant change how will they even take the first steps to try to make changes... This really is a scary thought... I can handle being the one to take the kids to church every week, but the thought that H would be stagnant for 'HOW LONG' really gets to me..<P>I just don't know how to deal with things sometimes......<P>------------------<BR>Jesus is the only answer!<BR>His blessings, Cozy

Cozy,<P>I was always taught that "can't" means "don't want to". Each time I have found myself saying can't and I assessed it, this was pretty much correct...now there are some things that I am physically unable to do as I lack the strength. <P>To change requires energy and effort and many people do not want to expend the energy to change. Many of us cling to the promise that nothing is impossible with God and this alone gives us the encouragement to forge ahead. He says in our weakness, He is strong.<P>I guess we have to pray for your husband's mustard seed of faith to grow. <P>Just a thought, since I know you have been feeling pretty confused lately. Are your eyes being opened in new ways these days? Are you seeing things that you glossed over before or dismissed because surely they couldn't have meant what they said? <P>I know from experience when prayers are being said for me that the Lord gives me plenty of chances to practice it. yesterday, we prayed for me to be sensitive and empathetic to my husband. boy, oh howdy, has today been a major challenge...back to square one, same ole arguments, same ole stinkin thinkin...and on the Lord's day no less. Satan has had a ball! The neat thing is though, through it all I was reminded of those prayers and really put in effort to mirror back those things he said, etc. He was only an obnoxious pain for about three hours and though things aren't back to normal, they have been less tense.<BR>