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Sometimes you have to consult a specialist when you are fixing up a house. This is someone who has knowledge or capabilities that are beyond your own. A specialist may have access to equipment, tools, and resources that you don’t. Likewise, there is a specialist for marriage, and He is the God who designed it! Listen along with the class as we learn some things you should be praying about in your marriage. We find these things identified in Galatians 5:22-23.

1. Pray that Love Will Define Your Relationship.

Godly Love does not leave room for lust.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Galatians 5:19

God gives us the gift of physical love in marriage,
- but lust is the Devil’s cheap replacement for that gift from God.
Love is you giving yourself away, and lust is getting what you want.
God’s design is that you make a commitment to one another and you chose to love each other and you enjoy that gift from God.
- However, this world’s system says that lust is normal and acceptable.
- For example, the TV characters sleep together barely knowing each other, but sex outside of marriage is lust.
- Our cultures teaches us that all kinds of lust are acceptable, but God’s Word teaches us something different.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Romans 1:26-27

Pray that God will protect you and your spouse from the lust and influences of an ungodly world.

Godly love lets you define attractiveness by your spouse.

My wife was the most beautiful woman in the world to me when we first fell in love.
Also, my wife is the most beautiful woman in the world right now at the age and season of life we are in.
I don’t want to be the gray haired man lusting after women half his age.
- Therefore, I chose to let my wife be my standard for attractiveness.
- Fortunately for me, I have a beautiful wife who loves me too
- My wife was the most beautiful woman in the world when we first fell in love
Godly love sees past faults, failures, and mistakes.
- God chooses to love me, even though I am not very lovely.
- Therefore, love your spouse, even when they make mistakes.
- Your spouse is the one relationship in this world that is for life.
- People will come and go, but at the end of the day it is you and your spouse left to work things out.
Pray that God gives you this kind of love that is a choice, that is a commitment.
- This is counter to the fantasy love where we accidentally fall in love and live happily ever after.
- You make the choice to love and continue to love your spouse.
- That you will love your spouse and that God will help your spouse to love you.

Pray that Your Lives Will Bring Joy to Each Other.

Joy in marriage is one of the most intimate aspects of it.

There is joy in the moments that you have made together.
- For Example, when talking about our upcoming 15th wedding anniversary yesterday we talked about all the funny things that happened.
Just being able to laugh together is an incredible chance to strengthen your marriage.
Make those joyful moments with each other.
- Do things together.
- Spend time talking to one another.
- Put all the distractions to the side, and there are many distractions in life today.
- Get some “face time” with your spouse.

Joy is the measurement for the health of your marriage.

If you don’t have joy together it is a serious sign that something is wrong.
For example when those lights come on in the console of your car that say things like “overheated”, “check engine”, “warning”. You can chose to ignore those things and ruin your car or get stranded by yourself somewhere.
Joy is that warning light on the console of your marriage, “warning no Joy”, “Joy level is low”.
One of the most hurtful things is for your spouse to see you laugh with someone else, when you cant laugh at home!

Find the joy in serving each other.

My greatest joy is in serving the Lord.
- For example, “I love to preach and teach God’s Word, because it is something that I can do to serve Him! He could have chosen the angels to tell the gospel and to teach His Word, but He lets someone like me do it.”
- When you do what you do for the Lord, you will find the joy in it too.
- There is a hymn entitle “Joy in Serving Jesus” the first verse goes like this:

There is Joy in Serving Jesus
As I journey on my way
Joy that fills my heart with praises
Every hour and every day
Taken from the hymn Joy is Serving Jesus written by Oswald J Smith

Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
I Peter 1:8

In a similar way, there is joy in serving your spouse
- To do something completely for your spouse without expecting anything in return.
- Find something that your spouse likes, and do it for them not expecting anything in return for it.
You can get so caught up in your own happiness that you miss the joy of making someone else happy.
Pray that God will allow you to bring joy to your spouse.

Pray that Peace will Keep You Together.

God’s peace keeps me together as a christian.

To know that I am right with Him and He is not angry with me is an incredible.
I have peace with God because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me, not by what I do or don’t do.
I have the peace of God as I maintain my relationship with him everyday.- I experience His peace in my life.

Having peace with each other will keep your marriage together.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Matthew 18:21-22

Try not to talk when you are angry.
Talk through the problems in your marriage.
Make peace with each other.

Peace with your spouse impacts the Peace of God in Your life.

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
I Peter 3:7

Your horizontal relationship with your spouse has everything to do with your vertical relationship with your spouse.
According to the Bible, you cannot be wrong with your spouse and right with God at the same time!
As a Christian your marriage is uniquely related to walk with God.
- Running your spouse down, is not spiritual even if you sound spiritual doing it.
- Complaining to other people about your spouse makes your wrong with God!
- Mistreating your spouse makes you wrong with God!
  - “…dwell with them according to knowledge…”
  - “…giving honour to your wife….”
  - “…as being heirs together of the grace of life…”

3 Things You Should Be Praying for in Your Marriage