Gang,
We had a great time with you last Sunday! Remember that God has chosen to reveal Himself to us in relational terms. Father to son, children etc… Even husband and wife (Ephesians 5) It makes sense that the very things that hinder our communication with God would also hinder our communication with our spouse.
Can’t wait to see y’all this Sunday and as always, we hope this helps!
Hixon and Margie
ROADBLOCKS TO PRAYER AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP W/ YOUR SPOUSE
1.UNCONFESSED SIN Isaiah 59:1 – Your sins have separated you from God. Prayer is the process of becoming spiritually fit and receiving from God what he is already willing to do.
In your relationship with your spouse, unconfessed sin or more often “un-acknowledged” sin, will cause wounds that are hard to see sometimes and last longer than you think. It will break emotional and often physical intimacy. So figure out ways to confess any sin you have committed against your spouse TO your spouse. You may find it opens up an entire new level of intimacy in your marriage. And that is good!
2. IDOLATRY Ezekiel 14:3 -“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?
Simply put, idolatry is anything we place before God. It can be even be good things like church but it still damages our relationship with God. Likewise, when we place things or people ahead of our spouses the relationship suffers. Again, even good things can wound your relationship. If we place our own parents, boss, friends ahead of our spouse at some point wounds overtake their understanding. SO, elevate the status of your spouse. Seriously examine how important they are to you and if they are not at the top of the earthy relationship list, you’re doing marriage wrong…. and that is “no bueno!”
3. REFUSALS TO HEAR GOD’S WORD Proverbs 28:9 – If one turns his ear away from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.
When we stop listening to our spouse…or we listen with no intention of acting on what is said…we dig ourselves a hole that relationally can only be crawled from by actively listening then acting upon what is shared. How many times have we listened to our spouse only to get to the end of the complaint. Never really intending to change but only to endure. Your spouse knows…they really do…and they withdraw because of it. SO, actively listen to your spouse. Stop what you are watching, texting or looking up. Drop the paper, thematic etc… and focus on them. You might find out that they are pretty special indeed. And that is good!
4. LACK OF COMPASSION Prov. 21:13 – whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself cry out and not be answered. God cares about the poor, the down, the outcast etc…
Your spouse deserves your compassion. Without identifying with or participating in their lives in a compassionate way you are essentially saying you don’t care… and that is “no bueno!”
5. MARITAL INSENSITIVITY 1 Peter 3:7 -live with your wife in an understanding way…so that your prayers are not hindered. Thats about all we need to say there…
6. UNFORGIVENESS Mark 11: Whenever you stand praying…forgive so that God will forgive you.
The greatest danger to a marriage is lack of thorough forgiveness, where the husband or wife refuses to forgive the other. It may be for simple insensitivity or it may be for something a whole lot more serious. Either way forgiveness is a lifestyle of grace to your spouse. We could go all day on this subject but without the grace that comes from forgiving your spouse..a marriage can deteriorate in to a lifeless, bitter partnership. SO, if you are a Christian you can remember how much you have been forgiven and use that truth to help you forgive your spouse. And that is “Fantastic!”
I N T E N T I O N A L Marriage 