Day Twelve: Plant Me so I Will Bear the Fruit of Your Spirit

The fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

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Lord, search my heart and try me and see if there is any wickedness in me. Replace all that is wrong in my character with the goodness in Yours. Plant the fruit of Your Spirit in me and cause it to flourish. Help me to abide in You, Jesus, so that I will bear fruit in my life. I invite You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your love today so that it will flow out of me and into the lives of others.

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You said in Your Word do "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts" (Colossians 3:15). I pray that Your peace would rule my heart and mind to such a degree that people would sense it when they are around me. Help me to "pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another" (Romans 14:19).

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Give me the joy that knowing You produces. Make me patient with others so that I reflect Your character to them. Help me to be kind whenever there is opportunity for it, and may Your goodness flow through me so that I will do good to everyone. Make me to be a faithful person so that I can be trusted in all things. Help me to have the "meekness and gentleness of Christ" so that I will reflect Your gentle spirit (II Corinthians 10:1). Enable me to be self-controlled in my thoughts, words, and habits.

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Where I need to be pruned in order to bear more fruit, I submit myself to You. I know that without You I can do nothing. You are the vine and I am the branch. I must abide in You in order to bear fruit. Help me to do that. Thank You for Your promise that if I abide in You and Your Word abides in me, I can ask what I desire and it will be done for me (John 15:7). Thank You for Your promise that says if I ask I will receive (John 16:24). May I be like a tree planted by the rivers of Your living water so that I will bring forth fruit in season that won't wither (Psalm 1:3). In Jesus' name, I ask that the fruit of Your Spirit will grow in me and be recognized clearly by all who see me so that it glorifies You.*

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"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,

while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.

This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,

showing yourselves to be my disciples.

- John 15:1-8

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*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Woman. Ordering information is at the bottom of this page.
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Today's prayer for your husband: His Protection

Today's prayer for your children: Enjoying a Life of Health and Healing

Day 21: His Marriage

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree

about anything you ask for,

it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

For where two or three come together in my name,

there am I with them."

- Matthew 18:19-20

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Lord, I pray that You would protect our marriage from anything that would harm or destroy it. Shield it from our own selfishness and neglect, from the evil plans and desires of others, and from unhealthy or dangerous situations. May there be no thoughts of divorce or infidelity in our hearts, and none in our future. Set us free from past hurts, memories, and ties from previous relationships, and unrealistic expectations of one another. I pray that there would be no jealousy in either of us, or the low self-esteem that precedes that. Let nothing come into our hearts and habits that would threaten the marriage in any way, especially influences like alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography, lust or obsessions.
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Unite us in a bond of friendship, commitment, generosity and understanding. Eliminate our immaturity, hostility, or feelings of inadequacy. Help us to make time for one another alone, to nurture and renew the marriage and remind ourselves the reasons we were married in the first place. I pray that my husband will be so committed to You, Lord, that his commitment to me will not waiver, no matter what storms come. I pray that our love for each other will grow stronger every day, so that we will never leave a legacy of divorce for our children.* I Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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Two are better than one,

because they have a good reward for their labor.

For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls,

for he has no one to help him up.

- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

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So guard yourself in your spirit,

and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
"I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel,

"and I hate a man's covering himself with violence

as well as with his garment," says the Lord Almighty.

So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

- Malachi 2:15-16

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Marriage should be honored by all,

and the marriage bed kept pure,

for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

- Hebrews 13:4

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To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord):

A wife must not separate from her husband.

But if she does, she must remain unmarried

or else be reconciled to her husband.

And a husband must not divorce his wife.

- I Corinthians 7:10-11

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*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Wife. Ordering information at the bottom of this page. Watch next week for a giveaway!
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Today's prayer for your children: Inviting the Joy of the Lord

Day Four: His Sexuality

The wife's body does not belong to her alone

but also to her husband. In the same way,

the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.

Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time,

so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.

Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you

because of your lack of self-control.

- I Corinthians 7:4-5

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Lord, bless my husband's sexuality and make it an area of great fulfillment for him. Restore what needs to be restored, balance what needs to be balanced. Protect us from apathy, disappointment, criticism, business, unforgiveness, deadness or disinterest. I pray that we make time for one another, communicate our true feelings openly, and remain sensitive to what each other needs.
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Keep us sexually pure in mind and body, and close the door to anything lustful or illicit that seeks to encroach upon us. Deliver us from the bondage of past mistakes. Remove from our midst the effects of any sexual experience - in thought or deed - that happened outside of our relationship. Take away anyone or anything from our lives that would inspire temptation to infidelity. Help us to "abstain from sexual immorality" so that each of us will know "how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor" (I Thessalonians 4:3-5). I pray that we will desire each other and no one else. Show me how to make myself attractive and desirable to him and be the kind of partner he needs. I pray that neither of us will ever be tempted to thing about seeking fulfillment elsewhere.
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I realize that an important part of my ministry to my husband is sexual. Help me to never use it as a weapon or as a means of manipulation by giving and withholding for selfish reasons. I commit this area of our lives to You, Lord. May it be continually new and alive. Make it all that You created it to be.* In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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Drink water from your own cistern,

running water from your own well.
Should your springs overflow in the streets,

your streams of water in the public squares?
Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
May your fountain be blessed,

and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful deer-- may her breasts satisfy you always,

may you ever be captivated by her love.

- Proverbs 5:15-19

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*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Wife. Ordering information is at the bottom of this page.
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**Today's prayer for your children: Feeling Loved and Accepted