Day Thirteen: Preserve Me in Purity and Holiness

Lord, You have said in Your Word that You did not call me to uncleanness, but in holiness (I Thessalonians 4:7). You chose me to be holy and blameless before You. I know that I have been washed clean and made holy by the blood of Jesus (I Corinthians 6:11). You have clothed me in Your righteousness and enabled me to put on the new man "in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). Continue to purify me by the power of Your Spirit. Help me to "cling to what is good" (Romans 12:9) and keep myself pure (I Timothy 5:22).
.
Lord, help me to separate myself from anything that is not holy. I don't want to waste my life on things that have no value. Give me discernment to recognize that which is worthless and remove myself from it. Help me not to give myself to impure things, but rather to those things that fulfill Your plans for my life. Enable me to know what it takes to get everything rooted out of my life that is not Your best for me, so I can live the way You want me to live. Show me how to tear down any idols in my life and eliminate any sources of unholy thoughts, such as TV, movies, books, videos, and magazines, that do not glorify You. Help me to examine my ways so that I can return to Your ways wherever I have strayed. Enable me to take any steps necessary in order to be pure before You.
.
Lord, I want to be holy as You are holy. Make me a partaker of Your holiness (Hebrews 12:10), and may my spirit, soul and body be kept blameless (I Thessalonians 5:23). I know that You have called me to purity and holiness and You have said that "He who calls you is faithful, who will also do it" (I Thessalonians 5:24). Thank You that You will keep me sure and holy so I will be fully prepared for all You have for me.*
.

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,

that we should be holy and without blame

before Him in love.

- Ephesians 1:4

.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

- Matthew 5:8

.
*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Woman. Ordering information is at the bottom of this page.
.
Today's prayer for your husband: His Trials
Today's prayer for your children: Having the Motivation for Proper Body Care

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

.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.

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

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

Day 25: Finding the Perfect Mate

He who finds a wife finds a good thing,

and obtains favor from the Lord.

- Proverbs 18:22

.
Lord, I pray that unless Your plan is for David or Elizabeth to remain single, You will send the perfect marriage partner for each of them. Send the right wife and husband, respectively, at the perfect time and give them a clear leading from You as to who it is. I pray that my children will be submissive enough to hear Your voice when it comes time to make a marriage decision, that that they will make that decision based on what You are saying and not just fleshly desire. I pray that they will trust You with all their hearts and lean not on their own understanding; that they will acknowledge You in all their ways so that You will direct their paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
.
Prepare that person who will make the perfect spouse for each of my children. Help them to know the difference between simply falling in love and knowing for certain this is the person with whom God wants them to spend the rest of their lives. If they become attracted to someone they shouldn't marry, I pray that You, Lord, would cut off the relationship. Help them to realize that unless You are at the center of the marriage, it will never stand. Unless You bless it, it won't be blessed. For Your Word says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it" (Psalm 127:1). I pray that You would build the marriage around which their house is established.
.
When they do find the right one to marry, I pray that person will be a godly and devoted servant of Yours, who loves You and lives Your way, and will be like a son or daughter to me and a blessing to all other family members. Once they are married, let there be no divorce in their futures. May there never be mental, emotional or physical abuse of any kind, but rather mental, emotional and physical unity that is never touched by division. I pray for their deliverance from any spirit of divorce, separation, or disunity that would attempt to drive a wedge into their relationship. Give them each a strong desire to live in fidelity, and remove any temptation to infidelity.
.

May they have one mate for life, who is also their closest friend. May they be mutually loyal, compassionate, considerate, sensitive, respectful, affectionate, forgiving, supportive, caring and loving toward one another all the days of their lives.* In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

.
From the beginning of the creation,

God made them male and female.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh;

so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together,

let man not separate.

- Mark 10:6-9
.

*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Parent. Ordering information at the bottom of the page. Stay tuned next week for your chance to win a copy of this book!

Day 24: Rejecting Sexual Immorality

Abstain from fleshly lusts

which war against the soul.

- I Peter 2:11

.

He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,

but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.

- Proverbs 28:26

.
Lord, I pray that You will keep David and Elizabeth sexually pure all of their lives. Give them hearts that want to do what's right in this area, and let purity take root in their personalities and guide their actions. Help them to always lay down godly rules for relationships and resist anything that is not Your best. Open their eyes to the truth of Your Word, and help them to see that sex outside of marriage will never be the committed, lasting, unconditional love that they need. Let their personality not be scarred nor their emotions damaged by the fragmentation of the soul that happens as a result of sexual immorality.
.
I pray that they will have no premarital sex and no sex with anyone other than their marriage partner. I pray that homosexuality will never take root in them or even have an opportunity to express itself toward them. Keep them away from the presence of anyone with evil intentions, or take that person out of their lives. Protect them from any sexual molestation or rape. Turn their eyes away from the sexual immorality that saturates the world and enable them to understand that whoever "wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4). May they long for Your approval, Lord, and not allow sexual sin in their lives at any time. Deliver them from any spirit of lust bringing temptation to fail in this area. Put a Holy Spirit alarm in them that goes off like a loud, flashing siren whenever they step over the line of what is right in Your sight.
.
Your Word says, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). Speak loudly to them whenever there is temptation to do something they shouldn't, and make them strong enough in You to stand for what's right and say "no" to sexual immorality. May Your grace enable them to be committed to staying pure so that they will receive Your crown of life.* In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
.

Flee sexual immorality.

Every sin that a man does is outside the body,

but he who commits sexual immorality

sins against his own body.

- I Corinthians 6:18

.
*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Parent. Ordering information at the bottom of the page. Stay tuned next week for your chance to win a copy of this book!

Day 17: Staying Attracted to Holiness and Purity

Even a child is known by his deeds,

whether what he does is pure and right.

- Proverbs 20:11

.

Let no one despise your youth,

but be an example to the believers

in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit,

in faith, in purity.

- I Timothy 4:12

.
Lord, I pray that You would fill David and Elizabeth with a love for You that surpasses their love for anything or anyone else. Help them to respect and revere Your laws and understand that those laws are there for their benefit. May they clearly see that when Your laws are disobeyed, life doesn't work. Hide Your Word in their hearts so that there is no attraction to sin. I pray they will run from evil, from impurity, from ungodly thoughts, words, and deeds, and that they will be drawn toward whatever is pure and holy. Let Christ be formed in them cause them to seek the power of Your Holy Spirit to enable them to do what is right.
.
You have said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). May a desire for holiness that comes from a pure heart be reflected in all that they do. Let it be manifested in their appearance as well. I pray that the clothes they wear and the way they style their hair and choose to adorn their bodies and faces will reflect a reverence and a desire to glorify You, Lord.
.
Where they have strayed from the path of holiness, bring them to repentance and work Your cleansing power in their hearts and lives. Give them understanding that to live in purity brings wholeness and blessing, and that the greatest reward for it is seeing You.* In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
.
*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Parent, by Stormie Omartian. Ordering information at the bottom of the page.