First Things First—Pray!

Philippians 4:6-7 contains such an amazing promise. It teaches us that instead of worrying about our problems, we can take them directly to God and receive His peace while He goes to work in our situation.

Too often, people spend all their waking thoughts on their problems instead of first bringing them to God. Consequently, they miss out on the peace that God wants to bring them. God wants us to bring all of our problems to Him—from the smallest on up.

So why wouldn’t we start with Him when it comes to our marriage? We could have that peace that “transcends all understanding” from the get-go!

For my husband, Dave, and me, peace was not even a concept in the early days of our marriage. Six years in, I think if Dave could have asked for a second chance, he might have offered God another rib and said, “Lord how about a new model; this one isn’t working!”

Fortunately, Dave didn’t trade me in. But he did ask God to change me in areas that were causing us so much pain, and after a period of time, I did begin to change in those areas. In fact, it was during this time that I began reading and studying God’s Word.

Don’t get discouraged though if things don’t change right away. For me, I got worse before I got better. When God was dealing with me, I felt more stubborn than ever before I started to improve—it made me mad to find out that I was the one who needed to make a change. In time though, God slowly but surely changed me through His Word. He not only healed me, but also healed our marriage.

I believe that many times people give up praying because they want instantaneous success and immediate answers. They start the process, but don’t see it all the way through. But when you’re persistent to pray for your marriage, know that God hears you and is constantly working behind the scenes to help—so don’t give up!

Remember what Jesus says: For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened (Matthew 7:8 AMP).

_{Adapted from the book Making Marriage Work by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2000 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.}