Marriage and warfare
Spiritual warfare is part and parcel of a Christian’s life and makeup. Scripture admonishes to stand, after having done all, against the wiles of the enemy. There is one area that must be a priority in prayer for us. It is of utmost to guard it from the schemes of the enemy, always. The area that needs shielding from spiritual attacks is family and marriage.
Family is the basic unit of society, and plays a crucial role in an individual’s life. It provides essential emotional support, a sense of belonging, and a foundation for personal development and well-being. Families are the primary source of love, security, and guidance, shaping our values, beliefs, and behaviors. Family is the microcosm of the church, and is its foundation. It’s in the family that we learn His precepts in a viable manner, and get to practice His ways in small circle, first.
Central to the family is marriage, and the marital relationship. Its to be noted that the author and orginator of marriage is God Himself. That’s why there have been attacks on marriage, for God created it to be a safe place to raise the next generation. Once marriages collapse, homes are destroyed, children are hurt, church is made ineffective, and society is damaged.
It is important for marriage partners to realize that there is an enemy who is hellbent on destroying the family. His aim is to break up the home by disrupting the marital relationship. So, we need to grasp that our fight isn’t against flesh and blood, ie., against people. We must understand and accept that our spouse is not the enemy. Only when we realize that there’s a common foe can we stand against him, together.
Here are some prayers to pray to safeguard your marriage. Pray for
God’s order to be established in your home
If we have to protect our homes, the number one need is for our marriages to be set in the biblical order of loving husbands and submissive wives. This functional order has been given so that the family will have unity and oneness. It will enable the family to work together under the able leadership of the husband and the skilled assistance of the wife. The family unit will then be on holy ground, and focused on being fruitful and productive. This order doesn’t diminish equality and significance of each one in the marital relationship, but enables them to find their niche and their place within the home.
Living by the biblical order is not automatic but needs to be worked out daily. We need to pray for grace to align ourselves to His principles, joyfully. We need His mercy to live according to His ways.
Lord, I pray for my wife to be blessed, and I thank you that she loves me. She chooses to humble herself under my authority, even when I am unreasonable. I pray for her to be filled with grace and crowned with glory. Help me love her unconditionally, just as You loved the church. Let me sacrifice myself to make her holy and fruitful. Discipline and correct me so I can become the man You and she want me to be. Give me wisdom and patience to bear with her in her weak moments, and forgive her when she hurts me. Teach me how to be the right husband and father so that my family would feel safe and secure under our roof!
Father, teach me to be the wife who is a crown to her husband. Help me submit to him in all circumstances. It’s often hard for me to do this, especially when I see his faults. Help me trust You to take speak to him, and walk in peace and humility even when I can’t see a change. Give me grace to guide my children to respect their father and not gang up against him with them. Show me how to communicate the truth in love and guard my words so that I bring healing and not hurt to him, at any time!
Oneness and unity in your marriage
When God gave man and woman a relationship that binds, He gave them a relationship that is the closest of all. In marriage, two independent individuals come together and grow to become interdependent and intertwined. Such growth isn’t automatic but the outcome of hard work. This work involves acceptance, forgiveness, patience, hope, and willingness.
Growing in oneness and unity is primary to protecting one another. A house divided cannot stand, and so, husband and wife need to plead to God to make them one. Physical oneness must be bolstered and strengthened by spiritual and emotional oneness.
Lord, I/we pray for oneness and unity to exist between us, so that the enemy gets no foothold within our family. No one or nothing should drive a wedge between us. Help us to close ranks by accepting one another as we are. Cause us to cover one another’s faults so that we make each other vulnerable and weak. Make us alert to the tricks and wiles of the enemy, and identify his schemes to destroy our togetherness. Pour your love in our hearts so that we forgive one another’s misdemeanors, and close ranks to protect ourselves and our families. Make us one, Lord, we pray, as You and Father are!
Sexual fulfilment and satisfaction
Becoming one flesh and maintaining the sanctity of the marriage bed is crucial for oneness. This ultimate physical expression of love undergirds the marital relationship and causes procreation. It’s God’s way for a man and a woman to have pleasure in one another. He has made a way to birth and raise a godly generation. A man feels heightened in his manhood, and a woman is strengthened in her own femininity when they come together as one flesh.
Lord, I/we pray that our lovemaking will not take a hit because of disharmony between us. I/we pray that we would delight in each other, and seek to give rather than receive pleasure. Help us to find fulfilment in each other, and guard this beautiful gift You have entrusted to us. Cause us to enjoy this abandonment with one another, and not misuse the vulnerability of our marriage bed. I/we make a covenant with our eyes to prevent philandering and infidelity and, thus, preserve our marriage.
Being guarded from temptation and delivered from evil
We live in a world full of temptations, distractions, and pitfalls. A godly man or woman is a prime target, for there is something unique and precious about those who follow Christ. There is stability and security within Christians, as well as joy and peace. This aura of goodness surrounding a disciple of Christ makes them innately attractive to others in the world. Men and women of God should not fall prey to the machinations of this world which will rob and strip you of the joy existent in your marriage.
Lord, I/we pray for one another as we go about duties and chores in this fallen world. Keep us safe from temptations that we face daily, and deliver us from evil. Help us not trip up but be faithful to one another. I/we come against every work of the enemy and destroy every deception or witchcraft that is being planned against us. Make us conscious of Your presence with us and enable us not to step out of the circle of Your protection by any sin. May Your glory rise upon us and ward off any evil eye or negative plans of people and the devil.
Find a godly older couple to be accountable to in your marriage
A marriage needs other marriages to survive and sustain. Finding at least one other older Christian couple to whom you can be accountable is crucial for the health of your marital relationship. Small things and normal misunderstandings can build up and escalate to create a wall and a divide. Sharing with an older person and seeking their wise input will help diffuse tensions and defuse tempers. Right perspectives will dawn and will be strengthened to carry on and not give up on each other.
Lord, we pray that you will lead us to a godly older couple who can stand by us, and cover us by their wise counsel and prayer. Help us be open and accountable to them, not hiding any of our weaknesses or faults from them. Give us godly marriage mentors who will walk with us in the up and down times of our life, so that we will have the strength and stamina to go on and preserve our marital relationship. Grant us the favor of being in touch with older people who have built up their life, so we can learn from them. We ask that You would give us hearing ears and listening hearts so that their words and prayers can build us up and make our marriage endure and sustain through good and bad times.
Essence and presence
Life will throw many curveballs your way that can undermine and dismantle your marriage.
We must learn to wage war against a spiritual enemy who is launching spiritual attacks, intent on destroying us. Husband and wife need to unite against him to save their marriage and those who are part of their hime!
We need to fight for one another and not with one another!
Spiritual warfare in and through prayer will cause your marriage to flourish as a garden, and not be a wilderness!
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