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The Power of Prayer to Enrich Your Marriage
Previously published as The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage , now with extensive revisions and new material
Copyright 2007, 2021 by Stormie Omartian
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-8241-2 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-8242-9 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Omartian, Stormie.
[Praying through the deeper issues of marriage]
The power of prayer to change your marriage / Stormie Omartian.
p. cm.
Originally published: Praying through the deeper issues of marriage. c2007
ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-2515-0 (pbk.)
1. SpousesReligious life. 2. PrayerChristianity. 3. MarriageReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV4596.M3O43 2009
248.8'44dc22
2008017307
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Contents
With Gods power working in us,
God can do much, much more than
anything we can ask or imagine .
EPHESIANS 3:20 NCV
R ecent statistics suggest that soon nearly half of all marriages will end in divorce. Does this mean, then, that every marriage has only a fifty-fifty chance of making it? That cant be right. There must be exceptions to this. Im sure there are some couples who have never had a problem and their marriage has always been perfect. I have never met any of them, but they must be out there. And surely there are newly married couples for whom the glow has not worn off and reality has not set in, and they have not yet experienced the stresses, losses, and trials of life that can put a strain on any marriage.
Thanks to the thousands of letters, emails, phone calls, and contacts on my website and social mediaincluding the many who have approached me to talk after a speaking engagement or a book signingcountless people have told me about the problems they are facing in their marriages. I kept a record of their stories (not their names), and in this book I included the 14 most common reasons given for their marital problems. I believe in the power of prayer to affect these in a life-changing way.
I wrote this book for everyone who is marriedor planning to be marriedand I hope it will be used not only to prevent possible struggles from developing into anything serious, but also for praying through current struggles to find healing, restoration, and enrichment in your marriage relationship. The good news is that when change is needed in a marriage, the power of God working through us as we pray can change everythingeven the problems we face that seem to be insurmountable and unchangeable. Can it be that our prayers could produce divorce-proof marriages? Its definitely worth making a consistent and faith-filled effort to pray fervently about them.
The truth is, God has more for us in our marriages than just avoiding divorce. He wants us to be happy and fulfilled in them too. He is not glorified when we are married and miserable. He also has a great purpose for each marriage, but His purpose cannot be fully realized if the people in them are living in strife and discouragement.
You might be surprised if you knew how many people there are who appear to have perfect marriages and yet are struggling with serious problems. Even the friends and family around them dont suspect they are having difficulties because of their ability to cover them up and present an amazingly strong front. Many people believe they can gut it out and live with the situation, but too often that proves unbearable. This is especially true as people get older and realize that nothing is changing in their marriage, and they know they cant live as they have been for the rest of their lives.
I am thoroughly convinced that all of these problems could be avoided if we would truly understand what God wants for our marriages and how the enemy of our soul will always try to thwart that. And we can, too often, play right into his hand. But there is a way to hasten the demise of the enemys plans and see Gods plans for our lives and our marriages prevail.
Its called heartfelt prayer.
Of course, you cant change someones will, but your prayers for your spouse can help him (her) to better hear from God. Whether he (she) chooses to listen to the prompting of the Lord to his (her) heart is within that persons will to make the choice.
Nearly every marriage has its challenges. So if your marriage has already been challenged in any number of ways, dont think you are failing. You are normal. The good news is that God has a plan to restore your marriage to the way He intended it to be. And He wants you to partner with Him in order to see that happen. The way you do that is to live close to God and be fervently in prayer every day for your spouse and your marriage.
I know this works because my husband and I have at one time or another struggled with most of these problems ourselves. We have had times of communication breakdown between us that were so bad we didnt speak to each other for days, and then we only spoke what was absolutely necessary and nothing that bordered on real communication for months. We were both so broken by situations in each of our pasts, and my husbands anger and my supersensitive reaction to it nearly caused our marriage to be one of the 50 percent that didnt make it. Weve had our times of unforgiveness, and weve both struggled with negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and fear that permeated the atmosphere of our home.
