Cheri Fuller - Loving Your Spouse Through Prayer: How to Pray Gods Word Into Your Marriage

LOVE truly is the greatest gift from God that we can demonstrate to our spouse, but the second greatest is praying for them! Loving Your Spouse Through Prayer is one of the finest books youll ever read. Cheri Fuller understands how very priceless, powerful, and life-changing this principle will be in your marriage as they are wholeheartedly joined together.

Dr. Gary and Barb Rosberg,
Americas Family Coaches, nationally-known speakers and co-hosts of their own syndicated, daily radio program, authors of more than a dozen resources on marriage

Marriage is challenging and more than ever needs to be covered in prayer. As you read this inspiring book by Cheri Fuller, you too will discover the blessing of praying Gods Word for your spouse that will fill you with faith and hope, transform your spiritual life, and bring the life of Jesus and blessing into your marriage and family.

Dr. Archibald Hart and Dr. Catherine Hart Weber,
authors of Stressed or Depressed, Unveiling Depression in Women and Secrets of Eve

Couples today face some unique challenges as they make decisions about jobs, family, children, finances... the worry and stress can be overwhelming. But, prayer can change everything. Cheri gives us a refreshing look at the power of prayer in marriage and how prayer can enable us to seek His will for guidance and establish grace-based communication. A must-read for every newly married to every seasoned married couple.

Dr. Tim Clinton,
President of The American Association of Christian Counselors and best-selling author of Turn your Life Around

loving
your spouse through
prayer
how to pray God's word into your marriage

CHERI FULLER

loving
your spouse through
prayer
how to pray God's word into your marriage

In order to preserve the privacy of the people involved,
names and aspects of their personal stories may have been changed.

2007 Cheri Fuller.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80920.

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scriptures noted NLT are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT). Copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scriptures noted MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scriptures noted NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Blessed Be Your Name was written by Matt and Beth Redman.

Cover Design: Brand Navigation
Interior Design: Susan Browne Design

ISBN-10: 1-59145-570-7
ISBN-13: 9-781-59145-570-7

Printed in the United States of America
07 08 09 10 11 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

In memory of my courageous, precious sister
Martha Heath Holland
December 31, 1942April 22, 2006

contents

HEBREWS 4:12

ROMANS 12:10

1 THESSALONIANS 5:1718; PHILIPPIANS 4:6

JEREMIAH 29:1112

2 CORINTHIANS 2:711

PROVERBS 3:56

EPHESIANS 1:48

JOHN 17:21

SONG OF SOLOMON 2:1012

1 PETER 5:56

ISAIAH 41:10

2 CHRONICLES 20:12

One of my favorite parts of writing a book is expressing thanks to those who are the unseen support and backbone of the project. Those who prayed are right at the top of that list! Heartfelt thanks to Peggy Stewart, Jo Hayes, Janet Page, Kathy Wirth, and Cynthia Tonn, Lisa Cronk, Kathy Coleman, Melina Shellenberger, Elaine Shaw, Anne Denmark, Carol Kent, Betsy West, Sandra Aldrich, Catherine Hart Weber, Melanie Hemry, Cindy McDowell, Susan Stewart, Cynthia Morris, Corrie Sargeant, Pam Whitley, Lindsey OConner, Heidi Brizendine, the AWSA women, and Lael Ar-rington. (Lael, your insightful feedback and encouragement in the home stretch meant the world!)

To the couples and women who allowed me to share their stories, many, many thanks! May you be blessed in your marriages and lives, more than you could ask for or think of.

Thank you to my agent, Lee Hough; Joey Paul, Kris Bearss, Jennifer Day, Scott Harris, and the brilliant team at Integrity Publishers; and especially Leslie Peterson, my editor. It is a privilege to work with you!

To my sons, Chris and Justin, and their wives, Maggie and Tiffany, thank you for prayers, encouragement, and cheering along the way. And thank you to Hans and the best and dearest daughter on the planet, Ali; all you did to care for our home and keep everything alive and going while I was away writing this summer is more deeply appreciated than you know!

Holmes, you get my biggest thanks of all. Not only are you an integral part of this book through our stories written here, but your faithful, ongoing prayers for me and for my writing and ministry and life mean the world to me. Thank you, honey, from the bottom of my heart for being Gods gift to me and our family. And truly, the best is yet to be.

For the word of God is full of living power.

HEBREWS 4:12 NLT

Marie raced into the house, put down the grocery bags, and sat down to get her breath. Seven months pregnant, she felt like a great, big, pink Titanic. She was crazy busy as a full-time event planner, a wife whose husband traveled out of the country half the time, and a mother to two active grade-school boys.

On the outside, this capable wife looked like she was handling everything: the event she was planning for former President Bush, the cookies for the school party, getting her boys to soccer on time. But on the inside, her heart raced just thinking about her schedule for that month, much less the familys upcoming move to Colorado and having a baby they hadnt planned while keeping up with her third-grader and fifth-graders needs. Every night she fell into bed with a longer to-do list than she had when she got up.

She didnt want to burden her husband, Brad; he had enough on his plate and was leaving soon on another overseas business trip. When she was alone and the rest of the family was asleep, the inner conversations would begin: I failed everybody again today. Everything was done less well than it deserved to be accomplished. The job got short shrift; the kids did too. And Brad... he gets the crumbs; forget about me.

But nobody cares and nobody notices.

Day after day, it seemed her best just wasnt enough. Thats why she was so anxious about this pregnancy. This poor baby! I wont have one more ounce of energy for it, she thought one day, unpacking the grocery bags and putting things away.