praying effectively: Love Your Spouse (Eph.5:21-33)

(Ephesians 5:21-33)  be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. 

Reminder:  "praying effectively" involves knowing God's will.  When we pray in His will (in His name), He may choose to not answer those prayers in the time period that we would like, or HOW we would like - but He will answer those prayers!

It is God's will:

- that a husband should leave his parents and be joined to his wife (singular) (5:31)

- that a husband and wife should live in unity, as a team, because the two have become one flesh (5:31-32)

- that a husband should nourish, cherish and love his own wife as he loves himself, just as Christ takes care of the Church (5:28-30, 33)

- that a husband should love his own wife with a sacrificial love, just as Christ loved the Church (5:25-27)

- that unless he wants you to do something that is not God's will, a wife should be submissive, be subject to, dependent upon, respect her own husband, as to the Lord (5:22-24, 33)

- that unless you are asked or expected to do something that is not in God's will, all believers should be submissive, be subject to, be dependent upon, respect EACH OTHER, in the fear of the Lord!  (just a reminder, so no one thinks any of these commands are unfair) (5:21)

Today's prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us insight into the love-language of couples!  You wrote the original book on this!  Help husbands to love and care for their wives.  Help wives to respect and support their husbands.  Guide us in building stronger marriages!  Protect our marriages!  

You created us, and You know us better than we know ourselves.  You know what works!  Help us trust in Your wisdom.  Help us understand and remember that within our equality, there is a "hierarchy" which is so different from anything the world offers.  

Help us remember that the first shall be last and the last shall be first.  Help us remember that we need to treat others the way we want to be treated.  Help us remember to consider others more important than ourselves.  Help us remember that to be master, we must become servant, and even a slave, without expecting anything in return!  Just as You - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords - humbled Yourself when You came to earth to serve and to be the sacrifice for all our sins!!!  Help us to be more like You in everything we do and say.  Amen.