Psalm 18, part 2-Supplication through the Scriptures
Psalm 18
Praying for Your Spouse, part 2
Our marriages are signposts pointing toward or away from the glory and nature of God’s relationship with his bride.
Aaron Sironi and Lauren Whitman
We are continuing to go to the Lord for our spouses and our marriages, praying through Psalm 18.
Walking Blamelessly
18:20-24 The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
Let’s pray:
▫️The Lord’s rules, statutes, and word would be the daily bread for us and for our spouses, a habitual act of drawing near to the Lord. He would open our eyes to see wondrous things from His law.
▫️We and our spouses would regard the statutes of the Lord as wonderful and we would keep them (Psalm 119:129), having a great love for His Word that we might know Him deeply and passionately.
▫️We would seek to walk blamelessly, acting uprightly and with integrity.
▫️We would each demonstrate a sincerity of faith.
▫️We and our spouses would keep our hearts with all diligence for from the heart flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23).
▫️We would sow righteousness, peace, and joy in our marriage and reap the same. We would be rewarded according to our righteousness.
The Light of the Lord
18:25-29 With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.
Let’s pray:
▫️In our marriage we would be merciful and kind to one another, forgiving faults and showing honor to one another.
▫️We would be holy in all our behavior because the Lord has called us to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Is there something in our marriage that is a hindrance to our holiness?
▫️We and our spouses would walk humbly with the Lord and with one another. We would not hold our own opinions too highly but would be willing listeners to one another.
▫️The Lord would be our light in any suffering we face in our marriage. He would comfort and strengthen our hearts in order that we may grow together and look to the Lord together in the midst of hardship.
▫️The Lord would search us and our spouses and know our hearts; He would try us and know our anxious thoughts; He would see if there is any hurtful way in either of us and lead us in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24).
▫️We would recognize all the successes we have in our marriage, our family, our occupation, and our spiritual life are from the Lord and His supply.
Our God: Perfect, True, and Generous
18:30-36 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?— the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip.
Let’s pray:
▫️The Lord will complete the work He began in us and in our spouses. Are there any areas of growth needed in our spiritual lives?
▫️We would be anchored in the tested and true Word of the Lord. Are there any areas of doubt either of us faces as to the faithfulness of God and His Word?
▫️The Lord would be a shield protecting our marriage. What are the threats to our marriage?
▫️We would recognize all the Lord’s dealings with us to be wise and good, no matter how small or big, and that each moment is given to us by the gracious hand of the Lord.
▫️The Lord would continue to equip us in the roles He had given us: husband, wife, parent, and follower of Christ.
▫️When we fail to act as the Lord has called us to, we would be humble, quick to repent, and rejoice that we are forgiven by God in Christ.
▫️We would be secure in His electing love for us, secure in our identity in Christ and as God’s children, and we would not fear man.
▫️The Scripture would be profitable to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us and our spouses in righteousness that we may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
▫️The Lord would equip us for the spiritual battles we will face in our marriage through the losses, the grief, the successes, and the changes.
▫️The Lord would bring times of refreshment and nourishment to our marriage to help strengthen and support it.
▫️We and our spouses would have the mind of Christ, and deal with one another in humility, patience, gentleness, forbearance, and tenderness, encouraging growth in one another in all aspects of life.
▫️We and our spouses would rejoice with one another over the successes that each one has and support one another through the disappointments.
▫️The Lord would protect our marriages from slipping toward divorce.
May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Who else creates, sustains, foresees, and overrules? Who but he is perfect in every attribute, and glorious in every act?… Surely in the Lord Jehovah alone can we find rest and refuge.
C.H.Spurgeon
Psalm 18:20-36 quoted from the ESV.
Photo credit to fotopettine
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