Sunday at the end of the services I mentioned a prayer that I pray for my wife Cheryl that is really a prayer I pray for me. Most of the time when we think about praying for our spouses, we think of praying for them to change, or to grow, or to be more this or that. But this is a prayer that focuses on who I need to be. Because I can't change my wife (or anyone else for that matter). But I can (with God's help) change me.
I pray three things...that I would be...
- kind,
- appreciative, and
- fun to live with.
That might seem a little funny. But when you think about it, this prayer really covers a lot of bases. If we would all just improve on these three things, our marriages would be so much better!
We could all stand to be kinder and more civil with our spouses and our families. Why is it sometimes that we are nicer to coworkers or even complete strangers than we are to our spouses?
If we were just more appreciative to our spouses...showed genuine thankfulness for the things they do for us and for our familes and for the household...instead of being so self-centered...our marriages would thrive.
And if we would concentrate on being fun to live with...instead of worrying about our needs/feelings/expectations...really try to be fun to live with...both for our spouses and for our children...it would transform our homes.
So try that prayer: "God, please help me be kind, appreciative, and fun to live with." I think it will really change your outlook and improve your home life.
By the way, I got this prayer from a bookmark titled, "Lifing My Wife Through Prayer" from FamilyLife.com.
