“a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24

OBSERVATION:  Marriage today is in crisis in our society. There are any numbers of reasons to blame for this, but most of them are only symptoms to the real problem. The real problem is a spiritual one brought on by our own sin in our hearts. It’s important that we get back to God’s covenantal purpose of marriage and commit to pray for our marriages today. God designed marriage as a sacred and a joyous covenant. He gave it as a gift to show the full expression of love between a man and a woman. It should be honored and never taken lightly. God has been faithful in giving to us the information we need so that our marriages are both honoring to Him and a blessing to us. Therefore, He says, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

PRAYER: Jesus, today we pray that Your plan for marriage would be clearly displayed through our lives. We pray that we would honor our marriages completely. We pray for open communication and to have the wisdom to listen when it would be easier to speak. We pray for humility to say I’m sorry. We pray for the graciousness to forgive like You forgave us. We pray for You, Jesus, to be the center of our marriages and that when the world looks at us, they see You. Help us to love each other like You have loved us. Amen.

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• “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33
• “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
  -Psalm 34:14

OBSERVATION:  When we look at the world around us, it is often daunting to contemplate the possibility of world peace.  But God calls us to be salt and light and ambassadors in our world and to minister to those in our path.  We are called to use our Christian influence in powerful ways in the context with which we live.

PRAYER: Father, today we pray for peace in our world.  We know that it is an incomprehensible goal for man, but all things are possible for You.  Make us your instruments and help us to find ways to speak truth in love to situations that bring about peace.  Help us to be peace”makers” and not simply peace“keepers.”  Give us boldness to stand up for injustice and lead us in Your Way everlasting.  Amen.

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“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165). (KJV)

OBSERVATION: According to several research companies, the USA’s overall crime rate continues to go down each year since it had an all-time spike in 1991. Our nation’s low crime rate shows we are living more and more in a time of peace. However, individual cities’ crime rates fluctuate each year. Also, in a recent article by the Pew Research Center, “Nearly eight-in-ten Americans say that when it comes to important issues facing the country, most Republican and Democratic voters not only disagree over plans and policies, but also cannot agree on basic facts.” Yes, our crime rates are low, but we are not livingly peacefully. Our nation needs peaceful citizens, and we are only going to have true peace and great peace by loving the Word of God, which shows us the true way of peace through Jesus Christ. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). (KJV)

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ to come into this world and for showing us the way of peace. Our nation has a great need for peace, but that will only come from You and loving Your Word. Help us to have a desire for You and the Bible so we can live peaceful lives and lead others in the way of peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  – Matthew 5:9
• So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. – Romans 14:19
• If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. – Romans 12:18

OBSERVATION: When Jesus spoke these words, he wasn’t commanding us to be passive or have a laissez-faire type of attitude. He wasn’t talking about being tolerant or even an appeaser.  Being a peacemaker is about chasing after it, accepting our responsibility for it and even fighting for it.  If you are a Christ-follower and you are not at peace with those around you, pray that God would help you be obedient to the words of our Lord.

PRAYER: “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.  Where there is hate may I bring love. Where offense, may I bring pardon.  May I bring union in the place of discord.” -St. Francis of Assisi

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“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, & that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” -I John 5: 13-15 (KJV)

OBSERVATION:  Since God is not the author of confusion, we look unto Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our faith, who being made perfect, became the author of eternal salvation to all that obey him; therefore, every prayer that is not in accordance to the will of the Father, does not have access to God.

We observe the avenue of prayer through the foundation laid by the “Wise Master Builder”.  He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  The avenue of prayer leads believers to foundational truths; prayer instructs and teaches the believer how to build thereon. (Supporting Scriptures:  1 Corinthians 14:33; Hebrews 12:2; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11; John 14:6)

PRAYER:  Father, as we pray today, we thank you for true love toward us.  We thank you for world love by giving your only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who died so that everlasting life could be given to all whom believe that You raised Jesus from the dead.  Father, we submit our will and our ways to you so that we may truly be the children of God; using Your strength in the Holy Spirit, making us able to resist the devil and the evils of this world.  Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen. (Supporting Scriptures:  2 Corinthians 6:6; John 3:16; James 4:7; Romans 10:9; Jude 24-25)

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