*2013 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist*
John 17:20-23 (The Message)
I'm praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they'll be as unified and together as we are—I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, and give the godless world evidence that you've sent me and loved them in the same way you've loved me.
For those of you who are married or have been married, you know how very difficult it can be to sustain that close covenant relationship. Relationships do not often resemble greeting cards when you live day-in and day-out with someone, walking on the journey that life brings, going through seasons of struggle. I have read estimates that couples raising a child with extraordinary needs have a divorce rate near 85 percent. The fatigue and deep tiredness, and the uncertainty and strain can build and build. Your life may be in survival mode for so long that you may not even be able to pinpoint any specific moment when you and your spouse began to grow apart.
Today, let’s join in prayer for marriages. We pray that marriages will not only survive, but will thrive. I pray that couples will know what it is to become one heart and mind, supernaturally, through God’s Spirit. I pray that parents of children with specific needs will know such deep intimacy with God that they will grow in unity together. I pray they will know that they are filled with the same glory that filled Jesus, and that they will feel filled with that glory day after day and year after year. I pray, God, that they will know a life-giving oneness, a unity that sustains them in every season. May there be a kitting together of mind, body, and spirit. I pray that couples will know a supernatural resting in each other and in God. May there be no division, tension, or separating…but rather community and oneness.
1. I pray, reader, that you will have a deep intimate relationship that is filled with God’s Spirit. May you know blessing, oneness, and the joy of a covenant relationship with Him.
2. If you are married, how can you breathe life into your marriage relationship today? If you are a single parent, I pray that God will send you an intimate partner to covenant with. May you know abounding blessings within a partnering relationship.
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