Father I ask in sorrow, knowing that You do not intrude upon free will, but that You can give Divine Influence like you did with Hosea's wife, that You send a hedge of thorns and wall around (spouse's name) so that he cannot find the paths that lead him away from me and our marriage/family; and though he shall pursue his [i.e. lifestyle, sinful ways, etc.] , he will not [i.e. practice improper lifestyles, engage in sin, etc.] ; though he shall seek [i.e. improper lifestyles, sin, etc.] , he shall not find [i.e. his desired lifestyle, the sin that draws him, etc.] ; that no matter what path or what [i.e. lifestyle, sin, etc.] he seeks he shall not find satisfaction or happiness until he returns to me, his [wife & family.] where he may then be taught by Your Holy Spirit the true meaning of [ marriage & family,] , and to be a good and loving [ husband & father] , and to know the ways of righteousness and true [marriage & family,] .
Father, I am powerless against these spiritual forces and recognize my utter dependence on You and Your power. Look with mercy upon me and upon [spouse's name] .
Do not look upon our sins, O Lord; rather, look at the sufferings of your Beloved Son and see the Victim who's bitter passion and death has reconciled us to You. By the victory of the cross, protect us from all evil and rebuke any evil spirits who are attacking or influencing us in any way. Send them back to Hell and place a wall of protection around this [ marriage & family] . Send your Holy Angels to watch over us and protect us.
Father, all of these things I ask in the most holy name of Jesus Christ, Your Son. Thank you, Father, for hearing my prayer. I love You, I worship You, I thank You and I trust in You. Amen.
I pray this prayer three times a day. It is very powerful.
Thanks for posting this. Is there a special place or way that you say it?
Thanks
Jen
Nope, I just do it in the privacy of my room or where ever it is quiet.
The hedge of thorns is found in the book of Hosea 2: 6 and 7. There are a lot of scriptures in Hosea which should be prayed over our spouses. Hosea is the Bible's "stander." Even when Hosea wanted to turn away, God helped him to keep standing for his wife Gomer. After being married and having one child together. Gomer started staying out all night and gave birth to two more children which were not Hosea's. One day Gomer left leaving Hosea to rear the children. Gomer goes off and worships Baal. Hosea still cares for her and has things sent to her because she will no longer speak to him. One day Hosea sees his wife in a marketplace being sold as a slave and God commands Hosea to buy his wife. God promises Hosea full restoration and completely delivers.
Another good book to get Bible verses out of to pray over one's spouse is Song of Solomon.
Steelersfan,
Thank You for posting this prayer. I am going to print it out and use it myself.
My H and I are trying to piece back our M. However, my H is still demonstating many replay behaviors (drinking at bars everyday, flirting, wants his freedom, ignores people from our old life together). I just dont know how to get him to want to choose me and our M'd life over his new bachelor lifestyle he has created for himself while he was gone this past year.
I pray so hard that he and I can reconcile and become whole again. But things are not going so great, mostly becuase I get angry when he flirts, or when he chooses to go to the bars with his buddies instead of being with me, or when he talks badly about my family and friends.
I just dont understand, he said to me that he wants to do everything in the world to make things up to me becuase he knows how bad he hurt me this past year. So I was thrilled and said I would give him another chance, and now it is like I am just putting up with one bad or sinful behavior after another with him.
This prayer is great for my circumstances. Thank You
TIPPER
You can't get him to choose anything. He still has many issues to deal with in his life.
He has to come to decisions on his own. All you can do is pray and allow God to have control over the situation.
I pray so hard that he and I can reconcile and become whole again. But things are not going so great, mostly becuase I get angry when he flirts, or when he chooses to go to the bars with his buddies instead of being with me, or when he talks badly about my family and friends.
I just dont understand, he said to me that he wants to do everything in the world to make things up to me becuase he knows how bad he hurt me this past year. So I was thrilled and said I would give him another chance, and now it is like I am just putting up with one bad or sinful behavior after another with him.
Have you ever thought about changing the focus of your prayer?
I think once I stopped praying for God to restore my Marriage and started praying for my Husband's salvation and his own relationship to be restored with God, things began to change a little for me.
I knew that if my Husband was right with God, then the rest would all fall into place eventually.
Praying really helps immensely, it changes things, and most of all it changes us.
But God is not a genie, although he gives us free will to make our own choices, we also need to understand that IF something is HIS will, it will happen, but in HIS time.
He wants us to be real with him, to speak from out hearts. You don't need to memorize a prayer to be able to have him hear your request. He already knows what is in your heart.
Use the prayers of others as a guide, but they do not need to be exactly the same.
There is a wonderful book called the Power of a Prayerful Wife. This is also a great guide as you learn how to speak with God.
That IS an awesome book Oz! I've copied alot of prayers out of it and have prayed them for my H's healing. I hope He hears them.
Do you think it's okay to pray by reading it right out of a book like that? I've always wondered this.
I often pray like that BND....I just talk to God, cry to God, laugh with God....I have many moments during the day where I can just look up into the sky and THANK GOD, for this wonderful life. I have often told God that I do not wish to harm or give pain to ow or H, by hoping that our marriage will one day have a chance to be restored, but that I wish ow to have a good life, a fulfilling one, and that I wish my H to realise what he may be missing, by not being with his kids...
Sometimes too, I am desperate and just PRAY that GOD brings H back straight away....of course I do realize that that is not going to happen, that all happens in HIS time, and that I have to TRUST in that !
Good thread ! xx
Dar,
Of course it is OK.
All I was saying is that it is also OK to speak from your heart and use the prayers in the book as a guide.
The prayer, Our Father, is also a guide.
If you actually look at it, it is in different parts, it also teaches us HOW to pray.
"I think once I stopped praying for God to restore my Marriage and started praying for my Husband's salvation and his own relationship to be restored with God, things began to change a little for me.
I knew that if my Husband was right with God, then the rest would all fall into place eventually.
Praying really helps immensely, it changes things, and most of all it changes us."
You hit the nail on the head. That is how I pray--for his salvation and his R with God to be repaired/restored.
The Struggle With Doubt
Luke 11:1-13
In addressing those times when our doubts weigh so heavily that we border on losing hope, Kay Arthur offers encouraging words:
"What do you do when you become weary in prayer, despairing of ever seeing God answer? Do you give up? Write God off as being deaf, uncaring, or not true to His Word?
"Oh, Beloved, don't write God off. Don't quit. Don't lose hope. In Luke 11:1-13 Jesus tells us to persist until we see the answer. We are to keep on asking until it's given to us. We're to keep on seeking until we find it. We are to keep on knocking until the door is opened. Ask, seek, and knock are all present tense verbs here in the original Greek, which means that they speak of continuous or habitual action. Therefore, if we believe Jesus means what He says, we'll do what He tells us to do.
"One of the major keys to answered prayer is persistence. . . .
"The problem is, we're an impatient people. We don't like to wait. When our prayers are not answered right away, then we're eager to take things into our own hands and try to do what, in reality, only God can do. And when we get impatient and do it our way, we mess up!
"If there is a delay in the answer, you can be sure it's because God has a purpose. His ways are not our ways. His timetable is not the same as ours."
Thank You all for the suggestion to pray for my H's salvation.
I used to do this a lot before he came back to me this time.
Then, for some reason I stopped. I always still pray every chance I get for the Lord to help us both with our M and reconciliation. I will be sure to ask the Lord to help my H to return to him.
Thanks,
TIPPER
SF,
I started praying the H of T after reading about it on this thread. I think of it as asking God to protect my H from harmful influences, rather than restricting him in any way. It has really helped me to get out of the way so God can do His thing (I have trouble leaving well enough alone whenever H cycles back my way-- I get impatient and push, not good DB). Thanks for sharing it.
I am bumping this to the top as many have been asking for it.
steelersfan: thanks for the bump. I was feeling low, and I needed to read some of this, especially the reference to Luke 11:1-13. I was curious and just read it. I already feel better and will go into my nightly reading of the H of T prayer with a little more gusto.
I also make a point of thanking God not just for my kids, my family, friends, support network, etc., but also for my wife. I always try to keep in my mind that although she is not acting in accord with her vows right now, she has in the past been a blessing to me, and I thank God for the fact that she has been in my life. Of course I ask that her relationship with God and myself be rectified, but thanking God for -even now- her seems important to me.
Maybe it's my Catholic upbringing, but I've always felt the need to toss in some "thank you's" to God along with my desperate requests.
There is nothing wrong with thank you's. You are thanking God for the blessings HE has given you.
I am bumping this once again to the top.
I read an interesting article by Tony Snow today talking about his cancer. This article was written before he died and it talks about his faith in God. If you see it, it is worth a good read.
Awesome thread. I definitely believe in the power of prayer. I am praying both for the salvation of my H and that God will put a headge of thorns around him to prevent him from falling any deeper into sin.