Jesus said, "This kind requires prayer and fasting."

Matthew 17: 14-21 (KJV 2000)

Healing of An Epileptic Boy And when they came to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,  ''Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is epileptic, and is very ill: for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.  And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him." Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I endure you? bring him here to me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, "Why could not we cast him out?" And Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove from here to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.  But this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting." ************************************** Prayer and fasting.  A powerful combination.  Jesus is telling His disciples that for them to have been able to cast out the demon, they had to pray AND fast in order to work this miracle.  What kind of situation must it have been for Jesus to tell the apostles they had to do more than simply pray?  It must have been a very serious, difficult situation.  One that Jesus looked at and maybe thought "this is going to be a tough one."  So the above scripture verse is an example where Jesus points out to the apostles that sometimes they will have to do more than simply pray. The breakdown of a marriage is another example of a tough, serious, difficult situation.  When we made the decision to stand for our marriage, (or when we decided to listen to God's call to stand), we all likely thought to ourselves "this is going to be a tough one".  No doubt about it.  It is tough. So we need to do what Jesus told the apostles to do in those tough times.  The scriptures tell us that prayer is powerful.  "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16)  Jesus' example shows us how to add an extra "punch" in our prayers during those tough times - by fasting.

Fasting isn't easy.  We feel it physically.  Before fasting, it is important to check with your doctor to see if your body can physically handle it.  If you are unable to fast from eating, maybe a fast from one of our modern conveniences would be appropriate.  Turn off the tv or radio; devote free time to prayer instead of entertainment; offer your free time to helping out others, etc.  There are many ways to "fast".

Remember, the goal of fasting is to get closer to God.  And that should be our goal during our stand, and afterward for that matter.    In addition, it just might be what is needed to "break through" the evil one's grasp on our wife and family.

Be blessed.

Ask God to Show You How He Sees Your Wife

While we are standing, waiting for God to work a miracle in our marriages, we may have circumstances when we have contact with our wives.  Those times may be contentious, uncomfortable, unpleasant, stressful, etc.  Those times are nerve-wracking.  The reason for this is that we see our spouses in a totally different light than when we were happily married.  We see them now through our worldly judgmental eyes.  We often do not like what we see, or what we hear.  When we see/hear these things, emotions can take over and we might respond in a very unChristian manner.  This is a mistake.  A very big mistake.

But there may be a simple way to prevent this from happening. 

How do you think God sees your wife?  We know in the scriptures that it says He is not a respecter of persons, which means, He doesn't have favorites.  It also says that God loves us, all mankind.  That means He loves us all the same.  No favorites.  No "teacher's pets".  He loves us all the same.  So it follows that He loves our wife as much as He loves us.  Well how can He do that?  Doesn't He see what she is doing?  Doesn't He see what she says?  He sees all things so we know that He does.  But why would He still love our wife after seeing her do all these things?  It is because He sees her in a different way.  He sees her through His perfect, creator, miracle-working eyes.  He sees her as he created her.

Wouldn't it be great to see your wife that way?  Well, you can.  Ask God to show you how He sees your wife.  He will allow you to experience this wonderful insight and it will be a tremendous blessing.  Just ask him for this gift, and believe that He will do it for you.  Then, the next time you have contact with your wife, wait for Him to allow you to see things differently.  You will be blessed.

Hang in there. 

Have you decided to stand in the gap for your marriage?

It's okay.  You are not weak.  In fact, I would argue that if you have decided to stand up for your marriage, you are one of the more stronger men out there.  You have decided to fight what others say is an "uphill battle", "a hopeless case", an "unwinable war", and other negative sounding descriptions.  You have decided to claim Jesus' promises, to rely on God to change you first, then change your spouse, then bring your marriage/family back together. 
The easy way out would be to throw in the towel on your marriage and family.  Is that really the easy way?  Or is it the way of the world?  Quitting is always the way of weakness, laziness, and selfishness.
So you are not "needy" or weak, you are strong and a fighter.

You are relying on God.  GOD.  The One who created us all; The One who created the universe; The One who is in control of everything happening in the world, at every level, at every second.  He is all powerful, all mighty, all holy, and all righteous.  Who would you rather have fighting with and for you?  No one.

He is Our God...and He loves us all.  That is why He made promises in His word in the first place.  So we could see it and claim it.  So rely on God, read His word, and claim His promises.

Then get out of His way and let Him work on the problems you are facing.

All things made new!

On this New Year's Day 2012, I am reminded of a song by Christian Band, Sanctus Real:

"The Redeemer"

Sometimes I just want to start over, 'cause everything looks like a wreck
And I need the courage to carry on, 'cause I can't see what's ahead
And there are places I've wished I could be, battles I've wanted to win
Dreams that have slipped through my hands
I may never get back again
But I'm still a dreamer, a believer
Oh, I've lost my faith in so many things, but I still believe in You
'Cause You can make anything new

That is just a part of the song, but I think it conveys a message worth examining if you are in the position of having your marriage and family in turmoil due to feelings of being abandoned by your wife, being separated, or maybe having gone through a divorce that you did not want.

We are torn.  We want to start over in our lives, yet we also want to ask God to fix our broken marriages.  We can do BOTH through Our Lord.  He has the power to remake our marriages.  But we have to come to Him and ask Him for His devine help.  I believe God wants to help us with our marriages.  Most of the time we just need to get out of the way and let Him.

Pray for God to change your heart, and then ask Him to change your wife's heart.  Then get out of the way and let Him work.

Revelations 21:5-7:  And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. ⁷ All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.