Talking Less

“If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be better than they are in the world: at least, we should be better enabled to bear them.”

John Owen

Questions:

1. Why is better to talk less and pray more?
2. How has prayer enabled you to break free from the  fear or pain in your life?

　

Carrying an Umbrella

“Prayer is asking for the rain and faith is carrying the umbrella.”

Anonymous

Questions:  

1. Why is it so important to have faith when you pray?
2. What Bible verses  help you maintain your faith while waiting on the Lord’s timing?

　

　

Crying Out

“Great grief prays with great earnestness. Prayer is not a collection of balanced phrases; it is the pouring out of the soul. What is love if it be not fiery? What are prayers if the heart be not ablaze? They are the battles of the soul. In them men wrestle with principalities and powers…The prayer that prevails is not the work of lips and fingertips. It is the cry of a broken heart and the travail of a stricken soul.”

Samuel Chadwick

Questions: 

1. When did you cry out to God in prayer?
2. How were you strengthened by the Lord?

Altering Our Lives

“We must alter our lives in order to alter our hearts, for it is impossible to live one way and pray another.”

William Law

Questions:

1. How have you altered your life to alter your heart in prayer?
2. What have you given up in order to receive?

Working in Prayer

“I have seen many men work without praying, though I have never seen any good come out of it; but I have never seen a man pray without working.”

James Hudson Taylor

Questions: 

1. Why is it necessary to take action when you pray?
2. How has God guided you to work through Him in prayer?

The Total You

“Prayer is co-operation with God. It is the purest exercise of the faculties God has given us – an exercise that links these faculties with the Maker to work out the intentions He had in mind in their creation. Prayer is aligning ourselves with the purposes of God…Prayer is commitment. We don’t merely co-operate with God with certain things held back within. We, the total person, co-operate. This means that co-operation equals commitment. Prayer means that the total you is praying. Your whole being reaches out to God, and God reaches down to you…”

Eli E. Stanley Jones

Questions: 

1. How in prayer do you align yourself with God’s purpose? 
2. Are you fully committed in prayer?  How?
3. Why has exercising your payer life brought you closer to God?

Story of Prayer

“As white snowflakes fall quietly and thickly on a winter day, answers to prayer will settle down upon you at every step you take, even to your dying day. The story of your life will be the story of prayer and answers to prayer.”

 Ole Kristian O. Hallesby

 Questions:

1.  How would you like the story of your prayer life be told?
2.  What will you change in your prayer life to make your story have a “happy ending“?

Couples’ Question#4

What steps did you take to show forgiveness to your loved one?

What happened as a result?

 

“ To be kind to one another, tender- hearted, forgiving each other. Just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

　

　

 

 

 

 

 

　

 

 

 

 

“The Honeymoon is Over”

     For me, my honeymoon was a time to celebrate a newly bonded relationship with my husband, to get away from the pressures of the world, and to enjoy one another to the fullest.  Garrett and I were blessed to experience all that and more.  Our honeymoon was in St. Lucia at a Sandals resort; paradise pales in comparison as we lived like royalty.

     However, when we arrived back home, we felt dethroned.  The morning after arriving home, I smiled and told Garrett we should order room service.  That smile quickly faded when I realized we had left paradise behind.

     Garrett and I entered a strange world called Reality.  Reality differs from Sandals in several ways.  For example, in the land of Reality, people have to make their beds, pick up after themselves, and cook!  Yes, not only that, they must work in order to attain desired things.  Contrast that with Sandals, in which food, fun, relaxation, and adventure are only a request away.

     Well, the good news is that the land of Reality is not as bad as one would initially think.  It took me about 3 months to settle into the notion of being a wife and doing wife things.  For example, I had no idea how to cook and I caught my robe on fire learning how.  Now, I am proud of my culinary skills and enjoy making my husband’s favorite dish, gourmet macaroni and cheese accompanied by barbeque-baked beans.  I am also very grateful to my mother-in-law and her parents for getting me the vacuum of my dreams.  Okay, I have not dreamt about vacuums before, however, this vacuum takes the cake.  I love the little green light that comes on to indicate when the area is clean.

     There are a slew of emotions a newly married couple will experience as they settle into their new roles.  It can be an incredibly exciting time to learn more about one another and grow closer to one another.  My prayer is for you and your spouse to truly embrace the gift God has given you: marriage.

Questions:

1. What do you and your spouse do to keep your relationship incredible?
2. Please share a recipe with all of us that will make our husbands’ tummies smile.
3. How long did it take you to settle into your role as a wife?

Forgetting Yourself

“To give heart and mind to God, so that they are ours no longer – to do good without being conscious of it, to pray ceaselessly and without effort as we breathe – to love without stopping to reflect upon our feelings – such is the perfect forgetfulness of self, which casts us upon God, as a babe rests upon its mother’s breast.”

Jean Nicolas

Question:

What does it feel like to completely surrender to God ‘s will?

 Please encourage us by sharing your experience.