Week Three His Finances (The Power of a Praying Wife)

Hello friends! Week three in our reading is titled His Finances! As always I will state please do buy the book nothing like having a book in your hand to be able to read, focus and highlight. There is the book and then a Prayer and Study Guide I highly recommend both books, plus have your Bible handy and a notebook or a diary even! After you finish the book you can go back through your notebook/diary and read your prayers and other answers and see where God has answered some of your prayers and that is a wonderful feeling! I'm going to share with y'all that though my prayers haven't been answered fully I am seeing sparks I am seeing God touch certain areas that I have prayed for. Friends God is good and I will continue this journey through this book with a positive attitude and a prayerful heart and a believing heart cause God is good all the time! Also before we start on this week's blog, please if you haven't read the others go back and read through my earlier blogs and get caught up they aren't too long ;-)!  This week the author talks about financial stress on a marriage, whew I can so relate to that, we have some of our most colorful arguments over finances oh and also how to raise our children. Some questions that the author reflects on as the chapter asks: Is he giving or miserly? Is he thankful or envious of others? Is money a blessing or a curse? Is he wise or reckless with what he has? Is he in agreement with you as to how it is spent, or does your marriage exhibit financial strife? I have really just about given up on worrying about money and other random things that are beyond my control, oh how I wish that my husband would as well. I have learned that it is better to trust in the lord to provide than to worry about it all. Before I even read this chapter this week I read the following:

Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Isn't that scripture so true!! Why do we worry? We should rest in the sweet assurance that as long as we are being faithful to God he will be faithful to us.To be honest I have had moments over the past year where I was about to stress out about our financial situations and I have prayed to God to just help us make it and he hasn't let me down. 

But getting back to the book, in this chapter we are encouraged to put our finances under God's covering and doing what he says to do with them. That means when God puts it on your heart to give you should give and do so knowing and trusting that God will protect you and bless you. The author makes mention of wealthy people who do not give and tells us if we were to check closely that those who do not give as God instructs are missing many of God's blessing. They gain wealth but don't really enjoy it because they don't know the Lord and living his way.We are encouraged this week to pray that our husbands get a hold of this key to life and understand God's will for his finances. 

The prayer for this week in the book:

Lord, I commit our finances to you. Be in charge of them and use them for your purposes. May we both be good stewards of all that you give us, and walk in total agreement as to how it is to be dispersed. I pray that we will learn to live free of burdensome debt. Where we have not been wise, bring restoration and give us guidance. Show me how I can help increase our finances and not decrease them unwisely. Help us to remember that all we have belongs to you and to be grateful for it. I pray that (insert husbands name)will find it easy to give to you and to others as you have instructed in your word. Give him wisdom to handle money wisely. Help him make good decisions as to how he spends. Show him how to plan for the future. I pray that he will find the perfect balance between spending needlessly and being miserly. May he always be paid well for the work he does, and may his money not be stolen, lost, devoured, destroyed or wasted. Multiply it so that what he makes will go a long way. I pray that he will not be anxious about finances, but will seek your kingdom first, knowing that as he does, we will have all we need. (Luke 12:31).

Scriptures:

Luke 12:29-31

Ecclesiasties 5:19

Proverbs 28:27

Psalm 37:25

Philippians 4:19

Questions from the prayer/study book: Answer questions fully, explain and delve deep into them.

1. Is your husband a financially responsible person, or is he sometimes irresponsible with money? How do you feel about that?

2. Read Luke 12:29-31: Does your husband suffer from anxiety about finances? Describe. In light of this verse, what should he be doing about it? How could you pray about this?

3. Read Malachi 3:10. Does your husband have a heart to give as God directs in this scripture, or does he need to move into this area of obedience to God? Write a prayer asking God to speak to him about this matter.

4. Is your husband miserly, overgenerous, or somewhere in between? How would you like to see that changed? Write a prayer asking God to give your husband a generous spirit controlled by the will of God.

5. Read Psalm 41:1-3. In light of this scripture, the blessings that come from giving to the poor cannot be ignored. Are there any blessings you feel you are lacking because you or your husband are not giving to the poor? Remember that if your husband doesn't disapprove of your giving this speaks well for his generosity too.

6. Read Matthew 6:21. Is your husband's focus on his finances or on serving the lord? If you don't know ask God to show you and write down what he reveals.

7.Do you feel your husband makes financially sound decisions? Write a prayer asking God to give you and your husband wisdom as to how to handle your finances. Pray that neither of you will spend money irresponsibly or make poor financial choices, but that you will have God's revelation about all financial decisions.

8. Have you and your husband been financially depleted for an oppressively long time? Does it seem that every time you start to get ahead something comes along to steal finances away. Write a prayer asking God to end financial loss, strain, poverty or lack of blessing in your lives. Tell Satan he cannot steal and rob from you and your husband any longer.

9. Is there anything that you could do to help relieve the financial burden on your husband? Ask God to show you, and write down what he reveals. If you are working to support the family also write a prayer asking God to bless the work of your hands and make it fruitful.

10. Pray the prayer I previously posted before these questions, include specifics about your finances.

Week Two His Work (The Power of a Praying Wife)

As always at the start of my blog I urge you to buy the book to go along with my blog so you can get the full effect of the book and the workbook/prayerbook. 
I also urge you to start at the beginning of my blogs if your just checking this one out that way it'll be easier to follow and understand.

Week 2 in The Power of a Praying Wife finds us looking at our husbands work. I know I know we work too but you've surely heard Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, it's true we all deal with things differently. Men suppress feelings women are more apt to share feelings. This week you are urged to pray for your husband in the aspect of his work life. In this week we are given examples of two different men one is a workaholic who does who focuses on his work more than his life and all that God has given to him, he has become greedy. The other is an example of a man who is well lazy who doesn't want to do much of anything if it isn't is life long dream. The author points out these men both share something in common, one fears not having stuff the other fears his dreams never coming true therefore it makes them miss out on the important things and neither are actually all that happy.

The prayer that was at the end of this week is as follows:

Lord I pray that you would bless the work of my husband's hands may his labor bring no only favor, success, and prosperity, but great fullfillment as well. If the work he is doing is not in line with your perfect will for his life, reveal it to him. Show him what he should do differently and guide him down the right path. Give him strength, faith, and a vision for the future so he can rise above any propensity for laziness. May he never run from work out of fear, selfhisness, or desire to avoid responsibility.On the other hand, help him to see that he doesn't have to work himself to death for man's approval, or grasp for gain beyond what is a gift from you. Give him the ability to enjoy his success without striving for more. Help him to excel, but free him from the pressure to do so. I pray that you will be Lord over his work, and may he bring you into every aspect of it. Give him enough confidence in the gifts you've placed in him to be able to seek,find and do good work. Open up doors of opportunity for him that no man can close. Develop his skills so that they grow more valuable with each passing year. Show me what I can do to encourage him. I pray that his work will be established, secure, successful, satisfying and financially rewarding. May he not be "lagging in diligence, (but) fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans12:11). Let him be like a tree planted by the stream of your living water, which brings forth fruit in due season. May he never wither under pressure, but grown strong and prosper (Psalm 1:3).

Scripture of interest in this week:

Proverbs 22:29

Proverbs 23:4,5

Matthew 16:26

Ecclesiastes 10:18

Psalm 90:17

So this week be prayerful for your husband in the aspect of his work life. I am going to post the questions for you to consider this week as well. 

1. Is your husband successful in his work? Does he need to find work? Does he need to find work that is more suitable for him? Explain. Write a prayer asking God to open up doors of opportunity for him to be successful in the work God created him to do.

2. Does your husband have a tendency toward laziness? Workaholism? Somewhere in between? How could his work habits improve? Explain. Write a prayer asking God to remove any obstacles from your husbands mind or emotions that cause him to be unbalanced in his work habits.

3. Is your husband a good provider? How could you better support his efforts to provide for his family? Explain. Write a prayer asking God to bless the work of your husband's hands so that his work will increase and he will be rewarded accordingly.

4. Read Ecclesiastes 3:13 in your Bible and underline it. Is your husband's work fulfilling to him? Does he enjoy the good of his labor? Why or why not? Write a prayer asking God to help your husband find fulfillment in his work, whether it means moving him into something different than what he is doing now or giving him a new sense of purpose about the work he already has.

5. Is your husband living up to his potential? Are there gifts and talents in him that are not being used or are not being used to the glory of God? Does he know what his gifts and talents are? Explain. Write a prayer asking God to open up doors for your husband which utilize the gifts God has placed in him.

6.Read Proverbs 22:29 in your Bible and underline it. Has your husband been unable to excel in his work? Has he been properly recognized and appreciated for his work? Explain. Write a prayer asking God to enable your husband to excel in his work and be recognized for it.

7. Does your husband do his work with a sense of purpose and fulfillment, or with feelings of frustration, aimlessness, or unfulfillment? Explain. How do you think you could pray about this for him?

8. Does your husband get along well with his coworkers? Are the people over him happy with what he does? Is he show respect by the people he works for and with whom he had daily interaction? Describe his work relationships in general. How could you support him in prayer?

9. Is there a difficult person your husband has to work with, or an unpleasant work relationship that could be depleting your husband's strength and patience? Explain. Write a prayer asking God to transform this relationship or change your husband's perspective and enhance his patience. 

10. Remember the prayer I posted earlier from the book? Pray this prayer out loud, and include specifics about your husbands work!

Week Three is "His Finances" Please do go out and buy you a copy of the book The Power of a Praying Wife, and the Workbook/Prayerbook. I think you'd benefit from having it there with you hands on cause my blogs do not cover it all.

Week One His Wife (The Power of a Praying Wife)

In this chapter of the book you are told the first changes you'll see will not be in your husband, but instead they will be in you. If you are like me you'll think hold up just one minuet I am not the one that needs to change or be changed. However the more you read in this book the more you work in the study guide it'll make you see that though your husband is not perfect...neither are you. In fact you'll see you, yourself has much work to do and room for improvement. 
This chapter also points out that God wants his perfect will for us, but his requirement is that we hold no sin in our hearts because that separates us from him and we will not hear our prayers answered. Psalm 66:18  says If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. The author tells us that God really wants for our hearts to be right so the answers to our prayers are not compromised. It's hard trust me I know when you feel like your husband has been just mean, hateful, not responsible and has no respect for you, the author voices these things too but also reminds us that God also  considers it a sin to harbor feelings of unforgiveness, anger, hatred, self-pity, loveliness and revenge. Wow doesn't that make you really think and really see what we hold in our heart and it shows us just how imperfect we are. Also in this chapter the author brings up a point I'm sure you have thought of yourself cause God most certainly knows I have thought it I don't even like him how can I pray for him?  As a Christian first and foremost holding others up in prayer should be one of our priorities.  One of the biggest issues I have had in my marriages is the first marriage my husband at that time didn't believe, my problem with my current marriage is though my husband believes in God, though he attends church with me I know he hasn't given his heart to the lord and I want that for him and I want that for our marriage I want him to be a Godly man and a Godly example to our children. Though I try to talk to him about these wants and desires through this book tells me that in 1 Peter 3:1,2 that "They, without a word may be won by the conduct of their wives".  I have always said if your a Christian your actions should be more Christ like sometimes you are the only Bible others see, so this makes perfect sense to me. I don't have to nag, I don't have to persist, an occasional conversation, along with prayer and my actions can make all the difference. Other points in this chapter are about creating a home meaning making your home a happy environment, we are urged to ask the Lord to show us how to make the home a safe haven that builds up your family. This chapter ends with a prayer as each chapter does and I will post it here in this blog before I go on to the questions and answer section:
Lord, help me to be a good wife. I fully realize that I don't have what it takes to be one without your help. Take my selfishness, impatience, and irritability and turn them into kindness, long-suffering and the willingness to bear all things. Take my old emotioanl habits, mindsets, automatic reactions, rude assumptions, and self-protective stance, and make me patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. Take the hardness of my heart and break down the walls with your battering ram of revelation. Give me a new heart and work in me your love, peace, and joy (Galatians 5:22,23). I am not able to rise above who I am at this moment. Only you can transform me. Show me where there is sin in my heart, especially with regard to my husband. I confess the times I've been unloving, critical, angry, resentful, disrespectful, or unforgiving toward him. Help me to put aside any hurt, anger, or disappointment I feel and forgive him the way you do totally and completely, no looking back. Make me a tool of reconciliation, peace and healing in this marriage. Enable us to communicate well and rescue us from the threshold of separation where the realities of divorce begin. Make me my husband's helpmate, companion, champion, friend and support. Help me to create a peaceful, restful, safe place for him to come home to. Teach me how to take care of myself and stay attractive to him. Grow me into a creative and confident woman who is rich in mind, soul and spirit. Make me the kind of woman he can be proud to say is his wife. I lay all my expectations at your cross. I release my husband from the burden of fulfilling me in areas where I should be looking to you. Help me to accept him the way he is and not try to change him. I realize that in some ways he may never change, but at the same time, I release him to change in ways I never thought he could. I have any changing that needs to be done in your hands, fully accepting that neither of us is perfect and never will be. Only you, Lord are perfect and I look to you to perfect us. Teach me how to pray for my husband and make my prayers a true language of love. Where love has died, create new love between us. Show me what unconditional really is and how to communicate it in a way he can clearly perceive. Bring unity between us so that we can be in agreement about everything (Amos 3:3). May the God of patience and comfort grant us to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus (Romans 15:5). Make us a team, not pursuing separate, competitive, or independent lives, but working together, overlooking each others faults and weaknesses for the greater good of the marriage. Help us to pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another (Romans 14:19). May we be "perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10). I pray that our commitment to you and to one another will grow stronger and more passionate every day. Enable him to be the head of the home as you made him to be, and show me how to support and respect him as he rises to that place of leadership. Help me to understand his dreams and see things from his perspective. Reveal to me what he wants and needs and show me potential problems before they arise. Breathe your life into this marriage. Make me a new person, Lord. Give me a fresh perspective, a positive outlook, and a renewed relationship with the man you've given me. Help me see him with new eyes, new appreciation, new love, new compassion, and new acceptance. Give my husband a new wife and let it be me.
Some scripture of interests you should look up and read are:
Mark 11:24,25
Ephesians 4:32
Matthew 7:7,8
Proverbs 24:3,4
Galatians 6:9


Questions to ponder and think about from the workbook/prayer book grab your Bible first though you'll need it:
1. Read Matthew 19:3-6 in your Bible then underline 5,6. 
Do you believe that you and your husband are one in the sight of God? Are there places in your marriage where you and your husband are not working together as a team? List those areas. Write a prayer asking God to make you and your husband more unified in these areas. Ask him to show you what you can do to facilitate that unity.
2. Read Luke 10:19 in your Bible and underline it. You don't have authority over your husband, but who do you have authority over?
3. God has given you the authority to take a stand against any negative influence in your marriage. Is there any area in your marriage where you see that the enemy has gained or is trying to gain a stronghold? Make a list.
4. Are there any places in your marriage where you feel hopeless? List these below. Bring them before the Lord and confess your hopelessness. remember, confession is not to make you feel condemned; it's to help you acknowledge your error before God so he can free you from it and so the devil can't paralyze you with it. Write a prayer asking God to give you faith you need to believe that he is your hope and will answer your prayers. 
5. Read Joel 2:25 and underline it in your Bible. What things do you see depleting life out of your marriage? What does God promise he will do when things have been eaten away from our lives?
6. Do you believe in God's ability to heal wounds? To renew love in your heart? To restore your marriage relationship to all it should be? Why or why not?
7. Read Matthew 10:39 and underline it in your Bible. Do you trust God enough to answer his call to lay down your life in prayer for your husband? Why or why not? If not write a prayer asking God to help you trust him enough to make this commitment.
8. Red Matthew 12:25 and underline it in your Bible. Is there any issue over which you and your husband are seriously divided? How do you feel about it?
9. Do you have any anger, forgiveness, hurt, or disappointment toward your husband? Explain why. Even if you have good reason for feeling the way you do, confess those negative thoughts as sin and ask God to set you free from them. I know this is hard if you feel justified in your feelings, but this prayer of confession and repentance must come first before you can begin praying for your husband with a right heart and see answers to your prayers. 
10. Do you ever feel like you don't want to pray for your husband? Explain why. Write a prayer asking God to help you desire to pray for God's best to be poured out on your husband. (This may be a prayer you have to pray everyday for awhile so don't worry if you haven't sensed an immediate answer.) By the way my own little advice always remember God answers prayers in his OWN time and his timing is what is best for us even if WE don't think it is!
11. Is there anything for which you need to ask your husband to forgive you? Ask God to show you if there is anything for which you need to repent (an attitude, action, neglect and so on). As he reveals it, write it down. Write a prayer asking God to give you the courage, strength and humility to ask your husband for forgiveness and to communicate your love and a desire to change.
12. Tell your husband you are going to start praying for him every day in a new and positive way, and ask him to share with you any prayer requests he has. Write down what his reaction was and what requests he shared.
13. Do you see your husband anything less than a beloved son of God? Explain. Write out a prayer asking God to help you see your husband through his eyes.
14. Look up Proverbs 21:19 and underline it in your Bible. Are there any issues in your marriage where you find yourself registering the same complaint or criticism over and over? List those. Write a prayer asking God to show you when to speak about each matter and when to just keep silent and pray.
15. Is there any sensitive matter that you know you need to speak to your husband about, but you fear what his response might be? What is that? Write a prayer asking God to show you what you are to say and when to say it. Ask God to prepare your husband's heart to hear it.
16. Read Psalm 62;5 and underline it in your Bible. Are there any expectations you have of your husband that he is not living up to? What are they? Write a prayer asking God to show you where your expectations of your husband don't coincide with the reality of who he is. Tell God you will put your expectations on him so he can meet your needs.
17. Read Ephesians 5:33 and underline it in your Bible: Is there any area in which you have lost respect for your husband? Explain: Write a prayer asking God to reveal ways you may have demonstrated a lack of respect for your husband. As he reveals them, confess them as sin and ask Got to help you see your husband the way that  he sees him.
18. Read Galatians 5:22,23 and underline it in your Bible. Do you have any habitually negative ways of responding to your husband that need to be changed? What are these? Write them down. Ask God to give you revelation about this. Then write down next to them which fruit of the Spirit you need in order to eliminate the negative mindset and habits of response. 
19. Read Proverbs 31:10-31 in your Bible. Ask yourself then following questions without expecting perfection:
Are you a trustworthy wife? 
Are you and asset to your husband?
Do you work diligently to make a home in which he can be comfortable and happy?
Are you careful and wise with money?
Do you take care of your physical health and appearance?
Are you a giving person?
Are you prepared for your future?
Do you make sure your family members have their needs met?
Do you generally move in wisdom?
Are you always loving and kind?
Is your relationship with the Lord alive, intimate, growing and strong?
Without being hard on yourself, write a prayer asking God to help you with each area in which you need to improve and enable you to become the wife he wants you to be?
20. Pray the prayer out loud that I posted earlier in this blog. Include all the specific needs, desires and hopes from your own heart.


I urge you all to purchase the book and the workbook.  Trust me this book is a great investment in your marriage and your future. This book will help you be a better wife and in turn with God's help will heal your marriage and help your husband to be the husband God would want you to have! You have to put God first in your life and let his light shine through you be his beckon be the person only he can make you to be.