It’s not your conventional marriage verse, but Second Chronicles 7:14, illustrates four foundations of a healthy marriage. (The inspiration and source for this post, comes from a message that my beloved Anne spoke recently, at a marriage seminar. To watch the entire message please visit our You Tube channel. See link on Sidebar.)
Naturally, this banner scripture, “If my people”, applies to us individually. Successful marriages are composed of two individuals that fulfill the conditions by which God’s promises are made actual.
IF my people…THEN I will. Thankfully, there is a generous sprinkling of mercy in this process.
The heart of a strong church is found in its godly marriages. Thus the enemy hates godly marriages due to the threat they pose on his worldly kingdoms. Making an impact felt for generations, a couple in unity, walking in God’s assignment for their lives, are a great force for the kingdom of God.
There are four specific verbs that the Lord uses in Second Chronicles 7:14. We are to: humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. Each of these is a building block for our spiritual lives, the four corners of the foundation that our spiritual life, and our marriage, is built upon.
Humility is the way into relationship with God and also the entrance into deeper relationship with our spouse. Manifesting a facet of Jesus’ personality, a humble person causes us to experience more of who Jesus is and our spirits just love this! “Going low” is the best position to take. Be the first to ask forgiveness of your spouse, even when you feel that he or she owns the majority of the blame. Who is more to blame really doesn’t matter; what does matter is the condition of our heart. “The brightest spot in a marriage is in the shadow of the Cross.” Marriages that have gone “dark” need to find their way back to Calvary.
Married couples need to employ the weapons the Lord has given, by which we may defeat the enemy. We have adopted a phrase for our marriage: “policing the area.” When a negative atmosphere threatens to escalate into a “situation”, we begin to pray. Short prayers are just as powerful as long ones, so we employ “rapid fire” petitions and pronouncements. It really works! Sadly, prayer is the glaring vacancy in most Christian marriages.
The third foundation that of “turning”, may be stated as “repentance” – keeping a clean slate with the Lord and with our spouse. “Wicked ways” would include sinful reactions in our marriage. We need to be asking for conviction, not running from it.
Be humble, be prayerful, be quick to repent – it’s pretty straightforward; nothing complicated. What makes it possible to implement, is having a vibrant relationship in the secret place with God. Intimacy requires a persistent and consistent “seeking.” Without this dimension of a regular “connect” with God, our spirit will grow weak and dull, depriving our marriage of the resource it needs to thrive. Intimacy, seeking God’s face, is the air we breathe to remain spiritually alive.
Does your marriage need a touch from heaven today? If my people…
photo credit: Frans Persoon via photopin cc