Day 8: Thanksgiving and Prayer

Head:  There is nothing sweeter to me than hearing one of my children talk to God like He is a friend.  They love Jesus.  At the dinner table they tell him so and at night they lay in bed and have conversations with him.  They are not separated from Jesus by impure hearts.  They are still humble and pure. I love to hear them thank God out loud for whatever they can immediately think of or see and sometimes the things they can't but have thought about all day.  They are just comfortable in the role of the one giving thanks to God.  A few weeks ago, a friend and I were talking about how our husbands were not the type to be comfortable praying in front of others.  For different reasons, our husbands seemed to struggle with the same predicament.  They were intimidated by other men who were good at speaking "Christianese" when praying in front of others.  Some people just have the dialect and tone that makes their prayers seem...professional.  I have prayed for my husband on this matter for years.  I want him to feel comfortable praying in public, in front of strangers and even in front of his own family.  He doesn't have to speak "Christianese", he just needs to know he can put aside what others are thinking and concentrate on the conversation he wants to have with our Father.  This is one of the many things I have prayed about for my husband.  Over time, he has become more confident in front of the children and I know God is working on his confidence to pray in front of others.  I will continue to pray for him.

Heart: Some time ago, I had written on a slip of paper "Philippians 1: 3-7 and further 8-18"...and just below that I had written..."blog, share about husband"...  I found this in my Bible when I was getting ready to do this devotion.  I don't know when I wrote this or what my initial thoughts were but apparently, God has been working on me for longer than I know about my marriage and fully intended on me to share it with you.  It seems like everyday I want to jump up and down because I'm so excited about the message God is providing everyday for us.

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1: 3-6

Philippians 1: 3-18 is about thanksgiving and prayer...and sharing the gospel. I encourage you to read it today.

Being confident of this, that he who began good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6)

1. Thank God every time you remember Him.
2. Pray to God with joy.
3. Know the works that He is overseeing in your marriage will be good until the day of Christ.
4. Our love will grow with knowledge and insight.
5. Well, you read the rest...let God speak to you today.