S)"34 When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35 and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah."
Genesis 26:34-35 (NASB)
O) Even just this morning I was reading in my devotional with Kristin about 7 things to pray for your children. One of them was for the future spouse. It's not just for the sake of my kids alone, that I need to pray for their respective spouses, but for my sake and Kristin's sake as well.
A) I have first-hand knowledge, and testimony, regarding the effectiveness of praying for a spouse before they are even married. As a teenager I prayed for several things to be a part of who Kristin is, as my wife, and God was gracious and He put many of them into Kristin. It wasn't even just the "serious" requests, either, like asking that she'd be from a stable home (her parents have been married for-since-college). My wife is very, very tolerant of videogames (I literally prayed this) - so much so that our second date she came over to my house and sat on my couch while I played Final Fantasy - no joke. With that kind of knowledge about how effective this type of prayer is, I need to make it a specific point to pray for the future spouse of each of my kids.
P) Father, please bless the spouses of my children. Give my daughters men who have hearts like King David, after Your own heart. Men who chase purity and walk in repentance, worshiping You in everything. Bless my son with a wife who seeks righteousness and understands the value of holy leadership. With all of the children-in-law, may they be respectful of authority, and value the opinions of Kristin and myself. Holy Spirit, please continue to lead me in prayer for these as-yet-unknown men and woman who will marry my kids. Help me be faithful and wise in raising my children for them, as well. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
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