Today is Valentine’s day, so I thought it would be appropriate to write about love. But how do I tie that in with “praying for our kids”? As I contemplated this over the past couple of days, the thought came to my mind, that we need to have strong marriages to fight for our kids. At wedding ceremonies, you often hear the analogy of a rope, that 3 strands are stronger than 2. I know it’s cliche, but it is true. With God threaded throughout your marriage, your marriage will be that much stronger.
“Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, emphasis added). Marriage is a symbol of Christ’s love for the Church, so as Christians, we need to portray that. And in doing so, we will find our marriages to be stronger and better. in 1 John 4:19, John writes “We love because He first loved us”. I think that he is saying that we would have trouble loving others (including our spouse), if we don’t experience God’s love first. And we then need to bring that into our marriage, and allow that to envelope our entire relationship.
When our marriages are strong, we can fight the battle together. We can pray together, we can cry together, we can be examples to our children. When a marriage is struggling, the kids see it, whether they are young or old. Keeping Christ in the center of our marriages ensures that our kids will see a couple who loves each other, as well as them. And by being that example to our kids, we can steer them onto the correct path – this is true, regardless of their age. Our kids have told us several times how much they have learned by watching us. I know that they mean it as a positive, but I sometimes wonder how much negative things they have picked up from our example as well. We’re definitely not perfect, but we do strive to keep God in the center. I believe that by doing that, we will be married until one of us is called home to glory.
Keep God in the center of your marriages (or if you are not married, keep Him in the center of your life). In doing so, you will be a strong example to your children. Continue to pray for your children, do not despair, God is listening.
Much Love,
Quintin and Beth