Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Guest Post: Christine Alfaro ~ "Prayer in Action"

Christine is my Dear Sister in the Lord. We met at our marriage ministry bible study and found out we share the same anniversary, August, 8th. (I married my husband Ray on 08/08/08 and she married Octavio on 08/08/09, Yes, we are both newlyweds) Another thing we have in common is that we both like to blog. I have been taking some time away from blogging recently while I'm in the process of starting a Social Media Managing business, it has taken up a lot of my time as I'm still doing the 9 to 5. Lord willing, one day I will have the opportunity to just work from home. So, please keep that in prayer for me. Friends, I have invited Christine to share what the Lord has put in heart and I hope you will be as blessed and encouraged as I was.


                                             PRAYER IN ACTION

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  ~ Phil. 4:6-7


I’ve seen prayer in action. I’ve been blessed by prayer and even more blessed to pray for others. God is always awake and ready to listen.

One of my biggest jobs as a wife is to pray for my husband. My intercession can help in our relationship, it can help him to cast out fear of failure, negative thoughts, and bind the enemy back who seeks to destroy my husband and my marriage.

God tells us in Philippians 4:6a “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” This literally means to tell God everything. Discuss everything with Him. He is the only one who can help you and He longs for you to ask. If your husband is struggling at work or with the kids, then you're struggling too. Lift him up to the Lord and watch Him heal.

The next part of the same verse is Philippians 4:6b-7 “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Anything your heart is stressing about will come to peace when set before God. Not everything we ask for will be granted, for God knows what is good for us and what isn’t, but He promises to set your heart at peace. Prayer not only lifts up those we love, but more importantly aligns our heart with God’s will. I’ve prayed and had some amazing things happen. The most amazing has been how God uses it to change my heart.

I challenge you, whether you are in a good marriage or one on the edge of divorce, start to pray fervently (with all knowledge that you will receive an answer) and see what happens. God has joined you as one with your husband. When you pray for blessing in your marriage God is faithful to respond. If you’ve never prayed before, just simply talk to the Lord as you would a friend, tell Him everything even though He already knows. Pour your heart out to God and He will pour His heart into your life.

To read Christine's Blogs go to
http://christinealfaro.blogspot.com/

3 comments:

Sylvia said...

Nice blog Cristine. The power of prayer is wonderful, my husband and i pray together every day and i pray for him while he is work because i know he is under so much stress. Could not imagine where our lives would be without prayer. Thank you for sharing.

Sylvia (in Portland, Oregon)

Christine said...

Sylvia - God is so good to lead the way in our lives. Even those who haven't responded to Him yet are blessed because the Lord loves us all. Be assured, the world is a better place because of your faithfulness. Thanks for the encouragement.

Anonymous said...

I love how you don't use big words that I don't understand. The gospel message is short, simple, but pierces the heart. This is your blog!! Perfect timing in all aspect. Awesome!!! I got frustrated at my husband today and lost sight of what my responsability as his helpmate should be biblically. I didn't nag.. yay me! but I did let out a "Are you kidding me!"
Norma G.