Birds & Bees | Crosstraining 4.26.12

Read: 1 Peter 3:1-7 & 1 John 3:18-22

We want our prayers to get results. To make sure our prayers are powerful and effective, we also need to examine our relationships. God tells husbands in I Peter 3:7 to “be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect…so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” He expects husbands to be in right relationship with their wives by showing them grace, respect and love. Otherwise, their prayers will be hindered. Wives have responsibilities, too, that affect their most important prayers and hopes. In 1 Peter 3, God tells wives to be submissive, and if their husbands are not believers, “they may be won over” by their wives’ pure and reverent behavior. If your husband doesn’t know Christ, obedience to this scripture brings great encouragement. This doesn’t just go for the married people, either. How we treat the people closest to us in life holds spiritual weight when it comes to powerful prayer and blessing. When our heart is humble and forgiving, God is please. And “if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because we … do what pleases Him.” (I John 3:21-22) Are your prayers effective? Maybe the solution lies within your relationships.]]>