A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.
‘I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord ; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord ’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. I prayed to the Lord , and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles. For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the Lord , you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing. Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord . Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken! Calamity will surely destroy the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.’ Psalms 34:1-22(NLT)
‘We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. ‘ 2 Corinthians 10:5(NLT)
‘And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.’ Philippians 4:8-9(NLT)
‘O Lord , you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord . You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.’ Psalms 139:1-8(NLT)
‘Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving.’ Psalms 69:30(NLT)
‘Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.’ Philippians 2:3-4(NLT)
‘As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?’ Psalms 42:1-2(NLT)
‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. ‘ Hebrews 12:1-3(NLT)
Maybe you feel like your marriage in on the rocks. Perhaps you have tried and tried to piece things back together, but you feel like your spouse is unengaged or checked out. The Lord knows you and your situation. You are not alone. He hears the cry of your heart. Before we begin, let’s pray the following suggested prayer.
Abba Father, thank You for Your mercy on sinners like myself. Please have mercy on me. Thank You for Your grace. I praise you, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator and Redeemer, God of love, who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-seeing. I put all of my hope and trust in YOU and Your grace. I affirm that You are working even now on my behalf. I ask You now for Your help and Your grace. Thank You for all You have done and all You are doing and all You are going to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Many of us do not like to be told what to do or what not to do, particularly if we don’t understand why, even more so if we don’t think it will make any difference, and definitely if it goes against what we want to do! This may describe your response when you read through the dos and don’ts. But don’t let negative thoughts or feelings deter you. There is great blessing available in these daily habits.
Today we are going to look at the list of dos and pray through them. Later in the week we will unpack each one to see what it looks like practically.
The 5 DAILY DOS
1. Turn your eyes to Jesus and off of yourself, and off of your spouse. Fix the eyes of your heart and your mind upon the Lord and keep them there.
2. Thank the Lord and praise Him throughout each day. Make it a point to thank the Lord and praise Him in the morning when you get out of bed, at noon, and again at night before you go to bed.
3. Take ten to twenty minutes with the Lord. Plan strategically to spend at least ten to twenty minutes with the Lord each day reading and praying through the Scriptures listed in this plan.
4. Take every thought captive. Watch over your heart and mind. Don’t let it run wild. Be careful to think on truth and things that are holy and right.
5. Treat your spouse as more important than yourself. Serve your mate each day. Honor your spouse. Consider them first.
from Dos And Don’ts: A One-Week Plan To Help Your Marriage