Day 2 - The Missing Key to a Gracious Life of Blessing

SCRIPTURE:

Wives in the same way be submissive to your husbands…Husbands in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (I Peter 3:1,7)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

We have found that God’s “gracious gift of life” is a beautiful, fulfilling destiny with purpose, blessings, provision, and real power and peace. A gracious life is a life that is graced with God’s best in every area. It encompasses a grace to live the abundant life. Gary says, “God is the God of peace because He is the God of answers.” People say they want answers but many times the situations people are in comes down to the day-to-day choices they make, which prove whether they want to embrace those answers or not.

We can see from 1 Peter that a husband and wife must walk in submission and agreement together so that their prayers are not hindered. We are co-heirs together in this life, and if we don’t communicate and work together, we will have our prayers hindered. So instead of inheriting a gracious life, we end up with a life of strife instead. I have observed couples that will sow into the Kingdom of God but fail to sow into one another, and the result is that they do not reap the blessings that God has for them and their lives do not exhibit the gracious life that God wants couples to experience. “Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap” doesn’t just apply to our financial sowing – it applies to the actions we sow into our mate as well.

Gary and I have sown financial seeds for many specific needs and goals and we’ve seen astounding abundant supply from God’s Kingdom. We have received business transactions, vehicles, a motorcycle, a plane, our home, debts cancelled and paid off, home furnishings, trips, ministry funding, blessings in our children’s lives, health, and more than I can detail! We have learned through experience that we must be in agreement not only with God’s Word or promise, but also we must be in agreement with one another. There is no place for stubbornness or lack of consideration when it comes to receiving from God. Faith works by love. That means that if we aren’t treating our spouse with consideration and communicating with one another, we are going to lack the faith that being “one” in agreement in Christ requires.

“The two shall become one.” If we become one, then we must function like one to receive a “gracious life.”

ACTION: In a private, peaceful setting, begin a discussion with your spouse and determine your level of agreement with each other. Communicate with respect until you are able to both find common vision to agree over. You could end by praying a prayer of agreement with your spouse over this area. Write it down and stand until you see it fulfilled. (We keep a notebook of these prayers and the fulfillment dates.)

Celebrating Freedom Together,

Pastor Drenda Keesee