Praying for your potential spouse

10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. 13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

I love this passage on prayer; it’s short, simple, and powerful.

The deacons here at Grace will read this passage and anoint people with oil and pray over them when they seek for the pastor and deacons to pray for them.

We don’t believe that there is healing properties within the oil but we believe in the power of prayer.

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 5

Oil seems to have been used medicinally as an ointment for injury and not sickness. For example, ancients used oil for bruises, welts and raw wounds (Isa 1:6); the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable used oil on the injuries of the injured person (Luke 10:34); ancients applied oil to their sheep’s scratches and bruises (Psa 23:5).

What I want to focus on here is the prayer. I want us to see what it means to have a powerful prayer life and how that will affect our romantic life.

Productive Prayer

James 5:16 KJV 1900

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Look at the last phrase with me; ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.’

There are three important requirements if one wants productive prayer:

The Character of the Praying

‘Effectual fervent’ is two words translated from a single Greek word ἐνεργέω (energeō) which means to pray with energy and enthusiasm. If we are not earnest in our prayer, how can we expect God to be earnest in answering our request?

The Character of the Prayer

The word used for prayer here δέομαι (deomai), means to ask a specific request, but more than that it literally means to beg. I know this may sound odd, but if we want God to move mountains in our lives (finding a spouse is like a mountain) then we must beg God. When you pray, be specific about it and beg the Lord.

I want to say that for me, being very specific in my prayer is how God answered my prayer. When I was praying about meeting someone, Lissa met the very specific parts of my prayer. It taught me several things but the most important things it taught me was:

God not only hears my prayer, He pays attention to the details

God knows what I need, but He also knows what I like.

The Character of the Praying Person

Notice the phrase ‘a righteous man’ sin will hinder the success of supplications before God. We must be clean and pure. Purity is a basic qualification for prayer to be effective and productive.

Prophet’s Prayer

James 5:17–18 KJV 1900

17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

The Person in the prayer

I love this passage and it encourages and reminds me that Elijah was subject to the same temptations and struggles as we are today. He felt the same pressures in life and yet we can see in his life how God blessed and used him.

This takes away any excuses we would have regarding Elijah’s success being because he was a special person. He had the same nature that we have and yet prayed successfully.

The Passion in the Prayer

There are two things here that are of note:

He prayed earnestly

He prayed again

When Elijah prayed, he meant business with God and it was not a one time thing. He made a habit of prayer.

Charles Spurgeon said ‘The habit of prayer is good, but the spirit of prayer is better.’

The Productiveness of the Prayer

Elijah’s prayers were productive; ‘it rained not on the earth for the space of three years and six months’ — That is powerful productive prayer!

Notice that it affected the rain, and secondly it affected revival — ‘He prayed again and the heaven brought forth her fruit’ this was only after the mount carmel incident.

We cannot talk about prayer without also talking about fasting.

They go hand in hand and are meant to accompany one another.

We will take a quick look at two passages in the book of Matthew on fasting.

Matthew 6:16–18 KJV 1900

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Fasting

Fast in Secret

Fasting is meant to be secret, not exposing it to those around you as a boastful action.

When you have a spouse, there is nothing wrong with disclosing that you will be fasting, but you do not need to disclose the duration of your fast. Neither should your spouse harass you about it your fasting duration.

Jesus even tells us to not have the appearance of one who is fasting as to look burdened by it.

When you fast, do it with joy and be prayerful.

Fast for Success

Matthew 17:21 KJV 1900

21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

We are familiar with this passage, the disciples inquire of Jesus why they were not able to cast out the demon. Jesus reveals that this type of request demands fasting.

Finding a spouse is not the same as casting our a demon, but there are certain requests I believe that are only answered by fasting.

What is fasting?

It is sacrificing your physical needs for spiritual substance.

Tips for successful fasting:

Read the Bible

Pray

Meditate on the Word of God

Have Faith

Praise God

Other fasting tips:

Drink sparkling water — the carbonation will help your stomach feel more full

Drink black coffee or tea — the caffeine will help to suppress your appetite

When you break fast, eat a very small and light meal. Especially if you break a very long fast.

Fasting should always be done as an act of drawing closer to the Lord, and not in a vain attempt to ‘get something from God’. Our prayer and fasting should be motivated by our love for God and desire to fulfill His will in our lives.