What Hinders Answers to Prayer?

08/11/23 – 08/16/23

The Delicate Balance

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  08/12/23

In the Garden of Eden, God gave the first man an incredible gift: a wife. She was the one who fit him perfectly—custom-designed by God to be his ultimate partner in life. But marriage is not automatic. It must be maintained. Husbands and wives must live out their callings as God intends. Otherwise, things get off-balance, and it’s not only the marriage relationship that suffers.

It’s a delicate balance in a Christian marriage, like a chemical formula. Husbands are to love their wives sacrificially, and wives are to submit to their loving sacrifice willingly. If these two ingredients are not balanced, the marriage relationship gets out of whack. And sometimes a mistake in the formula can burn the whole chemistry set. Peter counsels husbands to guard this delicate balance “so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7).

It’s not only the marriage relationship that suffers when we abandon God’s design. The husband’s relationship with God suffers, and so does his wife’s.

Back in the garden, we see this very scenario play out. When Satan spins his lies and tempts Eve to taste the forbidden fruit, where is Adam? The Bible tells us he is right beside his wife (see Genesis 3:6)!

Adam knew God’s command and the consequences of their failure. To love his wife like Christ, Adam needed to confront the serpent and his lies and remind Eve of God’s goodness. But Adam failed her. What was the result? They lost the close relationship with God that they had enjoyed in the garden.

Satan is powerless if we will keep our eyes on Jesus. But if we allow the enemy to gain a foothold in any part of our lives, including marriage, our relationship with God will suffer.

Husbands, are you loving your wives as Christ loved the church? Wives, are you submitting to your husbands, as you do to the Lord? If your relationship is not being lived out according to God’s design, ask for His forgiveness and take the necessary steps to bring your relationship into alignment with His will. As soon as repentance, confession, and restoration of that marriage formula take place, joy is restored. And you can be confident that your relationship is not a hindrance but a gateway to communion with your heavenly Father.

Prayer: Father, show me the ways in which I need to nurture my marriage and restore and maintain the beautiful, delicate balance that You have designed. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).