Day 22
Reading
… submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. -Ephesians 5:21-33
Prayer
Lord, You have gone before me, setting in place an example of what marriage should be—how it should look. Help me (and my spouse or future spouse) seek after You. Help me keep my eyes focused on You and the pursuit of Your will. May I love, submit, and respect in the manner that You have called me to.
Additional Prayer Questions & Points to Pray Through.
- Do I set Christ at the focus of my relationships?
Lord, all of my life is for Your glory. Forgive me for the ways I have strayed and where my reverence for You has grown dim. Re-awaken my heart that it would be set on You and Your grace—that I may offer that same grace and peace to others. - Does my life reflect the example of Christ? Does my marriage reflect the example of Christ? As a husband, am I loving my wife as I love myself? As a wife, am I respecting and submitting to my husband?
Lord, thank You for the example of Christ’s love for His bride, the church. I place my life and relationships before You and ask that You would help my life reflect the wonder of Your love and not the brokenness of this world.