Day 23 Chapter 17 “Stand in the Gap”

There is nothing more powerful than praying God’s Word and promises back to Him. While I was waiting for God to restore my marriage, I began hiding God’s Word in my heart by making 3x5 cards and reading them several times everyday. Soon my prayers became mostly His Word. This way of praying is powerful. Use the prayers in this chapter to teach you how to pray the verses that you now “treasure” in your heart!

“Dear heavenly Father, I enter into my prayer closet and, now that I have shut the door, I pray to You, my Father, in secret. As You see me here in secret, You will reward me openly. It is written that all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”

“O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee; my soul longs for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. Lord, there is no one besides Thee to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in Thee, and in Thy name have come against this multitude. O Lord, Thou art my God; let not man prevail against Thee.”

“Your eyes, Lord, move to and fro throughout the whole earth that you may strongly support those whose hearts are completely Yours. Search my heart.”

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ—You have readiness to revenge all disobedience when Your obedience is fulfilled.”

“O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous. I shall not be afraid of evil tidings; my heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. My heart is established; I shall not be afraid, until I see my desire come upon the enemy.”

“Let my husband’s fountain be blessed and let him rejoice with the wife of his youth. Let me, dear Lord, be as the loving hind and pleasant doe; let me have the hidden imperishable quality in my heart of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in your sight. For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord and He watches all his paths.”

“Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. I ask You, heavenly Father, to rebuke and to bind Satan in the name and through the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ. Hedge up his way with thorns, and build a wall against him so that he cannot find his paths. Then you will say to me, dear Lord, ‘Go again, love a man who is loved by his wife.’ Therefore I will speak kindly to him. A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two shall be one flesh.”

“Abraham hoped against hope, believed in hope, and being not weak in faith, staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able to perform.”

“For we are saved by hope; but hope that is seen is not hope, for what man seeth, why doth he yet hope for it? But if we hope for what we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He will strengthen thine heart, yes, wait on the Lord. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”

“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what He hath prepared for him who waiteth for Him. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.”

Prayer for Those in Adultery

“I ask you, Father, to rebuke and bind Satan in the name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask you to build a hedge of thorns around my husband so that anyone who is interested in him will lose interest and leave. I base my prayer on the command of Your Word, which says, ‘What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.’ I thank you, Father, for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen.”

“Therefore I will hedge up his way with thorns, and I will build a wall against him so that he cannot find his paths. And he will pursue his lovers, but will not overtake them; and he will seek them, but will not find them. Then he will say, ‘I will go back to my wife. For it was better for me then than now!’ Therefore I will allure him, bring him into the wilderness, and speak kindly to him. For I will remove the names of Baals from his mouth. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again, love a (man) yet an adulterer.’” From Hosea 6.

“Drink water from your own cistern, and fresh water from your own well. Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be yours alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountains be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times. For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of a foreigner? Can man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? So is one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife. Whoever touches her will not go unpunished. For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He watches all his paths.” From Proverbs 5.

“Keep your way far from her, and do not go near to the door of her house, lest you give your vigor to others, lest strangers be filled with your strength, and your hard-earned goods go to the house of an alien, and you groan at your latter end. For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts for the precious life. He who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth.” From Proverbs 5.

“Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, for the heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes. Do not stray into her paths. For many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. Her house is the way to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death. The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it. For a harlot is a deep pit, and an adulterous woman is a narrow well.” From Proverbs 7.

“The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; he who would destroy himself does it. Surely she lurks as a robber, and increases the faithless among men. Like a bird that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.” From Proverbs 6, 27.

“This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done no wrong.’ For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; she does not ponder the path of life. Her ways are unstable; she does not know it.” From Proverbs 5.

“You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.” From James 4.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” From 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

“For I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” From 2 Corinthians 10.

“God gave us a ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God Himself was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” From 2 Corinthians 5.

“For God has said, Behold, I will cast her down upon a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. Therefore, confess your sins one to another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effectual prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. For he who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. From Revelations 2.

“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need repentance. Yes, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. For Jesus said, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone. I do not condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more.’” From Luke 15.

“Neither do I condemn you.” From John 8.

Prayer to Restore

 

“Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my cry. Do not be silent at my tears. Put my tears in a bottle—are they not in Thy book? Since I am afflicted and needy, let the Lord be mindful of me. Thou art my help and my deliverer. Do not delay, O my God.” From Psalms 56 and 40.

“My close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend, we who had sweet fellowship together.” From Psalms 41 and 55.

“Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous. In the net in which they hid, their own foot has been caught. Hold them guilty, O God; by their own devices, let them fall! In the multitude of their transgressions, thrust them out, for they are rebellious against Thee. Let those be appalled because of their shame. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly dismayed. They shall turn back; they shall suddenly be ashamed. Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon Thee. Let the wicked be put to shame; let them be silent. In thee, O Lord, I have taken refuge. In Thy righteousness deliver me.” From Psalms 7, 9, and 31.

“Though they intend evil against Thee, and devise a plot, they will not succeed. When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before Thee. Thou hast blotted out their name forever and ever. The very memory of them has perished. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more. And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” From Psalm 21.

“Thou dost surround the righteous with a shield. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone dost make me dwell in safety. Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon Me in the day of trouble. I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” From Psalm 4.

“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord. Be their shepherd also and carry them forever. I would have despaired if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord.” From Psalm 27.

“‘For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts; for the Lord has called you, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,’ says your God” From Isaiah 54:5–6.

May God Grant You Victory!

Personal commitment: to battle in the Spirit for my husband and my marriage. “Based on what I have learned from God’s Word, I commit to battling in the Spirit rather than continuing to battle in the flesh. I recognize that when I battle in the flesh I am losing the spiritual battle. Therefore, I commit to spending my energy, time, and thought life in the spiritual battle for my marriage and family.”

For encouragement and to build your faith, you will find pages of testimonies posted on our website or you can order our book of restored marriages, By the Word of Their Testimony, through our ministry bookstore.

If your marriage has been restored through this book or through our ministry, please write to us so that we can post it on our website and publish it in our book of testimonies. Let’s give Him the praise He so rightly deserves, and let’s tell the world what God has done in our lives to encourage others. “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony . . .” (Rev. 12:11).