We Pray Wednesday: Does your relationship hinder your prayers?

Does your relationship hinder your prayers?

I Peter 3:7

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

I have been involved in church for my whole life since I was born.  I have heard many teaching and preaching on prayer.  I have heard how sin and bitterness and other things will stop your prayers from being answered.  But I believe that this verse is the reason that the prayers of most married adults are not heard or answered. 

1.  Our houses are not in order.

Many will see this and think that I think all women should be subservient to the man and that they should just follow like a good subordinate.  That is not the case at all.  GOD created the house and the order, not man.   GOD'S WORD tells us how the house should be set up.  If you think that we have progressed farther and that is just archaic, then you need to look to God's Word for guidance.  The Bible says man is the head and the woman should submit.  Just as God is the head of the church and we are to submit to Him.  He loves us like a husband should and we help Him like a wife should also. 

2.  We are not dwelling with them.

Many couples are living under the same roof, but not dwelling together.  There is contention, bitterness, anger, strife, and harsh word constantly in the home and then we pray to God and he doesn't answer our prayers.  Dwelling together does not mean every day and everything is always perfect either.  Dwelling together means to abide together and to enjoy each other, even when it isn't the way that you want it.

3.  We do not have the knowledge of our spouse.

We should have knowledge of our spouse’s like and dislikes and wants and needs.  This is the physical knowledge we should have, but there is also the spiritual knowledge.  Do we know what the Bible says about ourselves and our spouse?  That is knowledge that we should know.  We should not confuse the ultimate knowledge (the Bible) with our opinion on the matter.  They are not the same thing.  We cannot say, "I think we should do this" and not find out what the Bible says about it.  We need to have the knowledge of the Bible about our spouses.

4.  Husbands do not give honor to their wife as unto the weaker vessel. 

Notice the verse does not say that the wife is weak.  It says that she is like a weaker vessel.  Weaker than who?  Her husband, who by the verse means that he is weak, if she is weaker then him.  That means that the husband is weak and needs God's help to be what he should be.  It also says the man is to honor his wife.  If husbands treat their wife like she is less than him that is not honor.  Honor is lifting up not putting down. 

5.  They forget they are heirs together of the grace of life.

Both of you claim God as your Father.  Both of you should want to be more like Christ.  Both of you should be trying to obey God's Word.  Both of you are called to walk in newness of life.  The majority of spouses think that they are the better Christian and their spouse has a lot of work to do to be more like Christ.  Remember that you are heirs together of the same thing and you should be praying together for the same things.  If you are not thinking this way, your prayers are probably being hindered.