"There is...a time for every purpose under heaven...a time to keep silent and a time to speak." Ecclesiastes 3:1,7
There is a time for everything, the Bible says, and it is never more true than in a marriage, especially when it comes to the words we say.
"There is a time to speak and a time not to speak, and happy is the man whose wife can discern between the two." -Stormie Omartian
We know as married women that there are things better left unsaid. A wife has the ability to hurt her husband more deeply than anyone else can and he can do the same to her. No amount of true, whole hearted apologizing can ever take those words away. They can only be forgiven and that is not always easy. Sometimes anything we say will only hinder the flow of what God wants to do so it's best for us to..."shut up and pray".
The safeguard we have with prayer is that we have to go through God to do it. This means we have to get in the right frame of mind for God to reveal anything in our personality that is in the way of His order of things. He will always give us words to say and show us when to say them if we ask Him (Prov. 29:11). Timing is everything. Our goal is not to get our husbands to do what we want but to release them to God so He can get them to do what He wants.
There are times when we are to just listen and not offer advice, to support and not offer constructive criticism (Ecc. 5:2). We can communicate our thoughts, feelings and advice when asked, but once we have spoken them we mustn't press him. When we pray before we speak (1 Cor. 4:20), it is not the words we then speak that make a difference, it is the power of God that comes with them. You will be amazed at how much power our words have when we pray before we speak.
The Bible says a wife can win over her husband without saying anything because what he observes in her speaks more loudly than what she says.
"Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives." (1 Peter 3:1).
I love you & He loves you more!
Lord, Thank You for the communication of prayer. May we learn to come boldly to Your throne and bow humbly in Your presence. May You break down strongholds that may be causing us to not be able to control our words. Help us to always pray before we speak. Amen.
Be mindful of praying for:
His Past
His Attitude
His Marriage
His Emotions