MARRIAGE MATTERS NEWSLETTER. Monday 24th June 2024.
GOD CAN USE YOU TO WIN SPIRITUAL BATTLES IN YOUR MARRIAGE.
There are a lot of matters that arise in marriage which you may not be able to explain in an ordinary way except you look at it from spiritual angle. However, because many of us don’t believe in spiritual warfare, we rule out such possibilities. There are also those who believe in the possibility of spiritual cause of marital challenges, but are not discerning enough to know when it is time to fight.
However, it is very important for you to know that it is not all battles we fight in marriage that are physical. Many fight spiritual battles physically ignorantly, without knowing that anyone who fight spiritual battles physically is bound to lose. I will reproduce below two real life examples that may wake you up to the reality of spiritual battles in marriage. The first one is a real life story I picked from my Whattsapp platform on marriage, while the second one happened to a couple that is very close to us.
First story.
‘It was my wedding night. I was so tired, I needed a bath and a rest. We had danced so much my back was aching. My husband was beginning to have funny ideas. He was beaming like a new born baby. Well, I wouldn’t blame him; any man in his position would not joke with this night because I was a “warrior” during our courtship.
No… no hugging, no pecking, no holding, no touching, no tapping current, no weather for two, sexual purity till marriage was top on my list.
The Knock came at half past eleven (11:30pm). Is that room service? I wondered. Then, with eyes popping, I heard my mother in-law’s iron like voice: “Tise, Micheal, open the door”. Micheal jumped up from the bed, rushed to the door and opened it for his mum. My Mother in-law walked in, sat down majestically and asked us to sit down too.
“Tise, I don’t know if anyone ever told you? There is a curse on my husband’s family line. The men in their family don’t prosper, their wives are the ones who work, and provide for the families. This is because, according to the story that I was told, one of their forefathers killed the only son of a great herbalist and the herbalist placed a curse on every son in their lineage, that their hands will never produce nor bring forth anything good also, their sons must always lose a son amongst their children”
I watched in amazement as my mother in-law kept telling the story. Then, she concluded by saying:
“In essence, I have just come to let you know that your marriage is not a land of fun but of war”
Why? Why didn’t she tell me this before now?
Well, in order not to waste her time, I also gave her my history. I said,
“Mum, I am sorry, I also did not tell you this before now. I came from a family that fights for those we love. My Father (Jesus Christ) actually died while trying to save His people. My family line does not operate under curses because we are operating under a covenant of blessings – John 1:12-13. Therefore, anyone who is fortunate to marry any one in my family becomes automatically BLESSED! So mum, for my sake, your son can not operate under those curses again”.
My mother in-law was shocked, to say the least, as I could tell what she was thinking. Then, it made sense to me. My sisters in-law always had this gloomy look on their faces and the two of them actually lost their sons.
“Mum, you need to go and rest. My husband and I need to produce two sons this night because in my family line we conceive immediately our husbands meet us” I concluded.
My mother in-law stood up with caution and silently walked out.
At that moment, all the tiredness vanished as I took Michael’s hands and looked him straight in the eye.
“Listen, I don’t care what you or your ancestors have done, but for my sake, you will prosper with these hands”, I said.
“Listen, Paul and some criminals were on a ship and there was a shipwreck. The soldiers wanted to kill all the criminals to prevent them from escaping, but the Army Officer stopped them for the sake of saving Apostle Paul.
Michael, for Paul’s sake, the lives of other criminals were preserved. So sweetheart, because you are married to me, because we are in the same ship, yes, this relationship called marriage, for my sake, you cannot be punished for your ancestors’ sins”. I assured him.
That became my prayer plea to God from that day forward. I kept praying to God to save my husband, my sons for my sake.
To the Glory of God, I have four sons, none of them died. Now, they have sons and daughters of their own.
For my sake, my husband’s destiny changed for the best.
Second story.
The man called his wife and told her that as he was approaching forty years, he knew that the time he had left to live was limited. He reminded his wife that his father died before he was forty, while his mother died at forty, his own two elder brothers died young too. Consequently, he told his wife that she should prepare for any eventuality. As soon as he finished talking, the wife responded:
“In the name that is above every other name, Jesus Christ, l neutralize any ancestral curse that might have been raging in your family for generations. Yes, your father succumbed to the curse, your mother and your brothers also died young but in your own case, you are spared because in the covenant that God made with me, early widowhood was not part of it. Moreover, hear what the Bible says in Isaiah 49:24-25
‘Shall the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the lawful captive delivered?
But thus saith the LORD,
Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered:
for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee,
and I will save thy children.’
“Hear this my husband, you will not die but live to declare the works of God”. To the glory of God, the husband celebrated 50 birthday a few years ago, and from the way he looks, he is not yet ready to succumb to death.
Can you imagine what would have happened if those two women were ignorant of the need to respond spiritually to spiritual realities!
Please note the following in your marriage;
- It is not every battle in your marriage that is physical. There are some traits in your spouse which might have been inherited as an ancestral curse or as a result of spiritual arrows shot at your home by whoever.
- God can use you to destroy any work of the devil in your spouse’s life through the name of Jesus Christ. The scripture says concerning Him in 1 John 3:8. ‘For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.’
- You should make up your mind that you are going to be a destroyer of evil covenants in your home because by virtue of being a child of God, He can use you for your spouse if you are determined to be used for such.
- When you see or hear about a negative trend in your home, you must not keep silent with the believe that it is your spouse’s problem. All that the devil needed to succeed in the two cases above was for the wives to keep silent. Thank God that the women did not keep silent.
- Fighting spiritual battles is something you grow into by practice, if you don’t grow your spirit, you may be actually useless in the life of your spouse at a time that he or she might need you most, so, grow spiritually.
- Don’t be intimidated when you hear fearful pronouncements. In the name of Jesus, you can actually move mountains. If the wife in the first story was terrified by such pronouncements on the first day of their marital life, the curse would have registered to operate in that family unhindered. Boldness to make righteous declarations is one of the hallmarks of a child of God.
Let us conclude by saying that though it is not every challenge in your home that is a spiritual battle, you should not be ignorant of the devices of the enemy. When you chose not to believe that it may happen, you become an easy prey to the devil, whose three-fold ministry is to steal, kill and destroy anything good in your home.
May he not succeed over your home in Jesus name. Amen!
Dr. Mike Oluniyi.
