Speak words of life over her every day of your life – word

This is a part of a series about Godly divorce and marriage…

• Marriage, divorce and the law 26 October 2013
• Abraham, Sara and Hagar – a non-religious view 26 October 2013
• Godly divorce (Abraham and Hagar study) 26 October 2013
• Francis Frangipane: A Special Word to the Women of God 23 October 2013
• Speak words of life over her every day of your life – word 23 October 2013
• Divorce 21 October 2013

Last night and this morning I have had a few more revelations about Jesus Christ and His bride.

Here they are. The first point is an old one which I have already shared. Point three is the new one…

1. Before she knows He even exists, He has already done everything for her. He said “it is finished” 2000 years ago, but His bride has yet to cleanse herself and come to Him.

2. No one (His bride) can come to Him unless His Father wills it. So while He sits at His Fathers right hand, He is praying for her and He is waiting for His enemies to become His footstool… to be under His feet.

3. What is He praying? Scripture isnt explicit about the content of His prayers, but this is what I realised this morning…. I imagine He is praying that…

a) His Father wills her to come, beause she is unable to come unless He wills it, and
b) that she responds to the invitation and actually chooses to come, and
c) that she makes herself ready and cleans herself, and (d) is below

Rev 19:7 the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.

His wife making herself ready means putting on clean clothing… clean of the past, clean of distractions etc.

Its one thing for Jesus Christ to pray that His enemies (which ioppose Him by interfering in His upcoming marriage) are defeated and placed under His feet… but she also has to choose to overcome the enemy too, separate herself from them, make herself clean, leaving them and coming to Him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death. – Rev 12:10-11

d) He is speaking words of life over her

If I was to describe His prayers in one phrase I think He would be praying that she receives life. I know this because a few weeks ago God said to me “speak words of life over her every day of your life“.

This is good advice for any married man. And it echoes Eph 5…

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word – Eph 5:25-26

His words wash His bride. Husbands, your words must wash your wife every day.

But. I must be honest. I have found this very difficult to do. Its very difficult to speak words of life every day over a woman who I am not face to face with, I dont have pictures of, dont know what she looks like, dont know where she is, cant contact her… my imagination runs wild. .. and Im asked to speak words of life over her? Really?

I have been praying for her (off and on) for 11 years. But… to speak words of life every day over someone you dont know? Its hard, let me tell you.

But Jesus Christ is doing it right now over His bride. His bride has not yet separated herself and made herself ready and come to Him. Why hasnt she? Perhaps because His Father has not yet willed it?

Why pray for someone before they choose you?

Ive been thinking about this question a lot over the 11 years. My best answer is… we all need prayer to make it through our trials. And also, to show that we (men) have a self sacrificing love to offer her. And also, as that verse in Eph says, our words help her become sanctified and cleansed.

(In my case, I first needed to be sanctified and cleansed!!!!)

As scripture says, this whole interplay… between God the Father, God the Son, His bride (who is unaware of Him)… and lets never forget the Holy Spirit is essential to this interplay… it is all a mystery…

This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife
even as himself; and the wife see that she respect her husband. – Eph 5:32-33

“so love your wife”… or… love your wife in the same way… even before she comes to you, before she even knows you exist, before she has cleansed herself and before separated herself from her past.

As Jesus Christ’s enemies are placed under His feet… in part becase our Father God wills it, in part because Jesus Christ reigns and conquers and also in part because she learns to overcome… as this happens, she becomes free and then she can come to Him.

Yeah. Its a great mystery. Yeah. Its very counter cultural. Yeah. Its hard. Chin up guys… this is our calling.

I apologise that this post is not as clear as others. This revelation is an ongoing and deepening mystery. Its emotional for me… frustrating, painful, confusing.

But I hope you can get a glimpse of what marriage is… a symbol of Jesus Christs relationship with His bride… which is all of us who believe… and choosing to come to Him, putting away the past, putting away all that hinders us, forsaking the world… and cleansing ourselves.

Your marriage… this marriage is a prophetic symbol of hope to the world. – word.

In all honesty, I have never seen or heard of a story like the one I am telling here on this blog and in my journals published on this blog. It boggles my mind.

Its an enormous leap of faith… to simply believe scripture, to simply believe the Holy Spirit and to simply trust that God has a plan and He wills it.