Nobody Ever Loved Me As Much You Love Me

     "Nobody ever loved me as much as you love me" my husband said one night recently just before we fell asleep.  "How sweet!" I thought as I drifted off into dreamland.  "He finally gets it!"  It wasn't until the last few days that I realized it wasn't true.
     Now it's not that I don't love my husband.  Because I do.  But there is One who loves him more.  The Lord.  While I may have washed his dirty socks, cleaned up after him and birthed his children, I haven't done anything for him like Jesus did.  Following Jesus' example of loving him and forgiving him is something I can do.  But there is absolutely nothing I can do that would come close to dying for his sins and making it possible for him to spend eternity in Heaven.
     One thing I can do for him though is pray to the One who loves him most.  Of late my prayers have begun "Lord he was Yours before he was mine".  Gary Thomas, author of "Sacred Marriage" said "Never forget: you didn't just marry a man or a woman; you married a son or daughter of God.  Treat him, treat her, accordingly".  Now when you think of it that way, wow......  God is his Father (and mine) so he is royalty by blood. Jesus' blood. He is a child of the King of Kings.  Hmmm....does that mean I'm praying for a prince?  Guess so..... 
     Knowing I'm praying for a son of the Most High makes me think differently before I pray.  I can't say it has always been this way.  Even recently I was sharing with a friend certain things I was praying for for my husband.  Just to be funny I added "and that he would have (a certain physical condition that is very uncomfortable and I won't say what that is here)".  Not sure why I said it or even why I thought it was funny.  But within 48 hours he was struck with a bout of that very uncomfortable physical condition.  Lesson learned: Be careful what you pray.
     As Stormie Omartian states in the forward of "The Power of a Praying Wife" "....let me make it perfectly clear that the power of a praying wife is not a means of gaining control over your husband, so don't get your hopes up!  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  It's laying down all claim to power in and of yourself, and relying on God's power to transform you, your husband, your circumstances and your marriage."  It means not being afraid to ask God to change me instead of asking Him to change my husband.
     One thing that I pray for my husband on a regular basis is for him to have wisdom.  Proverbs 9:10 states "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding".  If my husband fears the Lord, he is on the road to wisdom.  Wisdom brings security, strength, satisfaction.  Wisdom doesn't usually come carried on a silver platter.  Wisdom defined is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. So not only does fearing the Lord bring wisdom, but wisdom brings us to the Lord. If he has true wisdom, he knows God.
     Praying for my husband also includes praying for myself.  Being a godly wife, a Proverbs 31 woman, that's my goal.  I must confess that there are times I am more of the wife described earlier in Proverbs where it says it's better to live on the corner of a roof than to live with me.  And that's when I must ask forgiveness of my God, my husband and anyone else I have been rotten to.  Many years ago I wrote a chorus titled "Lord Change Me".  He humbles me often by reminding me that I asked Him to change me.
     Love him more than anyone on earth does?  Yes I'm sure I do.  I want everything that is best for him and that includes a close relationship with God, a close relationship with his family, for him to have favor from God in all that he does,  and for our marriage to bring glory to God.  But God already gave him more than I ever can.  He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my husband's sins so that he doesn't have to suffer the consequences of sins when he confesses them to the Lord and forsakes them.  I couldn't do that for him because I needed Jesus to do that for me too.  Jesus blood covers all sins when we come to Him honestly and openly.  Nobody ever loved us like Jesus loves us.  Do you know Him?  My husband accepted Him as Savior in 1988. Would you like to accept Him as well?