STAND BEFORE THE LORD for your SPOUSE

“When Abigail saw David,
she quickly got off her donkey and
bowed down before David with
her face to the ground.”
I Samuel 25:23
New International Version

Marriage is the union between a man and a woman, sanctioned by God and is to be held in high regard and esteem. Genesis 2:24 says, ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.’ The divorce rate is increasing at an alarming rate, especially among believers. Matthew 19:6 says, “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Husbands and wives are co-laborers in the marriage. In order to succeed, both must be in agreement and in alignment to God’s word. However, what should a spouse do when the other walks contrary to the things of God or perhaps is just unwise? The first thing is to stand before the Lord in prayer.
The story of Nabal and Abigail is a great example and gives great insight to standing before the Lord for a spouse. The Bible says that Abigail was ‘intelligent and of good understanding,’ but her husband was ‘harsh, cruel and mean in all of his doings.’ Also, from this account we learn while David and his men were in the wilderness they protected Nabal’s men and livestock without harming or stealing from them. It came the time for sheering the sheep and David sent messengers to Nabal to request food and provisions for his men. Rather than replying with generosity, Nabal responded foolishly, as his name implies [Nabal means ‘fool’]. He refuses David and begins to rail on him.
Upon hearing his response, David vows to kill Nabal and all of his men by sundown! One of the servants tells Abigail of the recent events and she responds quickly and with great wisdom. She prepares all the food and provisions and sets off to meet David. When she finally meets David, she presents all the food to him and kneels down before him and asks that he not kill her husband and servants. She humbles herself, putting herself in harm’s way for the life of her husband, a foolish husband, at that. David concedes and Nabal’s life is spared because Abigail behaved wisely and stood before David.
Are you willing to stand before the Lord for your spouse? He/she may be unwise, mean and harsh, but what is your response? Other examples of the spouse interceding on the behalf of the other: Hosea and Gomer and Moses and Zipporah (Exodus 4:25), to name a few.
Are you willing to stand before the Lord for your spouse? For your marriage? God is able to deliver. In the words of a friend, the whales and manatees will be fine… stand before the Lord & save the marriage!