Couples Night - Part 3 — Keith Daniel

Confidence Before God Through Obedience

His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Clare is answered, when our hearts don't condemn us in the light of God's commandments, then we come to God with such a confidence.

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him because we keep His commandments, even the commandments concerning marriage. But in its context, there's far more to this verse than just that prayers will be answered, if you're right with God.

In its context, there's so much more. You see, it's speaking of the prayers of a father and a mother, a husband, a wife. Over their lifespan, when they pray together, it's more praying for their children than anything else.

Your prayers are more for your child, if you're a saved man and woman, than anything else you pray for to God as the children. The greatest responsibility God places in your hands, once you're married, is the children.

And you will find that most of your prayers, earnest true prayers from the heart, from then onwards, as husband and wife, are for those children over your life. Your prayers be not hindered. I want to read something to you, and I want you to all listen very carefully.

Holiness in Marriage and Unhindered Prayer

We'll be hindered when we pray for our children, if we were not holy in our marriage. When we pray for our children, how much of it, when we're forced to pray for our children, how much of it is for God to undo the damage we've done through the influences of our lives upon our children when we failed in front of them?

When we failed in our marriage, things they witnessed. Oh, how much is to undo the damage our lives did in our children's lives. I'm not talking about the normal prayer, but when you're forced to pray, Father, how much of it is the result of your failures?

How can you expect God to answer your prayers for your children to be holy? You pray that, Mother. When they leave and get married, you pray that, Father, oh, that they'll be holy and Christlike. How can you expect God to answer your prayers for your children to be holy and utterly Christlike if you didn't show them that it's possible through the example of your life, even in marriage, especially in marriage, that your prayers be not hindered if you don't obey God concerning what He wants you to be, wife, what He tells you to be.

It weighs a lot. I was in a town a while back. A lady asked to see me, and I was unable to see her, so they squeezed in this little time because she persisted. She came to the home where I was staying.

A Mother's Example and a Daughter's Troubled Marriage

They put me in the lounge, sat with her, and after a while, as she sat there weeping, she spoke and said, I have a daughter who married a young man, and he told us he was saved. He convinced us he's born of God.

He's a Christian. And so he married my daughter, and there's been nothing but sorrow. And now he doesn't want her anymore. He wants to divorce. What can I do, she said. What am I going to do? After a while I said, Lady, could I shock you?

Could I ask you, is it not possible that there's two sides to the story? Is it possible that it's not altogether his fault? You say he's not saved and you thought he was saved, but he couldn't be saved if he wants to divorce your child.

Is it possible that your daughter had something to do with that he doesn't want her? Is it possible that it's not just that he's unsaved because there's problems in the marriage? Is it possible that your daughter has a lot to do with this, that he doesn't want her, that it's not just him?

And she sat back in shock at first, and then tears came down her face, and she said these words, it is so. I didn't want to admit this, but it's her fault. But the worst part, sir, is I'm to blame. You see, I was not the example I should have been in the home to my daughter of how a wife should be, how a Christian wife should be.

I gave the wrong example to her. She treats her husband as I treated mine. And I only know now how unhappy my husband must have been. He had grace not to throw me out. It's my fault, sir. I gave her the wrong example of what a mother should be, what a wife should be.

She's just as I was. She's just being what her mother was in marriage. Now that shocked me, what that woman said, that your prayers be not hindered when it comes to your children's marriages collapsing.

Tell me, is she like you? Is she like you, lady? What you showed her, the example, that your prayers be not hindered if you couldn't prove it to them in your life? Oh, how hindered your prayers are going to be for them to live the life that you couldn't prove to them is possible in marriage.

I was in a town where there was this godly woman. And oh, what a woman of God she was. She stood out as a sore thumb amongst all God's people. Years went by, years and years and years. And I returned to that town.

Her little children had grown up. They had children of their own. And this godly woman was old now. I stayed in the home of her daughter while I was preaching in the same town now, some 28 years later.

And they brought the old godly woman down for one meal. And after the meal, when she left, I said to the daughter, you know, your mother staggered me when I was in this town many years ago. Her life, her Christ-likeness, her gentleness.

It's like she has no ability to be unkind. There's nothing but kindness just flowing out of her, no matter who has been spoken of, no matter who does wrong. There's just this inability to say an unkind word about anyone.