I’m happy to recommend these two excellent books on difficult marriage to help spouses find hope and be proactive.
Prayers of Blessing Over Your Husband
This book is meant for every Christian wife who wants to improve her marriage. I found the tone to be uplifting and inspiring, and I enjoyed the wise, honest stories from the author’s long marriage.
Bruce Wilkinson teaches that a wife’s prayers for her husband are powerful agents of change. I have read many valuable books on praying for your husband, and I found a unique perspective in this book. Wilkinson writes about the wife’s “mantle,” or her important responsibility to minister to her husband through prayer. As a wife you are gifted and equipped as a helper, just like Eve was for Adam. One of a wife’s primary, yet often undervalued, roles of helping is through prayer.
Wilkinson writes, “Her prayers to help her husband are in the very center of God’s will! Not only is God pleased, but He responds to her with His help.”
This is very encouraging news for a wife who may feel trapped in a difficult marriage. I’ve felt that way before, and I know the transforming power of prayer in a difficult marriage. Prayer gives you an action step when nothing else seems to be working.
Special Features
Wilkinson reveals five secrets behind the wife’s mantle, which changed my thinking. I now feel empowered in a new way to invite godly changes into our challenging marriage through the power of prayer.
I love this quote: “Wives are God’s human partner to help mature and maximize their husband[s].”
The second half of this book is chock full of prayer prompts for every imaginable area of your marriage and husband’s life. You will receive many calls to action in areas you probably haven’t considered before. That’s what makes this book so hopeful, and the best part is it’s all biblically based.
I highly recommend this book to all wives, but especially wives looking for a difficult marriage book that offers hope. There is hope for all our marriages, and the door to that hope is prayer.
Netgalley provided me a free preview copy of this helpful book.
A wife is God’s human partner to help mature and maximize her husband. -Bruce Wilkinson, Prayers of Blessing Over Your Husband #marriage #prayer #bookreview Click To Tweet
Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away
When my husband and I endured a brief separation, one of Dr. Gary Chapman‘s books was a lifeline of hope for our difficult marriage. I was thrilled to review this revision of a book he wrote over 10 years ago.
This powerful book offers hope for couples dealing with larger-than-normal marriage problems. If I had had it when I was struggling the most in my marriage, it would have given me the hope and help I was desperately seeking from others who could not understand.
Here are the main marriage issues covered in this book:
Irresponsibility
Workaholism
Depression
Controlling Tendencies
Verbal Abuse
Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Lack of Communication
Infidelity
Addiction
In my own difficult marriage I have dealt with several of these heavy-hitting issues. Speaking from experience, I can say that Dr. Chapman’s advice is solid and strong. His tone is firm yet compassionate, which is what you need to hear when your marriage problems are tough.
I appreciate the fact that he says I can change myself but not my husband, and that one-sided change can work change in the marriage. Not every example he gives in the book ends happily. Some of the couples he counseled ended up divorcing. But others persisted in difficult marriages and thrived despite the challenges. I am proud to belong to that group of champions.
Favorite Quotes
Here is a sampling of inspiring quotes from this book:
“In the darkest night of a miserable marriage, there is always a flickering light.”
“Your inability to change your spouse must be laid alongside your very real ability to influence a spouse for better or for worse.”
“You can learn to acknowledge your negative emotions but not to follow them.”
“Choose the higher road by asking such questions as: What is best…right…good…loving? You can allow your actions to be controlled by these noble thoughts.”
“You know well that time alone does not heal the troublesome behaviors we have described in this book. Perhaps this knowledge will encourage you to take a new approach.”
I am grateful to Moody Publishers for a free review copy of this excellent book.
If you know someone struggling with major marriage issues, do them a favor and recommend these life-giving books on difficult marriage to them. You just might offer the hope they are desperately seeking.
In the darkest night of a miserable marriage, there is always a flickering light.--Dr. Gary Chapman, Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away #encouragement #marriagehelp #bookreview Click To Tweet
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