Our Sexual OnenessSample

Day 7: A Call to Activation

Ever since the Lord clearly showed us about the importance of Godly sexual oneness in marriage, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we needed to speak up and share what He had shown us. Even though we would prefer to keep our sexual relationship private, to ourselves, the Lord has made it clear that He wants us to share in order to lead other couples into an experience of Godly sexual oneness that neither the world nor our flesh can give to us.

James 2:17tells us that “faith, if it has no works, is dead,” and so, we started asking Him what it would look like to activate all of this new understanding about sexuality. Something that caught our attention at that time was an article titled Just Do It. It was the story of a couple who decided to have sex 101 days in a row. Yes, they really did it; they lived to write the book and are still alive, as far as we know! Even though they don’t present themselves as Christians and we do not recommend their book, they reported some very positive results from their sexual intimacy experiment: “They stopped feeling only like roommates, parents, or partners, and felt more like lovers” They felt more confident in their emotional and physical wellbeing, they were less anxious, fought less and felt closer. Interesting, isn't it? After considering and praying about this, we created a 7-day sex challenge for the couples attending our Love After Marriage workshops, as a way for them to invite the Lord into their sexual oneness. For some couples, inviting the Holy Spirit into their love making is revolutionary. God is not embarrassed or shocked when we make love to our spouse. He designed sex and He knows it is supposed to include passion and pleasure. This is how the 7-day sex challenge works. We want the two of you to ask the Holy Spirit what He wants you to do together to restore, strengthen or improve your sexual/physical relationship during the next seven days. Maybe you have a very good sexual connection, but you need to add time listening to each other in order to bring a deeper emotional connection during sex. On the other hand, maybe you haven’t been sexual together in 5 years (this is not uncommon to hear in our workshops). In that case, the Holy Spirit may lead you to have sex only one time during the seven days. Maybe the Lord will lead you to make love 3, 5, or all 7 days. One couple who hadn’t had sex in quite a while, heard the Lord tell them to simply come together and cuddle for 7 days in a row. We have to tell you that they ended up doing a lot more than just cuddling!

A Prayer from Barry and Lori before you begin this challenge:

We bless you, precious couple, to let the Holy Spirit lead you in your time of lovemaking. We bless you with every blessing the Lord has given us in the areas of sexual vulnerability, freedom, creativity and enjoyment. Jesus, release the fullness of all You have for them in this area as they follow Your lead, in Your precious name. Amen.

Activation: Take some time right now to talk together and listen to the Holy Spirit after asking Him what your sex challenge should be. Decide what it will look like. Any amount of time is ok as long as you both are in agreement with each other and listening to the Holy Spirit. If each of you hears something different, you may need to combine them and do what both of you hear.

Also stand before each other and bless each other’s bodies, the sexual and non-sexual parts, as the Lord leads. There is something about blessing each other’s bodies that has the power to break shame! Try to look into each other's eyes as you bless each other’s body parts.

Here are some examples: “____________ (insert spouse name), in the name of Jesus, I bless your eyes that see the goodness of God and see faith in the midst of trials. I bless your legs as you walk with the Lord and share His good news. I bless your hands that work and serve me and our family so well. I bless your private parts that the Lord has given us to bring new little lives into this world and to bring pleasure to each other.” Just let the Lord lead you; listen to Him for the things that need mentioned. You may be surprised!

Enjoy this time! Let the Holy Spirit guide you and obey what the Lord is asking you to do! You won’t be disappointed if you're following Him.

This plan was provided by Barry and Lori Byrne, founders of Nothing Hidden Ministries. For more information about Nothing Hidden Ministries or attending a Love After Marriage Workshop, a Single Life Workshop, Inner Healing training and other teachings and ministries, please visit: www.NothingHidden.com

Barry & Lori have been married since 1979 and have raised four sons. Barry is a licensed Marriage Therapist with 38 years of experience. Nothing Hidden Ministries (NHM) was founded in 2008 by Barry and Lori Byrne and is now operating in more than 10 different countries. The ministry of NHM has helped thousands of marriages, singles and families excel at connecting and building intimate relationships with God and with others.