The Marriage Devotional: 5 Days to Strengthen the Soul of Your MarriageSample

Practice His Presence

Levi and Jennie

Did you know we unlock our phones on average 150 times a day? We tap, swipe, and click on our phones 2,617 times per day. That’s more times of touching our phones per 24 hours than there are minutes. You probably just did it, didn’t you? Busted. (Well, hey, at least you know you’re not alone.) That is a lot of looking down.

What if, instead, you got into the habit of looking up? How good would it be for your heart if 150 times a day you acknowledged God’s presence and smiled at Him in your soul? What if 2,617 times a day you whispered an invitation for Him to open your eyes to see how He wants to use you at work or at school and gave Him a seat at the table in your finances and hobbies, or even in your loneliness? And what if you acknowledged that He is always right there with you, no matter what you are going through in your marriage?

When you acknowledge God’s presence in your life and in your marriage, you turn the key in your spiritual ignition. His presence is a benefit to you most when you remember it, cultivate it, and lean into it. A command that’s frequently repeated in Scripture is “Remember,” because it is so easy to forget.

So try saying to God each morning, “I know You are here. I know You are with us.” Say it when you are afraid or tempted. Say it when you are angry or disappointed. Let it become your release valve when you are ashamed. Run to Him, not from Him; remembering God’s presence will help alter your story.

There is no limit to where you can take this because God will fill whatever space you create. Like the ocean that floods into the hole on the beach you dug between tides as a kid, He will fill any place in your life that you open up and make available to Him. Even if it’s small. There is nothing too little, too big, too embarrassing, or too persistent that He can’t turn around in your marriage once you open it up to Him.

There’s an old hymn by Oliver Holden that will give you a brand-new way of looking at what is all around you:

They who seek the throne of grace,
Find that throne in every place;
If we live a life of prayer,
God is present everywhere.

In our sickness or our health,
In our want or in our wealth,
If we look to God in prayer,
God is present everywhere.

God’s with-you-ness in your life is even more unbreakable than wedding vows—for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health. But just as you opened your heart to your spouse, and maybe one of you got down on one knee, you have to invite God into your life and your marriage. Interestingly enough, even though God is omnipresent, there is one place He won’t invade unless invited—the human heart. “I stand at the door and knock,” Jesus said. “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in

to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20 ESV). To benefit from God’s touch in your spirit, you must welcome Him in.

As you seek to rise up and live a life of strength and honor, nothing will give you greater peace and authority than embracing the power that comes from practicing the presence of God.

And remember, His presence in your life is not based on your performance. It’s not like He’s with you only on your good days. He’s not more present in your marriage when you’re getting along. He said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). He is always with you, because that’s who He is, not because of anything you have or haven’t done. It doesn’t matter what skeletons are in your closet—whether you were once addicted to drugs, or you’ve spent time behind bars, or your last marriage failed. The things behind you are no match for the One who is with you.

It can be easy to get stuck, to fixate on the bad things you have been through or done. It can be easy to focus on the hurt—that you weren’t loved, that you’re divorced, that you’re an addict, that you’re fatherless, or that you were sexually abused.

If you’re not careful, lingering bitterness can turn into a victim mentality and a perpetually wounded spirit. You can let it control you and give you your name. But hear this: although it’s easy to be defined by your dysfunction, it’s not necessary.

The Greek word translated as church in the New Testament literally means “called-out ones.” Jesus loved you so much that He called you out of the crocodile-infested darkness and into His marvelous light. Royal blood was shed for you! You have been rescued, and your Rescuer is as close to you as you dare to acknowledge.

The more you practice His presence, the more you’ll know His grace.

Bring it Home

Since God fills the space you create for Him, how can the two of you create more space in your lives for Him on a daily basis?

In what areas would you dare to invite God into your marriage? Small ones? Big ones?

In what ways have you been defined by the skeletons in your closet or dysfunction in your life? In your marriage? How is God calling you out of that?

Reminders

Use your phones to start a new memory-habit of looking up.

Set a new background screen, set some reminders, a recurring timer, or even stick something to your phone case to prompt you to recognize the presence of God. You can respond with something simple:

• I know You’re with me.
• I invite You into _______.
• Thank You for being here.

After you do this for a while, answer this: How does this change how your day goes? Send your spouse reminders of your presence in their life too. Send texts, voice memos, or pictures to remind each other throughout the day, “I’m thinking of you” or “Hey, you’re hot and I love you.”

Prayer

God, thank You for pursuing us, for being closer to us than we know. We recognize that You will fill and renew every space we open up to You. We invite You into our marriage in a fresh way, and we will set our hearts to practice Your presence. In Jesus’ name, amen.