No Silent Partners

This was such a sweet blessing to read! It so illustrates the heart of a woman, and the need for a man to acknowledge what she has to offer and what she needs from her husband. How beautiful!---LL

Moments Together for Couples 8/21
by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

August 21A Fellow Heir

1 Peter 3:7 And grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life.

Today the business world has all kinds of partnerships: silent partners, financial partners, equal partners, controlling partners, minority partners, and more. But in marriage, God intended for us to have only one kind: a fully participating partnership.

The apostle Peter sets forth the concept of mutual partnership as he instructs a man to treat his wife as "a fellow heir of the grace of life." Although her function and role as a woman differs from yours as a man, she has an equal inheritance as a child of God.

You will make your wife a participating partner in your life when you tenderly look her in the eyes and say, "I need you." Why not make this an experiential reality in your marriage by frequently saying:

"I need you to listen as I talk about what's troubling me. And I need your perspective on my problems and your belief in me as a person."

"I need you to help me become the man God created me to be."

"I want you to have total access into my life. I need you to keep me honest in areas of my life in which I could stray from Christ. You may question me or confront me on any issue."

"You are the person I most trust with my life."

"I need you for your advice, judgments and wise counsel on decisions I face, especially at work."

"I need your prayers for a temptation I am facing."

When I become the sole proprietor in our marriage and treat Barbara as a silent partner, we both lose. She loses the opportunities I can give to include her, develop her and make her feel important. And I lose because I tend to make poor decisions when I am isolated from her.

Most wives beam with joy when their husbands let them into the interior of their lives. Wives long to be trusted with their husbands' challenges, emotions and self-doubts.

Prayer:
That God would give you the courage as a man to give your wife even greater access to your life, and that He would use you as a team to be more effective than you would be individually.

Discuss: Discuss this concept of partnership. Does your wife feel she is part of your life? What adjustments can you make to make her your partner?