Carlie K.: 0:01

Hey everybody, we're back. Welcome to the Praying Couple Podcast, Season Two.

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Yes.

Carlie K.: 0:09

We are your hosts Mike and Carly Kirchhoff. And we are thrilled to be back praying today, a pray based on Mark 1125, which is going to be all about forgiveness in marriage. Michael, do you want to read the verse?

SPEAKER_00: 0:25

Yes. It says, whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive them. Drop the issue, let it go. So that your father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings against him and others.

Carlie K.: 0:45

That's powerful. Just to be clear, that was Mark 11, 25 in the amplified version. So one of the biggest things that stands out to me right away is that whenever you're praying, so whenever you are praying, if we have anything against anyone, he is commanding us to forgive them, to drop the issue and let it go. But let's be honest, it's not always that simple. It's not always so easy as to just drop it and let it go. There are actually times when you have to go to a counselor. Mike and I both have master's degrees in counseling, and we still go to counseling at times. There's been counseling in the past that we've gone to, there's been counseling in the distant past. I mean, for Michael with military-related things. And so this is something that I think is great to pray about because sometimes you may think you're dropping an issue, you may feel like you've let it go, you may say you've let it go, but there's still something there that is not allowing you to move forward. So we're going to cover that in prayer today. Um, also, when it comes to letting things go, what does that look like to you, Mike?

SPEAKER_00: 2:00

Letting things go to me is really not bringing it back up, not only verbally, but in my mind. I don't want to be like, hey, remember when this. Letting it go is saying, you know what? This happened. I forgive myself or I forgive my spouse or whoever it is, and know that God will show you how to move on past that point. And I believe that with forgiveness, there's a there's a level of maturity in him.

Carlie K.: 2:30

Yeah, no, that's true, and that's good. And and it also, you know, it talks about that that our father in heaven will forgive us our transgressions and wrongdoings against him and others. So remember, when we are sinning against someone, let's say we're, you know, doing something that's not right to our spouse or to a child or to a friend, you know, we sin against them. Yes, we're sinning against them, but first and foremost, we're sinning against our father in heaven. We're committing a crime against his law, we're breaking his law. And so this is all really humbling. And in context, at times, I think it can be difficult initially when we're working through things that are traumatic, things that are really hard. There's a lot of stuff out there that is not gonna be so easy to forgive. It's not gonna happen overnight, it's a process. However, what I know about God is if you give your pain to him, if you give your anger to him, if you give your sin to him, he forgives you. Yes, he forgives you. And I think that that's something that we can pray about today is understanding the importance of allowing him to take those things and to make us new, to truly give us beauty for ashes.

SPEAKER_00: 3:42

Yes.

Carlie K.: 3:42

Okay, is there anything else you want to say? No, all right, let's pray.

SPEAKER_00: 3:46

Father, we just come before you. We pray, God, that you will help us, God, to forgive one another, to forgive ourselves. God, you've commanded this. God, I just pray this over married couples. I pray this, God, that you will help us to forgive. Help us, Father God, to trust you. And God, I just pray, God, for breakthrough in this. God, whatever we've gone through, God, I pray, God, that you will help us to move on because we are commanded. We give it to you. We forgive ourselves, we forgive other spouses when we thank you, God, for breakthrough. And I ask this in Jesus' name.

Carlie K.: 4:24

Father, I stand in agreement and I just thank you for the gift of salvation. I pray, Father God, that you will remind us all the times that we're struggling to forgive ourselves or others, Lord, that you would remind us of the forgiveness that we received when we first accepted Jesus Christ. I pray, Father God, that you will just continue to give us wisdom, the wisdom that we need in order to move past things. I know some things we can move on from quickly, and for whatever reason, other things sometimes they just are traumatic, God, and they stay a little bit longer. And so I ask right now for the person who is listening to this podcast, that if they are struggling to forgive their spouse or themselves or anyone else, God, that you would give them understanding, that you would show them, shine your light in the darkness, in the places that they don't like to tap into because it's painful. Shine your light, God, there and reveal to them the things that they need to do, the steps that they need to take in order to forgive. Father, I thank you that your word is very clear, that you will forgive us. If we sin and we confess our sin, you are faithful and you are just to forgive us. So, Father, I just ask for the brother or sister who is hearing this podcast right now in this prayer right now, who is struggling to forgive, that your spirit would just overtake them, Father, that your love, your love would lead them into your kindness, God, into your forgiveness, Father. Remind them, Father, of your goodness and your mercy. Give them the ability to see past the pain through the darkness and into the light. God, I thank you that your love is truly better than life itself. I ask, Father God, too, that as we forgive others, I pray, Father God, that you will continue to restore our relationship to you and to one another. I pray for broken marriages, God, people who are standing in the gap, who are choosing to forgive the spouse that has hurt them, or maybe the spouse that has left them, or maybe the spouse that's not forgiving them, but they're choosing to forgive, Father. I pray that you will empower them by your spirit to stand strong and firm in faith, knowing that you will forgive them. Father God, I also pray that you would just continue to show us things to come. Show us things. Your Holy Spirit, the word says that the Holy Spirit only speaks as he hears. God, help us to be the same, to speak words of life, to not speak words that cut or harm others. And God, I just ask too that you would just give your people today, married couples today, for marriages around the world today, right now, that you would give us grace and mercy to show each other, to show our children, to show our coworkers, to show our family and our friends, and to show those that we are blessed to pass paths with today in this life. We thank you, God, for another day to love you and to serve you and to forgive others. And we thank you for the forgiveness that you've shown us, God. May we continue to extend it to others every day. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. God, you are so faithful and so true. I mean, it's it's just amazing the way that God, when you orient your thoughts back to the fact that He forgave you.

SPEAKER_00: 7:48

Yes.

Carlie K.: 7:49

You can't help but stand first of all in awe. I know when I came to Jesus, I was 22 years old. And at that age of 22, I had done so many things that I can't even believe. I remember standing on that altar thinking, there's no way that this holy God loves me. There's no way that He can forgive me for all these things. And He showed me in an instant all of the love that He had for me, all the forgiveness that He had for me. And I know that the beautiful thing about it is it extends to you too. Whoever is listening to this podcast, He forgives you, He forgives your spouse, He loves you. And these are the things that we need to remember as married couples. We are called to glorify God. Yes. And I know we go through some hard things. So I'm not gonna sit here and tell you or judge you and tell you you got to hurry up and get over something, but I do know that the word says that we need to forgive. So I want to encourage you today. I want to challenge you today. If you're struggling with unforgiveness in your heart, specifically toward your spouse, to go to God and ask him to help you. Ask him to help you forgive. Take him at his word that when you come to him and you pray his will, which is his word, that he will answer your prayer.

SPEAKER_00: 9:10

Yes. And some of you out there right now, you can be like, God hears your prayer, but he's gonna help you through this forgiveness process. It's gonna be worth it because in the end, it's for Jesus to be glorified in you and in your marriage and whatever's going on. Just know that it's not about us individually, it's about Jesus and showing that love. And in order to do that, we have to forgive. We have to make that choice to forgive.

Carlie K.: 9:41

Yes, it's true. So I want to encourage you today, if you need assistance, to seek a qualified Christian counselor. I mean, I know that Mike and I have been blessed to help lots of couples through some things that you know most people would be like, oh gosh, I don't know if this is gonna end well. Well, I do because I know what God said. And if there are people who are willing to take God at his word, he is faithful to perform it. So I would just highly recommend that you find a qualified Christian counselor, that you would find a qualified pastor. You know, it can even be depending on what the issue is, if it's just kind of mindset stuff and it's not really deeply rooted, like things that you really can't get over. Um, you can even look for coaches, yeah, Christian coaches. Um, Mike and I are Christian marriage coaches as well, so we can attest to the fact that it works if you're willing to work. So we just love you. We are praying for you, and we're grateful that you tuned in today. We look forward to catching you on the next episode. God bless. Bye bye.