Consider this: Israel’s great King David was a brilliant strategist and leader. Even so, David regularly sought God’s help. David knew from experience that reliance on human intelligence could lead to serious mistakes, but reliance on God’s leadership through the illumination of the Holy Spirit would lead to wisdom. The Apostle Paul also understood the importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, and told us so in Romans 8:6.

Reading the Scriptures through the illumination of the Holy Spirit is actually reading God's mind and thinking God's thoughts. God is not hiding His plan for your family from you; He is anxious to reveal it! What a gift you and your spouse will receive if you commit to read and apply God’s Word together every day. God reveals His will to us through His Word, just as He unveiled His very essence to us through Jesus Christ.

Discover the power that God has for you by communicating with Him daily. Transform your marriage by praying together to seek guidance and wisdom. This wonderful quote by clergyman and author Phillips Brooks is so applicable for Christian couples: “Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle.”

Discuss: What single measurable goal would you, as a couple, like to reach one year from today? What has to happen in order for you to reach this goal?

Pause here and consider what you want your marriage and family life to look like in three, five, or ten years. Is God in the picture? Then, ask God to illumine your minds in such a way that His thoughts become your thoughts, His desires become your desires, and His will becomes your will. Search God’s Word for ways to synchronize your plan with His plan and bring it to reality.

Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give because he would give the best and man will not take it.
GEORGE MACDONALD (1824–1905)

Building Relationships Across Nations | Bringing Christ to the Home