MPW #7: Family

It is impossible to pray through a service member's career without thinking about his or her family. I married my wife around my four year mark in the Navy, and many marry sooner than that. Because many marry so young, that gives marriages plenty of time to go through harsh conditions that civilian marriages don't have to go through necessarily. Of course I mean the 6-12 month deployments away from home, the constant separation due to work-ups, duty nights spent away from family, and long hours, just to name a few. This and many other things put a constant and unrelenting strain on families.

Would you pray with me this morning for families? These men and women (myself included) spend large amounts of time away from home. Time may heal all wounds, but it does not make a good family man in this situation. Therefore, we need prayer. Despite it all, I've met some of the most dedicated fathers, mothers, husbands and wives in the military who, despite the pressure on their families, are more determined and more loving toward their families than many civilian counterparts. These make the most powerful examples to non-believers that a military family can be a godly family.

Father,
Please watch over the military family. We know that countless children, wives, and husbands hang in the balance and need you desperately. They face separation, lack of communication, lower pay, and several other situations that many non-military families don't face, and yet we know that you love families, so we pray that you hold them together at all times. In particular, we pray for believing families, that they will be a beacon of hope to non-believers so that, when the deployments hit, unbelievers will wonder why the family is so strong. Thank you for military families Father.


Amen