My husband is not spiritually grounded and never really has been. I am a Christian, and I love him very much.\u00a0 We are separated and I’ve been praying for my marriage to be restored. My question is should I stop praying? I don’t want to seem obnoxious, pushy, or impatient toward the Lord,\u00a0but I don’t know what to do.\u00a0 Many say let go and let God.\u00a0 Does that mean to stop praying that he comes home?<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n\t
The parable of the persistent widow starts out, “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart<\/em>” (Luke 18:1-8). God answers the prayers of His people in ways that are best for them. Sometimes what we think is best really isn’t. Or we are asking for the wrong thing. More often, though, the best solution takes time and we are impatient.<\/p>\n Continued prayer isn’t a sign of impatience; to give up praying shows impatience. I have people lost in drugs that I’ve been praying about for years and it sadly looks like those prayers will continue for many more years. I do pray that they will come to their senses before it is eternally too late and that if there is something I can do to be granted the wisdom to see what needs to be done.<\/p>\n In regards to your husband’s return, remember that God isn’t going to take away his free will. So think about what it is that you really want and that God may answer that will be in accordance with His will.<\/p>\n\t Thank you for responding, though I am still confused. I thought divorce is a sin. I love my husband very much. We have children. Though he’s living with his new girlfriend, we still sleep together. He says he loves me but is no longer in love with me. We talk about almost everything and are best friends. This new girl of his is ten years younger than he and a stripper. I just pray he doesn’t get hurt, and that he returns to Christ. Please pray for us.<\/p>\n\t Strange, I don’t see any mention of divorce in your question or in my answer. But since you’ve now brought up the question, let’s take a look at what God actually said: “For the LORD God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” says the LORD of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously<\/em>” (Malachi 2:16). God hates divorce for good reason. It is an action that results from sin and often times causes more sins to come about. However, this doesn’t mean that God doesn’t allow divorce in some circumstances. “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery<\/em>” (Matthew 19:9). Your husband is committing adultery and clearly has no inclination to repent of his sins. Because of this, you can, if you so choose, end the marriage with a divorce. You can also get married again if you so choose. Neither divorce nor remarriage is required, but it is an option open to you.<\/p>\n However, what puzzles me is why you are encouraging your husband in his adultery. I’m sure you tell him you want him back and that you want him to leave this adulteress, but it doesn’t seem that you don’t stand behind those words.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: My husband is not spiritually grounded and never really has been. I am a Christian, and I love him very much.\u00a0 We are separated and I’ve been praying for my marriage to be restored. My question is should I stop praying? I don’t want to seem obnoxious, pushy, or impatient toward the Lord,\u00a0but I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[917,1510],"class_list":["post-29808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-persistence","tag-prayers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":28449,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-bad-to-keep-on-praying-the-same-prayer-all-over-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":29808,"position":0},"title":"Is it bad to keep on praying the same prayer all over again?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This is a question about prayer. Is it bad to keep on praying the same prayer all over again? It could be from desperation, or it can be another reason. For example, you have a problem or worry you share with the Lord and you think that you are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31778,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-article-helped-clarify-when-to-stop-praying\/","url_meta":{"origin":29808,"position":1},"title":"Your article helped clarify when to stop praying","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning and praise the Lord! I have had a question burning inside for a while about praying for\u00a0a man who says he wants to be a Christian. I am not to judge him. I am also not to give pearls to the swine. The situation got really confusing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50815,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-doesnt-god-deliver-the-addicts-in-our-congregation-after-all-our-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":29808,"position":2},"title":"Why doesn’t God deliver the addicts in our congregation after all our prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There are many things I notice in our church, which I feel propelled to address, but I am not sure what to say, or how to approach my pastor. I really don't want him to think I'm forward. I just need to get your take on the situation before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24980,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-bother-praying\/","url_meta":{"origin":29808,"position":3},"title":"Why bother praying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If what you say is true, then why bother praying at all? You are more or less saying that God will do whatever He wants to do no matter what you pray for. If you are right, then please explain. 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So if I pray that God will help me through a difficult time or give me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66630,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-head-covering-be-worn-while-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":29808,"position":5},"title":"Should a head covering be worn while singing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding the head covering. My current practice is to cover my head whenever praying, in or out of the worship. And I generally wear it throughout the worship period. But I do not normally cover it for singing outside of the worship. 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Answer:<\/h2>\n