Here Comes the Oil! A Word for Marriages
The Lord stirred a word in me for marriages this week. I encourage you to read this with an open heart. Certain parts may apply to you more than others. I pray that God would give you eyes to see and ears to hear what He’s doing in your marriage and family and in the lives of those you are pouring into. In a time where the family is being torn down, He’s restoring His design of family in the earth to reflect His glory and extend His kingdom in ways we’ve never seen before.
6/3/23 Update: The Lord instructed me to create a 10-day journey for couples from this word full of scripture, prompts and activations. It’s free and you can grab it here.
Many have experienced incredible assault on their closest relationships in this season. For many, it’s just felt like the stretching of a rubber band that’s about to snap. The season has been so much harder and stretching than they thought it would be.
Many have felt scorched in this last season by circumstances and a barrage of thoughts and fears that have tried to suffocate their ability to dream and discern the ways in which God is leading them in triumph in this season. While the promises they’ve believed for seem largely unfulfilled, the enemy has pushed the lie that God has abandoned them.
Many marriages have been in a real season of dreaming together with God but all the unknowns, transition and logistics have unsettled you and it’s been unnerving to not be able to see the whole picture yet. As a result, you may feel tired, raw and disillusioned which has caused you to feel more vulnerable to the ploys of the enemy to bring agitation, disruption or strife.
Wherever you may find your own marriage in these descriptions, you are seen, known and loved by the Father.
Even now I hear the Lion of Judah roaring over marriages and families. There’s a breaker anointing available to those who will lift their scepter and declare “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” over their families. I feel like God is saying, “Let the thief steal no more.” (John 10:10, Ephesians 4:28) There’s a “buck stops here” tenacity being released over families. I see mothers and fathers rising in the authority of Christ and taking back the atmosphere and trajectory of their homes in alignment with the heart and truth of God. (Revelation 5:1-5, Micah 2:13, Isaiah 10:27)
There’s power in your decree to not only stop the enemy’s assault but to shift your marriage and family into “ground taking” mode.
Rags to Riches
I heard this phrase a few days ago as God stirred my heart for marriages that have been storm-tossed in this season. God is releasing a fresh revelation of righteousness through Jesus alone. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags, but the gift of the righteousness of Christ brings us into the riches of the kingdom so that we can experience abundant life - not just in heaven some day - but right now. (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 6:4,2 Peter 1:3) , I see men and woman laying down the idols of “being right” and drawing a blood line over their families that declares the good news of the finished work of Jesus into the very fabric of their homes. (2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:13-22, Revelation 12:10-11)
Balm of Gilead
Whether it’s through endless responsibilities, fear, strife or distraction, it’s the enemy’s agenda to wedge husbands and wives into distance and a protective posture that blocks deep connection. But I saw husbands and wives who were feeling pulled in different directions (for various reasons and often while trying to accomplish the same goal) and I saw as they planted their feet to face each other with loving care and intention, I saw the Lord surrounding them and applying balm to places of pain and doing a deep work of healing and restoration in them.
I also saw that this posture wasn’t necessarily a reflection of the husband and wife having perfect agreement about everything. God is releasing a revelation of connection as a starting point rather than a luxury contingent upon seeing eye to eye on every issue or decision in life. As husbands and wives choose by faith to engage and connect, God is releasing grace for the walking out of the finer details of life.
When I heard “balm of Gilead” as I prayed for marriages, I felt prompted to do a refresher on the significance of Gilead. Gilead is where Gideon and his tiny army, through the hand of the Lord, defeated the Midianites. (Judges 6-7) Outnumbered and outmatched, Gideon saw himself as the last one God could use yet the battle was the Lord’s as God demonstrated His love for beating “impossible” odds. And so this is also a word for the marriages in the trenches that others have counted out and said, “There’s no way they can make it.” BUT GOD. Just as God brooded over the darkness and void in the beginning (Genesis 1:1-3) – just like a mama hen hovers over her chicks – God is hovering over marriages and He’s bringing forth life. (Genesis 1:1-3)
WE BREAK EVERY WORD CURSE OFF MARRIAGES THAT WERE CONSIDERED HOPELESS, AND WE PROPHESY LIFE!! “Can these dead bones live?” Read Ezekiel 37. Yes. Yes, they can. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I bless your marriage to beat the odds and thrive!
Upgrade Available
Just like when you receive an software update on your phone or computer, God is announcing over marriages “UPGRADE AVAILABLE.” For those who are willing to invest in a reboot, God’s releasing upgrades within their marriages that will be like a fresh new operating system for the seasons to come. In this upgrade is a fresh hunger for God’s word, a restored delight of dreaming with God together, new shared language and an anointing to engage in difficult conversations from a place of intimacy, honesty, truth, and compassion. This will become an even stronger foundation from which you can move in wild faith together.
God is flipping the script on belief systems that say, “I don’t have time to invest in my marriage in that way” to “I don’t have time not to.” You may not have time for lavish dates or the amount of time you feel you need to get your marriage where you want it, but God is saying, “Give me your loaves and fishes.” (John 6:1-14) “When you hand me the little you have, I will increase it.”
Prayer vs. Relationship Work?
There’s a restoration of the centrality of prayer to marriages and families. God can do in an hour of prayer what man can’t accomplish in a year. This doesn’t negate the hard and intentional work of communication and healthy rhythms of life that support marriage and family. Prayer empowers those things and helps us engage in the messy work of relationship through the lens of Christ, the security of His love and the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer helps us discern the difference between a simple communication challenge versus an enemy that needs to be put to flight with a word. God is saying, “Watch me do the heavy lifting as you seek me foremost.” (Matthew 6:33)
A Dream About Divine Order
In 2022, I had a dream in which I entered a house that was apparently mine. I became immediately overwhelmed by the amount of work that needed to be done and had no idea where to start. There was a lot of chaos and cabinets stuffed to the brim, and I didn’t even know where most of it came from. My task felt impossible. Then in the midst of my overwhelm, I had a “lightbulb moment” and walked straight to the master bedroom. Once inside, I closed the door behind me, got down on my knees in front of the king-sized bed, pulled out a jar of gold metallic paint, and started painting the entire fitted white sheet on the bed. As I poured my attention into my task, I was no longer worried about all that needed to be done or the dread of what would be waiting for me when I left the room. I knew this was the most important thing.
When I finished and walked out, nothing had changed externally. All the same stuff was there and waiting to be addressed, but I was different. I was operating on a completely different plane, full of peace and a sense of confidence. The rest of the dream was a picture of momentum as wisdom was released. Help came to do the heavy lifting of bringing the clutter and disarray of the natural conditions into the same order I was now experiencing in the spirit. May we be those who are sensitive to turn aside from the “pressing and urgent” to prioritize God’s presence and follow as He leads.
Here comes the oil!
It’s a season of unprecedented pressing but God’s releasing a victory song in the pressing because oil is coming forth. There’s a momentum being released in the earth to heal marriages and establish families as catalysts of transformation to other marriages and families, as well as to the fatherless and those without natural born family. (Psalm 68:6, James 1:27)
Be vigilant by not allowing “little foxes to spoil the vine.” (Song of Solomon 2:15) Forgive quickly. Seek the wisdom of God which he gives lavishly (James 1:5) and never underestimate the breakthrough power in your every step of obedience and surrender. God is doing a great work. Your story is not over, and the best is yet to come!
If you’d like to grab the free 10-day prophetic journey for marriages full of scripture, prompts and activations, click here.
(A note on seeking help: Do not believe the lie that you shouldn’t need help for your marriage. Therapy and marriage counseling can be vital tools God is able to work through in your journey. If you are in an abusive relationship, seek help immediately. Never use a prophetic word or scripture to avoid healthy and wise action.)
The Word is our firm foundation. I encourage you to dive into the Word and find some promises to declare over your life and marriage.
“For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chronicles 16:9a
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand will save me.” Psalm 138:7
“And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah 58:11