Page 36 to your mind, and instinctively, you know you are to call them, reach out to them, or pray for them. Or someone asks you for a favor, and while your natural inclination is to turn them down due to the inconvenience, you have an instinct and a prompting to say ,yes. Or perhaps you are going head-to-head with someone over an issue that you feel passionate about. And intuitively, you are prompted to defer to the other person, drop the issue entirely, and put it into the Lord’s hands. Or a brother or sister in Christ gives you a personal observation, suggestion, or word of instruction, and it stays with you day after day. You have an inward witness that the word is right on the mark. I remember as a young Christian in my teens what happened when I first began to ask the Lord to lead me by His Spirit. Some of the first promptings I had were to help my mother wash the dishes (something I hated to do). In responding to those promptings, I had joy in doing the dishes. The burden was not heavy. I also remember times of mowing my lawn and then having an instinct to mow my neighbor’s lawn right afterward. Again, I enjoyed doing it. One of the marks of the Lord’s inward working is that when He prompts us to a certain action and we respond to it, He supplies the power to carry it out. Further, our inward parts are given a sense of life and peace. The inward promptings that I received as a young believer always involved giving, aiding, and loving on the one hand, or losing
Wives are not the only ones instructed to respect their husbands. Children are told to honor their fathers (Ephesians 6:2-3). If you are disrespectful to your husband, your children will likely acquire the same attitude. It will be much more difficult for them to honor their father if you are belittling him and speaking to him in a harsh, sarcastic tone of voice.
Martha Peace