Messy Prayers

π±Messy Prayers ποΈ πβ¨ ποΈ Praying for someone, especially your spouse, is like trying to plant seeds in rocky soil. You know growth is possible, but every time you kneel down, you hit something hard: shame, pride, unmet expectations, fear. It takes work to clear the ground. But if you stay with it, roots can take holdβand something beautiful can grow. π» πβ¨ This week on Other Peopleβs Shoes, we sit down with author and seminary grad Amanda Hayhurst (@amandahayhurstwrites), who knows what it's like to feel unworthy, undone, and uncertain if healing was even possible. π πβ¨ From betrayal to breakthrough, from cancer diagnoses to confession, Amanda shares how messy prayers saved her marriage and how honest surrender led her back to the God who never left. πβ¨ πβ¨ π Drop a π¬ if you've ever struggled to pray for your spouse or felt like your prayers were too messy to matter. πβ¨ #MessyPrayers #UnmadeSeason #OPSPodcast #ChristianMarriage #HealingJourney #PrayerMatters #MarriageRestored #GodIsStillWorking #FaithOverFear #OtherPeoplesShoes #PodcastEpisode #RealFaith #ShameBreaker #HopeRestored #JesusHeals #PrayForHim #AmandaHayhurst
πMessy Prayers
ποΈ Praying for someone especially your spouse is like trying to plant seeds in rocky soil.
You know growth is possible, but every time you kneel down, you hit something hard: past wounds, unmet expectations, pride, fear. It takes work to clear the ground. But if you stay with it, roots can take hold and something beautiful can grow.
π£ Guest Introduction:
Amanda Hayhurst once looked at Christian women and thought they were fake polished on the outside, probably polished on the inside too. But behind her own smile was a heart weighed down by shame, years of unhealthy coping, and ultimately, an affair that nearly destroyed her marriage.
Just when things couldn’t feel more unmade, Amanda also faced one of the hardest chapters of her life walking through her young son’s leukemia diagnosis. And later, navigating her own health struggles. But instead of giving up, she began to press in. Amanda found herself surrendering the false identities she had clung to for years. Through therapy, community, and a growing relationship with Jesus, she uncovered something deeper than survival: healing.
Now a seminary graduate, author of Pray for Him, and fierce advocate for honest, messy prayers, Amanda shares how God restored her life, her marriage, and continues to heal her heart day by day.
π‘ Episode Highlights:
π Why praying for your spouse can feel impossible and what’s really behind the resistance
π Amanda’s journey through shame, false intimacy, an affair, and her own health struggles
π©Ί How her son’s leukemia diagnosis became a breaking and rebuilding point in her faith
π§βοΈ Surrendering unhealthy coping tools, including alcohol, performance, and escapism
π The difference between salvation and healing and why God wants both for us
π¬ The raw, unfiltered truth about finding intimacy with God through pain
β¨ What happens when we finally begin to pray not perfectly, but honestly
π Connect with Amanda Hayhurst:
Website: https://amandahayhurst.com
Instagram: @amandahayhurstwrites
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π£ Leave Us a Review:
If this episode moved you, challenged you, or gave you something to think about don’t keep it to yourself! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and let us know how stepping into Amanda’s shoes impacted you.