I am publishing a marriage series this week in order to celebrate the re-launch of Marriage Builders Toolkit, a 105-page collection of resources carefully selected to improve any marriage in practical, noticeable ways.
Here’s what one reader had to say about the collection:
You can also check out the other marriage posts in this series:
- A WEEKLY CHECK IN TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNICATION IN YOUR MARRIAGE (FREE PRINTABLE)
- ALL ABOUT MY SPOUSE – FREE QUESTIONNAIRE TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER AGAIN
- 7 PRACTICAL TIPS FOR A SMOOTHER MARRIED LIFE
- LOVE NOTE CHALLENGE - 30 PRINTABLE LOVE NOTES FOR YOUR HUSBAND
- DATE NIGHT CHECKLIST
And, as if Marriage Builders Toolkit and those posts were not enough goodness for your marriage, read on for a post on praying for your husband.
There is an older couple in our church who is the picture of a strong marriage for me.
They're in their 80s, but both are vital and strong. She was the valedictorian of her high school class and is still as quick and smart as ever. I don't know as much about him, but I do know that he is kind and helpful. They're both delightful to be around.
This couple is a rock in our church, and they are often called upon to help out in big and small ways. Quite a few years ago now, they showed up to do some plumbing work at a friend's house.
My friend recounted to me what happened when the man crawled under the kitchen sink to check things out.
"She stood next to him, praying out loud for God to give him wisdom and guidance," she marveled. "She could have come in the living room and chatted with me, but she chose to stay there and pray for him the whole time he worked."
He fixed the problem, and they visited with my friend and left, but the message of the wife's actions was not forgotten.
This woman is the epitome of a godly wife for me. I'm sure they have disagreements in private, but she is his helper in every way.
That's not to say that theirs is a one way relationship. He helps her and supports her, too. Their actions go both ways; they appear from the outside to be equals.
I love this couple, even though I've never told them. I look up to them and hope my marriage can someday be as strong and vibrant as theirs.
8 Reasons to Pray for Your Husband
- Prayer can change his heart. Let me be clear: we shouldn't pray for our husbands to change to suit our wills. That's counterproductive in my opinion. What we should do instead is to ask God to soften his heart toward us, to help patch things up after an argument, and to help him see the truth of God's plan for him and your marriage. God will be faithful to your commitment to one another, and He will bring about change in both of you.
- Prayer can change your heart. Prayer changes the prayer as much or more as it changes the subject of the prayer. You can't pray for someone daily without your heart softening to that person and becoming more open. Pray for God to make you into the wife your husband needs, and He will be faithful to that as well.
- Prayer honors him. When your husband knows that you're praying for him regularly, he will feel secure in the knowledge that not only is God on his side, but you are too. He will know that you are both looking out for him and wishing the best for him. Especially when something big happens or when he comes to you with a concern, you can reply, "I'll pray about that," or "I've been praying about that," and he will know that you care enough to bring him before The Lord.
- Prayer builds your marriage. When you pray for your husband daily, God will bless your marriage. Your husband will become a better person for God's having intervened in his life, and your marriage can't help but improve. The two of you will grow closer as your hearts are more open to one another. Like the couple I talked about above, the two of you will be united as one team rather than two disparate individuals.
- Prayer invites God to work in his life. When you pray for someone, you ask God to intervene and fulfill His great plan in that person's life. Now, please don't misunderstand me. I don't think God needs an invitation to work in someone's life, but when you go out of your way to ask Him for help and support, He will answer. You can rest assured that God's plan will come to fruition in your husband.
- Prayer gives him wisdom. Your husband's leadership is key to your marriage, whether he is a strong leader or more of a partner in making decisions. I'm not saying that one of those is better than the other, but in either case, when you pray for God to give your husband wisdom and discernment, He will answer and bless your man with knowledge of what is best in all situations.
- Prayer gives him confidence. When he knows that you're praying for him and that God has His best in mind for him, your husband can go confidently through his work and life. Don't you feel more confident when you remember that God is on your side? Your husband is just the same and rest assured knowing that you and God are working on his behalf.
- Prayer changes things. God is good, and He answers prayers every day. If you are unhappy with your husband in a certain area or just want him to be a better version of himself, you can pray about those things. I said above that we shouldn't ask for God to change our husbands to suit our wills, and I still believe that, but if you pray for God to make your husband into a more godly man - a strong, capable leader; a devoted worker; a kind and loving husband - I believe that God will honor those traits and shape your husband to be more of a servant leader as Jesus modeled in the New Testament.
When I first started praying for my husband, I didn't know what to pray. Saying the same old "God, please make Joe into a more godly man and help our marriage to be strong and healthy" became almost trite and meaningless.
What I did instead was to write out a prayer calendar. It has 30 days worth of prayers, each for a different trait or characteristic from the Bible. Each day includes the name of the trait and a Bible verse that you can pray over him.
You can find this prayer calendar, along with calendars for yourself as a wife and for your marriage, in the pages of Marriage Builders Toolkit which is currently on sale! You can snag it with two free bonus printables and get $3 off until midnight on Monday, August 5. After that, the sale goes away until next summer!
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