Challenge - Pray for your husband daily
Praying for our husbands is a wonderful, powerful tool to help our marriage. Prayer can change things. Sometimes it seems so simple to just pray, but it is effective. I admit, in the beginning I didn't pray for Good Ole Boy as often as I should have. I guess I took it for granted, or didn't realize the powerful impact it would have on our life. Now, I pray for him every day, all day long. :) No, I don't sit in the corner literally in prayer all day! But, I pray for him throughout the day as I see, hear or think of something that reminds me. Does he realize this? Probably not, but that is ok.
Stormie Omartin has written a book entitled "The Power of a Praying Wife", and it gives wonderful ideas on how to specifically pray for our husbands. Courtney at Women Living Well used Stormies list as well.
1. His wife. Me. I didn't realize when we first were married just how important MY role was! The book "Created to be his helpmeet" by Debi Pearl really opened my eyes to my job. Guess what?! Some of that just isn't easy for me to do. I NEED PRAYER SO I CAN BE THE HELPMEET HE NEEDS - THE HELPMEET GOD MEANS FOR ME TO BE! I frequently pray for myself - not in a selfish sort of way, but for God to work through me and to mold me into the wife and mother that HE wants me to be.
2. His work. With our run of unemployment, this is a biggie that I do easily pray about daily. I want him to be in a good job, with a good environment, to be happy there, and obviously to make enough money to meet our needs. Currently his job is only part time hours and we are really struggling financially. But I do know in the past that I've taken his jobs for granted. I know better now!
3. His finances. To me goes very closely - almost like a part B - of #2. I pray that we make good choices in how we spend money. I've learned from "Created to be his helpmeet" that it's not my job to question him in this area - something that is difficult for me to not do. I'm working on watching what I spend our money on as well.
4. His sexuality. I pray that he is not tempted with outside influences and I've been convicted of the 'I'm to tired' line.
5. His affections. I pray that I am meeting all of his needs here and that he doesn't need to look elsewhere for affection. I pray that he can also show his affection to me.
6. His temptations. Again, this kinda overlaps #4 & 5 in my mind. THIS IS A HUGE AREA! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY FOR YOUR HUSBAND!
7. His mind. To me this can have multiple meanings. I pray for his intelligence & wisdom, but then I pray that tempting/lustful nasty thoughts are not running through his mind as well. We don't see inside our husbands head - we can't always know what they are thinking - but God does. Pray for him.
8. His fears. What? He's a man. He's big and bad and tough - right? Well, in a sense, but he still has fears. I need to pray that I am sensitive to those things that may bother him and that God will help him.
9. His purpose. I want my husband to have a sense of purpose - AND feel like he is accomplishing it. I need to be supportive of his desires and so I pray that I can be. Some of them are different from my ideals but I've realized that maybe its even more important to pray for those areas since they are so foreign to me.
10. His choices. Many of Good Ole Boys choices affect the whole family. I need to be praying that he is making the correct ones! That he is informing himself and choosing wisely for the family.
11. His health. This is a big one for me. I want him around for a LLOONNGG time yet and he doesn't have a good family medical history.
12. His protection. I want him to keep safe; mentally, physically, emotionally & spiritually.
13. His trials. When he is struggling with something it can impact all of us. I don't want him to stress out and struggle with issues.
14. His integrity. This is important to me. I need to pray for trustworthiness - also for me to be able to trust in him.
15. His reputation. How do others see him? Do I help in the way I talk and treat him? What about the kids? I need to pray that not only does he conduct himself to gain respect and earn a good reputation but also that the family is helping to build up his reputation.
16. His priorities. I pray that his priorities line up with Gods.
17. His relationships. I pray that he builds strong positive relationships with his family. I pray for him to have good friends as well.
18. His fatherhood. Being a Dad is so important. I pray for him to be able to relate to the kids.
19. His past. I pray that he learns from past mistakes and is able to move forward positively.
20. His attitude. I pray that he has a good positive attitude. ;)
21. His marriage. Guess that would be our marriage. :) It hasn't always been easy, so our marriage needs the prayer. I need to be a strong warrior to defend this special relationship. Marriage is so endangered in our culture, with divorce being seen as an easy way out. I don't want that here so I pray continually for our marriage!
22. His emotions. Men can have such weird thoughts on emotions. I pray that he is able to express his emotions in a healthy way.
23. His walk.
24. His talk. He is a talker. His talk used to bother me, but now I understand how much he needs to talk. I pray for his talk.
25. His repentance. I pray for this continually!
26. His deliverance.
27. His obedience.
28. His self-image. I'm working hard on encouraging him. Letting him know how special and amazing he is. I pray not only that God helps him understand, but also that God shows me to encourage him.
29. His faith.
30. His future. Our future. I pray for Gods guidance and for us to follow Him.
This is a wonderful refresher for me. I know that some of these areas have been skimmed over or left out entirely.
Courtney suggests using your wedding ring as a reminder to pray. Every time you happen to see it - pray for your husband.
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