Today’s husband often faces enormous pressure. He must cope with earning a living in a fluctuating economic climate; he must be a good marriage partner in a world where exactly what that means is hotly debated; he must attempt to help raise his children in an environment possibly much more complex than the one in which he grew up.
Your husband needs prayer! It is possible for him to be a stable husband and father in an unstable world. Proverbs 31 clearly states the impact a godly wife can have on a husband. One excellent way to have such an impact is to pray regularly for your husband; another is to pray with your husband.
What Are Some Things to Pray About?
“Dear God, please bless Jim and be with him at work today” seems vague and dutiful compared with sincere intercession in any or all these areas:
1. Pray for his spiritual growth. If your husband does not share your faith or is experiencing spiritual struggles, you’ll obviously want to be praying for him.
But husbands who appear to have a strong personal relationship with God need prayer for their spiritual life as well. Pray for your husband’s private prayer life to become deeper. If he’s involved at church, pray for his effectiveness in ministry.
Pray that his relationships with Christian men will provide accountability and opportunities for growth in his life. The more you pray, the more you will think of to pray about.
2. Offer meaningful prayer for your husband’s job situation. “Meaningful” is a key word here. The better informed you are, the more effectively and sincerely you can pray.
As much as you need to unload your own day’s headaches, be sure you also listen to his. (This doesn’t mean turning the whole evening into a gripe session, but just tuning in to why he feels the way he does at the end of his workday!) Ask questions about his job (within the bounds of confidentiality for certain professions). Read up on his field and ask him how what you’ve read pertains to him.
It is easy for me to pray knowledgeably for my husband because he is self-employed and I work for him part time. (He is a photographer; I read his appointment book and pray specifically for each job.) It may be harder to stay informed in other situations, but it does help to be interested.
Even if you don’t know details about your husband’s job, you can pray for his success at his projects, his ability to resist temptation, his witness to others and for the development of positive relationships with his supervisors or with those who work for him.
3. Pray for your husband’s physical health and safety. This is obvious, perhaps, if his job involves manual labour or if he has an illness, but even if your husband’s job involves no more physical activity than sitting behind a desk, physical health and safety are still areas in which you need to uphold him in daily prayer. Financial and job-related pressures often manifest themselves through physical problems.
4. Pray for your husband as a family leader. Today’s family often goes in 10 directions at once. Pray that he will have wisdom in building relationships with your children, in discipline and in modelling a godly life.
5. Pray for your husband’s relationship with you. We sometimes forget that our husbands don’t automatically realise what our needs are. Bolster sincere efforts at communication with prayer for your husband.
These ideas barely touch on the possibilities of prayer for our husbands. Hopefully they will serve as a springboard for further development!
Next to your relationship with God, your spouse is your most valuable treasure. Sincere, effective prayer time is an investment in helping him determine and achieve his spiritual, practical, financial and physical goals. The impacts of such an investment on your family and even in the kingdom of God is immeasurable.
by Cindy Thomas
Virtue. March/April 1989
Cindy Thomas from Harrison, Ark., is a freelance writer, piano teacher and mother of one. Cindy assists her husband in the operation of a part-time business.
NOTE:
As this is the only article I have read from Cindy Thomas please do not assume that her inclusion here is an endorsement of all her material, or that this statement reflects a non-approval of her writings.
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