Praying for my husband is something that I am good at sometimes, and terrible at other times. And yet, prayer in marriage is vital. It’s vital for our lives as women, it’s vital for our roles as wives, and it’s vital for the life of our marriages!

Prayer as a habit

When I worked full time, I made it a daily habit to turn the radio off in my morning commute and focus on some time for prayer. But now as a stay at home (and work at home) mom, with two toddlers under foot, I hit the ground running in the morning and don’t slow down until my feet hit the bed at night.

I still do make time for prayer, but it’s usually prayers filled with “Lord help me get through this day without losing my temper again!” or “Lord WHY can’t my twins learn how to share?” It’s not often that I slow down enough to take intentional prayer time for my husband.

Life can get so busy and chaotic that such a vital thing as praying for my husband gets lost in the shuffle. Slowing down long enough to take some intentional time to pray for my husband takes the focus off of me and helps me to appreciate and love my husband more.

It’s an intentional time that I can unselfishly come before the Lord and focus on my husband. So I am challenging myself to pray more for my husband and to make it a daily habit.  And you know what? I have noticed a pattern.

The results of prayer

Prayer works!! Yes, my prayer for my husband actually works and has tangible outcomes. Please hear me say that I am in no way implying that God is manipulated by our prayer, or that prayer always gets me what I want. Okay now that’s out of the way… When I pray and ask that the Lord mold my husband into a leader of our home, over time, I notice small changes and ways that the Lord is molding him into and encouraging him as leader of our home. The Lord listens to our prayers.

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. ~Matthew 21:22

Do I think that the Lord will give you ANYthing you ask for? If you ask for a million dollars and a new car will they be on your door step tomorrow? Probably not. But if you seek salvation and the good things of the Lord then he will supply all your spiritual needs. By praying for our husbands each day we can  encourage them and help them. How does our praying for them help them?

Our Prayer Helps Our Husbands

1) They know we are praying for them

That right there gives my husband encouragement. It warms his heart to know that I am taking the time to think about and pray for him. It also encourages him to pray for me! 

2) Praying puts me in the right frame of mind

When I am constantly trying to be in deep prayer for my husband, it helps me to be thinking right thoughts about him. When my husband forgets to pick up the milk I asked him to get after a long day at work, it’s easy to get frustrated with him (which is just code for angry with him, which is sin). But if he has asked me to pray for him that morning because he has three stressful meetings and a busy day, then I can be more understanding of him when he forgets the milk.

3) Praying for my husband draws me closer to God

When I am intentional about praying for my husband, this is linking me deeper with the Lord. Most of the time I start out praying a quick prayer for my husband and before I know it I have spent 20 minutes praying for others in my life.

4) God listens to our prayers for our husbands

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great as it is working. ~James 5:16.

When our husband feels safe to come to us and admit his sin or shortcomings, we have the beautiful opportunity as wives to pray for them. When we ask the Lord to lead our husbands and mold them into men of God, He listens to that. The Lord knows the pure desires of our hearts {Psalm 37:4}. Will you join me in intentionally making time for praying for our husbands. It won’t happen by accident and it does take work and making time for it, but in the end, it’s so worth it for our marriages and our walk with the Lord!

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. ~Colossians 4:2