Praying For Your Husband

Good morning !!! Over the last couple of weeks, Candace and I have been able to share with you some of the amazing woman we know and how they pray for their husbands. I am sure that you could agree that this was very humbling getting to listen to each woman as they shared their insight on their prayer life. This last woman I have always admired. Every time I look at her I see the beauty that God created in her and she truly shows the love of what a wife is. I have always looked from the outside of the marriage and said "wow!" It literally had me in tears reading everything that Hope shared for this post and I know it will minister to you just as much as it did to me. Take a look at a beautiful mom of two boys and an amazing wife. Congratulations as they just celebrated their 18th anniversary a few weeks ago.

Hope: Tony and I have spent more of our life together than apart!  We met in high school.  We were actually buddies before we dated.  We dated for 2 1/2 years, were engaged our senior year, got married two months after graduation, and started our family two years later.  He is truly my best friend!  After many ups and downs in our marriage we have realized, that doing it "our way" fails EVERY TIME and that the only way to keep our marriage strong is to do life with God at the center!

To be honest, Tony and I started our marriage "with God" but weren't "in relationship" with Him.  It wasn't until we hit a huge bump in the road, when we were both lost and were left on our knees, that we truly surrendered ourselves to God.  At that point praying for my husband was a practice that I took up immediately.  I continually pray for God to stir up the purpose He has for him on the inside of him, for God to give him a passion for Him that will overtake his life, and for him to take up the leadership and full authority that God has given him over his family and his life.  As for our marriage, I pray that God strengthens us and uses us as vessels to serve Him in any way He wants to!

How do you encourage your husband ?

As a wife, and being the perfectionist I am, I had the tendency to compare him to other husbands.  Or I would point out Tony's shortcomings, somehow thinking that he didn't know about them himself!!!  I realized this was crushing him, making him feel defeated and unworthy.  While I'm not perfect at it, I stopped comparing him to other men and I do my best to celebrate his strengths!  The things that make Tony "Tony!"  I speak into the AMAZINGNESS that God has put in him.  For example, when he handles situations at work or in every day life the way God would want him to, I take notice and let him know  that I notice.  I thank him for working hard every day to care for our family.  And I make sure he knows I appreciate the appreciation he shows to me as his wife.

-Do you make time to pray with each other and when is that time ? How often do you pray for your husband through out the day?

We pray together daily.  This wasn't easy at first.  It took both of us stepping out of our comfort zones to "make it happen."  We start almost every day praying together or as a family, and we end each day praying together before we go to sleep.  I have always prayed for Tony when he has things he is struggling with, however I've just recently started praying for him throughout the day!  As silly as it sounds, "there is an app for that!"  Haha... I found an app called "Praying Wives."  It literally helps you pray for your husband from his head to his toes!  I have found that it's a great place to start.

-I've ways heard that saying, " Prayer is one of the most important things we can do for our spouses."  What importance does praying for your husband have in your life and marriage ? Praying for Tony has changed our life and our marriage!  I started praying for him during a tough time in our marriage.  He and I hadn't been walking with God the way we should have been.  I had an awakening and starting running to God and he wasn't quite on board.  I remember literally "laying hands on him" while he slept and praying my HEART OUT!  But the coolest thing about it was God asked ME TO CHANGE!  He told me to serve Tony!  He told me that regardless of where Tony was in his walk with God, that I needed to honor him as my husband and the leader of our home and serve him the way God has designed me to.  So as hard as it was, I did and I prayed for him every step of they way!  I really think that that's the cool thing about praying for your husband that most wives don't understand, is while prayer will truly help your husband, it will also help you be the wife God has called YOU to be!  It will help put your heart in line with Gods heart for your husband.  IT IS AMAZING!!!

The need to pray for our husbands is a must!  I think we all can agree that there is power in prayer and God can surely work in any man's heart to change him and lead him to be who God has called him to be.  We as wives need to stand up and be side to side with our spouses. We need to be his help mate, his friend, his lover, his encourager, and most importantly trust God with our husbands! I pray that you would daily give your husband up to God. When we do this, we say, "God lead him, guide him and teach him how to lead through you and how to love like you."  It's not in our control, but it is indeed in him! Thank you so much for sharing Hope!

P.S. Make sure you check out the app! It's only $1.99 and really neat. I read one to CW for last night and he said that spoke directly to him and that was something I could be praying over him.

Till next time,

Xoxo Cooped Up Cowboys Wife Kirste