You know you “should” pray for your wife. And you want to. You really do. But you feel awkward. Long preachy types of prayers just aren’t your style. And yet “God, please bless my wife” seems so, well, not enough.
Perhaps you feel inadequate as a husband to care for, provide for, protect, and lead your wife and family in the ways you know they need you to. You need God to have your back, to be there when you can’t be, and to help you truly rise to the occasion. Being the husband your wife needs you to be is too big a job to handle on your own.
God wouldn’t have given you such a task if He didn’t believe you were able to accomplish it. But you can’t do so alone. More than any other single factor, your prayers for your wife bring God’s grace and power into your life, your wife’s life, your home, and your marriage.
Here are some practical ways to make praying for your wife a regular part of your life together:
- Pray out loud with your wife. Doing this regularly is one of the most powerfully bonding things a couple can do together. Don’t worry about making your prayers long or flowery; just a few sentences in your wife’s hearing will bring God’s presence into the situation. And as a bonus, your wife will almost certainly feel closer to you as a result.
- Thank God for your wife. Tell Him how much you appreciate her cooking, the way she keeps the house, or the opportunity for intimacy with her. Tell Him how proud you are her for things she has accomplished, or for positive aspects of her character. Expressing gratitude will help you notice the good things about your relationship, and encourage your wife as well.
- Bring her challenges before God. Whether it’s problems at work, character struggles, physical illness, or wisdom she needs, present her needs before God – both in her hearing, and when you’re alone with God. Your prayers will bring God’s intervention into her life, and they will also help you see her as God sees her.
- Ask God to help you in your role as husband. He will generously provide you with creative ideas for how to provide for her, wisdom to know how to meet challenges in your relationship, and courage to lead in a godly way. You need His help to successfully fulfill the role He’s given you to do. It’s OK to be vulnerable with God. He knows what you need, and He won’t let you down.
- Do it often. You’ve probably learned by now that intimacy doesn’t begin when you get into bed at night: it begins with all the little things you do for her throughout the day. It’s the same with prayer. Take her hand at breakfast and ask God to be with both of you during the day. When you kiss her goodbye on your way out the door ask God to help her meet the challenges she’s facing today. Put your arm around her when you crawl into bed at night and say, “Thank You, God, for the precious wife You’ve given me!”
If praying for your wife feels difficult, let me challenge you to do it anyway. You’ve attempted much more difficult things in the past, and were successful. If your wife is in the habit of praying long or spiritual-sounding prayers you may feel intimidated, but don’t let that stop you. She needs your prayers anyway!
And the more you do it, the easier it will become – both when you’re alone, and when you’re with her. It’s not the quantity or the quality of the words you speak in your prayers; it’s the cry of your heart that God hears.
Don’t let today end without praying for your wife.
Your Turn: Do you find praying for your wife difficult? What is one time in the next 24 hours when you can pray for her? Leave a comment below.
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