Prayer is powerful.
It can change a circumstance and soften a heart. Prayer can make a difference when everything else has failed.
Marriage is no exception. Praying for your husband is one of the single most important things you can do for your relationship.
But where do you start? Are there certain ways to pray for your husband that will bring greater blessing to his life?
Are there habits you can develop that result in more effective prayers for your marriage?
The power of prayer in marriage…
I’m no prayer expert. Or an authority on marriage.
But I have seen prayer work in my own life. And especially in my marriage.
As with most couples, our journey looks much different that what we imagined on our wedding day. Over the past decade, my husband and I have experienced more ups and downs than we ever thought possible.
There’s been great joy welcoming new life into the world. And painful loss saying goodbye to others all too soon.
We’ve had seasons of extreme financial stress and countless health issues. And we’ve watched God show his faithfulness as our provider and healer.
Our marriage has survived numerous moves and job changes. Together we’ve tackled parenting and struggled through the many challenges of raising children.
Through it all, one thing has remained constant. The power of prayer.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve turned to prayer when all else seemed lost.
I’ve seen prayer change my husband’s heart. And my own.
I’ve watched God move mountains for our family time and again.
Life doesn’t always go according to plan. Often, I have no idea what God is up to. But one thing I know for sure.
Prayer works.
So, here’s a few tips I’ve discovered about how to pray for my marriage.
Ways to pray effectively for your husband…
Pray daily.
Never stop praying.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
This verse can seem overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. Prayer is simply a conversation with God. And it can happen right in the middle of a normal day.
A prayer for tasks ahead while in the shower. A chat with God about your kids on the way to work or school drop-off.
A quick prayer for a co-worker while sitting at your desk. Or a conversation with God about your marriage while you fold laundry.
I believe God desires to be in constant communication with us. We don’t always have to be sitting still, eyes closed, surrounded by silence for this to happen.
God wants to walk through our days with us.
That being said, I also believe regular quiet time with God is important. This looks different for everyone and changes often with the seasons of life.
A time of daily bible reading and prayer won’t look the same for the mom of a newborn versus one with teenagers. So, figure out what works for you and then be intentional about making prayer a daily habit.
Praying for your husband should be part of your daily routine. Even if it’s while you throw some make-up on before running out the door. Or when you have two minutes of unexpected silence in the car.
Committing to pray regularly will benefit your husband and have a huge impact on your marriage.
Pray early.
Praying before the start of your day might not work for everyone. But in my experience, it’s the only way to start my day off right.
I’ll be the first to admit that my morning prayers aren’t always long. Or very focused. But the day unravels pretty quickly if I try to go about my normal routine without any kind of connection with Jesus.
And praying at the beginning of the day benefits your husband too. You may not know how his day will unfold. But God does. What might be waiting for him at work, who he will interact with, and how he will feel.
There have been many times I’ve prayed about a specific problem my husband was facing. Only to receive a text later in the day about how that prayer had been answered.
Praying for your husband early in the morning may be exactly what he needs to navigate successfully through his day.
Pray for your husband first.
When we do find time to pray, there are so many things battling for our attention. The list of requests is always long!
Get in the habit of making prayers for your husband your first priority. Before praying for your children or yourself. Before asking God to fix other problems or help other people.
I don’t think there’s any “perfect” order when it comes to prayer. But here’s how mine usually go…
- Prayers of thankfulness for the good things in my life
- Prayers for my husband
- Prayers for my kids
- Prayers for other family and friends
- Prayers for myself
God hears all prayers. No matter what order they’re in or how they’re worded. But praying like this helps me keep my priorities straight.
Keep a list of prayer requests.
If you’re anything like me, you probably have a list of prayer requests a mile long. Yet when I actually sit down to pray, many of them slip right out of my mind!
I’ve found it helpful to keep a running list of prayer ideas for my husband and each of my kids. Jotting them down on my smartphone notes app seems to work the best for me.
My phone is usually nearby. So, when something pops into my head that I need to pray about I can quickly make an entry.
But if technology isn’t your thing, pencil and paper work great too!
Find an easy and accessible system for keeping track of prayer requests. Then use those lists during your prayer time to make sure you’re covering all the things you really want to pray about.
Ask your husband.
You probably have a pretty good idea of what to pray for your husband. After all, you’re the person closest to him.
But, consider asking him for prayer requests. He just might surprise you with his answer!
And even if he doesn’t reveal anything unexpected, it will bless him to know that you cared enough to ask.
Pray scripture.
The best resource for prayer is the Bible itself. Praying scripture over your husband is a powerful thing!
On the other hand, scripture-filled prayers don’t naturally roll off the tongue for a lot of us. It can be hard to turn a bible verse into a prayer if you haven’t done it before. It can also be difficult to remember an appropriate scripture when you’re actually praying.
One of the most practical solutions I’ve discovered to this problem is again found in technology. I’m a big fan of the YouVersion bible app.
Most of my morning devotions come from YouVersion. I’ve also used it to highlight my favorite bible verses. This makes it a great prayer tool!
I can bookmark, categorize, and even color-code different scriptures.
So, when I come across a verse that would be great to pray for my husband, I add it to my list of bookmarks. I also categorize it with his name and a few words about how I would use it in prayer. (For example: career, health, fatherhood)
Then, during my prayer time I can simply tap my bookmarks button and start scrolling. When I come to one of his verses, I simply read it out loud. I change words as necessary to fit his needs or our current situation.
This is probably one of my favorite ways to pray.
Use a prayer resource.
I may not be an expert on prayer. But plenty of people are. Finding a trustworthy prayer resource is another way to pray effectively for your husband.
My go-to prayer expert is Stormie Omartian, author of “The Power of Praying” series. My copy of “The Power of a Praying Wife“ is well-worn from years of use.
Each chapter addresses a common issue. That section ends with bible verses on the topic and a sample prayer that includes scripture references.
I’ve used these example prayers more times than I can count. They have truly changed how I pray for my marriage.
Always pray before you speak.
One of the most useful things I learned early on in our marriage was to take any concern or disagreement to God before talking with my husband.
I’ve discovered the outcome of our disagreement often rests on whether or not I’ve already talked to God about it.
If I pray about the issue first, things tend to go much smoother. I ask God to prepare our hearts for possible confrontation and to show me the right timing to bring up the topic.
However, if I jump in with both feet before any time spent in prayer…things usually don’t go so well.
It takes a whole lot of self-control and patience to have difficult conversations in God’s timing. Especially when you’re already upset or frustrated.
I’ve got to admit…I don’t always get this right. But I’ve improved over the past several years. And many more of our conversations have went smoother because of it.
Pray together.
There’s no doubt. Praying for your husband is essential. But praying WITH him is just as important.
Be intentional about setting aside time to pray together. For each other, your marriage, your children, your family, and anything else on your hearts.
Nothing will make your marriage stronger than coming together in prayer.
Remember the prayers that have already been answered.
It can be discouraging when God’s timing doesn’t match ours. Or when things appear to get worse before they get better.
But we all too easily forget the prayers God has answered in the past.
Remember what he has done in your husband and your marriage before. Write those things down so you can revisit them in the future.
And then trust that he will do it again.
It’s never too early or too late to get started…
I began praying for my husband before we even met. (Read more on that here.)
But that might not be your story.
Maybe you’ve never prayed for your marriage. Or maybe you’ve grown weary and given up hope that praying actually works.
Wherever you find yourself…it’s okay. Whether you’ve been married a few days or a few decades there’s no better time to start praying than now.
On the flip side, maybe you’ve been praying all long. You just need some new ideas or fresh perspective.
So, whether you’re new to the game or have been at this prayer thing awhile now, use this list of ways to pray for your husband as inspiration. Maybe even add a few ideas of your own!
Commit to praying for your marriage. Then be prepared for God to do some amazing work!
Prayer is powerful. You just wait and see.
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