What are you praying for – and over – your spouse?
Do you use scripture verses?
When you don’t have your own words,
Or can’t find words,
Turn to the One who has and is ALL.
Uplift with Prayer
Have courage.
Encourage.
When I was a child, my German grandmother taught me my first bedtime prayer. It was a child’s rote prayer:
“Ich bin klein, mein Herz ist rein. Soll neimand drin wohnen, als Jesus allein.”
(“I am small, my heart is pure. Let no one live in it but Jesus alone.”)
Robert recalls saying “Grace” with his family at the dinner table when he grew up:
“For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful.”
Sometimes the shortest prayer is, “Dear Lord, HELP!” Prayer can start with a small shoot, and grow into a mighty tree. Think of a tall, mature, tree – with its branches filled with leaves and spread wide… what a blessing that shade can be under a scorching sun.
When we were babies, we didn’t have the ability to communicate with words – yet our caregivers could take one look at us and understand our needs. If you’re a mom or dad, you know what I mean.
Prayer is conversation with God. Our loving heavenly Father.
Have courage – just begin.
Then develop.
By taking your
concerns and fears and worries and hopes and anger, and tears, and regrets, and desires, and embarrassments, and failures, and ills, and decisions, and misunderstandings, and thoughts, and thanks
to God
You can release everything into His care.
He cares.
Prayer changes things.
Lift up your spouse.
A few suggestions because learning to pray is a process…
from Scripture:
- pray that your spouse would “Trust in the Lord with all (his/her) heart, and lean not on (his/her) own understanding.” This is adapted from Proverbs 3:5 .
- pray that he/she can “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.” from 1Thessalonians 5:18
- pray that he/she has “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” from Philippians 4:7
Books:
I’ve found Stormie Omartian’s books to be a solid resource when praying for Robert and our adult children. If you’d like free ideas, there’s a list of 30 ways to pray for your husband here at Family life.
31 Days:
Is a deeper prayer life part of your focus for 2013? Start by focusing on your spouse – take a look at this 31 Days of Praying for Your Husband from Revive our Hearts.
(I’m sorry – most of these resources are for wives to pray for their husbands – but I’m sure if you’re a husband, you can adapt these ideas.)
What does the Bible say about praying for each other?
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:18
To read more about what the Bible says about praying for each other click here.
How my husband prays…
Robert prays for me – I hear his prayers when we’re together. I also know when his office door is closed in the morning, he is on his knees reaching out to God. He prays for our family, including our adult children with their concerns. He prays for his parents who are in the midst of some challenges. He prays for my widowed mother. He prays for our congregational members, and God’s work – spreading the Gospel. He prays for our daily life and our finances. He kneels at the side of our bed and we pray together. Often, he’ll come in from a drive and mention he turned off the radio and just had a chat with the Lord all the way home.
Over at Women Living Well, Courtney has begun a challenge. A Valentine challenge. The first task is to praise my husband verbally. The first thought that came to mind was how much I appreciate how Robert has been drawn to pray during this season of our life. I do feel like his prayers are like a huge oak tree with wide branches covering me. (And yes, I’ll be telling him – hopefully before he reads this! 😉 )
So, now you know how Robert prays for me…
How do you pray for your spouse?
Leave a comment – share what you’re asking and we all can join together in prayer.
“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:19
Linking up with
Marriage Moments at Great Peace Academy
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I’ll start, OK? I pray and adapt the words from this verse for our family every morning – (Ephesians 1:17-19 Amplified) because I want us always to recognize God’s wisdom, and power, and understand (as best we can) His will for our lives.
And for Robert – Ephesians 6:10-12 – and Romans 4:20 – because he’s needing protection and strength.
Lori,
These are some excellent tips on thoughts to pray for your spouse. I currently am praying for my spouse to be led to a full time job that will meet our family’s needs, and will allow him to bring honor to God in his career as well as in his life.
Thanks for linking up at Marriage Moment: with Great Peace Academy
I’ll join you in praying for your husband – and the desire to bring honor to God using his career and his life.
So much good information here, Lori. I may have to visit/comment on this post more than once. :O) I’ve downloaded your book, 27 Encouraging Activities. I printed out the first 10 pages and took them outside to read when I went out with our dog. Well, the first 10 pages lead to the first action, praying for your marriage. I was thus inspired to *gulp* start a new blog. First I tried “Prayers for my Husband”, but Blogger said that name was not available. So it became “Prayers for My Marriage”. But don’t go there yet, I’m still in the middle of writing the introductory post.
Tonight my prayers will most definitely include asking God to bless you for the encouragement you give to others.
Thank you for your kind words – and I look forward to reading about your new venture! I’ll watch for when you’ve posted… 🙂
I pray for my husband’s focus, that he not be led into temptation of any kind, that God will enclose him in a fortress that offers protection and a way to perform his work and husband/father roles without seeing the world’s offerings and influences.
Most often, I pray for his peace, because husbands can easily fall to worry, especially when they are the breadwinners alone, and feel the weight of responsibility in difficult times.
Christian radio plays all day here at home, and I hear lines that get me praying for my dear man — God knows what he needs and sends me reminders all the time!
What good insight, Amy – I’ve never thought about using the words from songs playing as a prompt for prayer. Lovely. Thank you.
(you’ve brought me to tears)
Focus and Peace. I’ll join you in praying for your husband.
We were on the same wavelength, Lori. My post today is on praying for a spouse. I really like your ideas here, though. They are different and yet compliment what I say on my blog. Thanks for encouraging us to love and support our spouses with the power of prayer!
I’m tickled pink that we’re all focused on a common theme – it makes me excited! It’s like a sweet aroma when our hearts are in tune…
Thank you for this great post. I love that you say learning to pray is a process. I am getting into the process routinely now and still have days when I’m not sure of the words to use or don’t have the scripture that I’d like to concerning my thoughts. It’s great to remember that it will come in time!
I found you thought Sheila Gregoire’s Wifey Wednesday post. What a great community!
Oh, Colleen – it’s definitely a process. And just like God made us all differently, I think the way our conversational style with Him develops is unique. Think about it – we don’t talk to each of our kids the same – there are nuances… God is the most amazing Father, and He has a unique way to communicate with each of us. As long as we’re all growing closer and closer – that’s what matters.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts – it IS a great community!