Pray for him…

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Luke 18:1

Can I just get straight to the point?

We need to be praying for our husbands.

I know, I know. You do pray, right?

But, are you fervently lifting them up throughout the day? Yeah, me either.

I tell you why this is hard for us sometimes.

Praying for our husbands does not come natural. It is not something hard wired into our hearts and minds.

Praying for our kids? Easy. It is instinct almost to pray over our children. They belong to us. They are ours. They need our prayers.

But, so do our men.

More so than ever.

The battle is real, y'all.

Evil lurks in broad daylight not just shifting shadows.

Our men are the leaders of our families.

Some of you may be shaking your head saying, "No, not my man. He doesn't lead worth a flip."

Sweet friend, are you praying diligently for him to lead?

Let me tell you a story.

I use to pray for my husband like this: "God, please change Lem! Make him nicer, kinder, and more thoughtful. Help him to love me more! Help him to be a good man and want to pray and study your word."

For years and years (and years) I prayed those words.

Until one day, the Lord revealed to my heart that the prayer I was praying was selfish.

Yep.

All those things I wanted to change were really about what I wanted and how it would make MY life better.

Instead of praying for all the things I wanted to change about him, I began praying words of scripture and affirmation over him.

For example, instead of "Lord make my husband nice!" I began to pray, "Give Lem a heart like David's."

Instead of praying, "Lord, make my husband want to pray with me and study the word with me!" I began to pray, "Lord, give Lem the faith of Daniel and the wisdom of Solomon."

My prayers began to affirm Lem instead of tearing him down.

I could list all the things I wanted to change about him...or I could pray the change straight into his heart.

As wives, we have so much power in prayer over our men! We do not even realize the power we have.

Did you know that God sees you and your husband as one?

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,  and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Mark 10:7-8

So, guess what? When we pray over them and into their lives, we are actually praying the same into our lives!

I used to spend so much time listing things out to God that I wanted him to change about myself. Then, I realized that if I am praying these traits into my husband, my children, and other people, then I am receiving the same blessing that I am praying.

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

Did you catch that? Pray for one another, that YOU may be healed.

Does this change everything, or what?

God sees a heart that prays for others and blesses it. This is just how He works.

When we care about each other enough to lift each other up before our needs, God takes care of all of our needs as well.

The answers to our prayers over our husbands may very well lie in the diligence of our prayers over him. Do we half heartedly want change? NO. Then, why would we half heartedly pray?

Do you want to see BIG miracle changes? Do you want to see something greater than you could even fathom for your husband and your marriage?

Then, we MUST pray BIG.

We must pray fervently.

We must pray diligently.

Prayer is a like a muscle. The more it is used the stronger it gets.

Who wants weak muscles?

Pray, pray and keep praying for your man.

Pour scriptures into your prayers and pray them over your husband.

Most importantly, do not ever give up.

When you don't see immediate answers, KEEP praying. In fact, the enemy will probably not like hearing your prayers over your man. He may try to whisper words of defeat into your precious ears. When you hear those lies, Rebuke him and tell him to flee! The enemy has NO ground in your marriage.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

No matter the state of your marriage, God is able to revive, reconcile, renew, and restore it.

Take this challenge with me today:

 Pray over your man 3 times a day for the next month. Put reminders on your phone. Tape them to your mirror. Whatever will help you to remember.

Before you do anything, pray over him. Grow your prayer muscle strong for the next 30 days.

After the 30 days, look back at the past month and see what God has begun. Maybe it will just be small, very small changes. Oh, but take heart. A big, big thing is happening in the spiritual realm. Your husband will be changing.

And so will you.

**For my single friends…pray for your future husband. Pray for his heart, his faith, his health, his friendships, his career…

It is never too early to start praying for your husband. I tell my daughter often to make a list of ways to pray for her future husband.

God hears those prayers. Every single one of them.




praying for my man,

jill