Never Underestimate Being a Wife of Prayer.

I challenged myself a few years ago to wake up every morning and spend time praying for my husband and our family before anyone else in the house was awake. I wrote about this conviction in my book. When I wrote that particular devotion, I only had one child, but now I have three and a half and sleep is far less regular to say the least. For the most part, however, I have tried to remain faithful to that commitment knowing that the Proverbs 31 woman would regularly, "rises while it is yet night..." (31:15).

I now look forward to my morning prayer times. I have a special place I go to and as soon as I sit down to pray I am filled with peace... the peace of being with my Best Friend. It wakes me up and is refreshing (even though I'm missing sleep to do it, go figure!). About three months ago, I began journaling my early morning prayers. I felt like the Lord was asking me to add in the discipline of prayer journaling rather than prayer alone. At first, I wasn't exactly sure why or what I would get out of it, but now that I've been at it for a few months, I can see benefits having a prayer journal is adding to my prayer life and my marriage.

My goal is be a prayer warrior for my husband and not let the busyness of life prevent me from fighting for my husband on my knees. The ideal family keeps the husband and wife relationship before that of the parent and child to avoid child centered homes. That is what we strive for, but in the busyness of life with a few toddlers, it can be a challenge. Yet, just because something is difficult doesn't mean we should give up striving for that discipline in our lives. As a mother, I am on my knees before the Lord praying for each of my children and their walks with Him. That part of my prayer life comes naturally. Sadly, however that part of my prayer life can dominate over petitions I might make on behalf of my husband. Yet, it is my husband who is the spiritual leader of our home! If anyone needs my prayers - it is him!

My prayer journal has been an accountability partner of sorts because I can flip back through and notice when I have fallen into the pattern of praying for my children first and my husband second. It has been eye opening for me to realize the days I feel most frustrated with my husband are the days when my children (or others) have taken precedent in my prayer life. The reverse is also true, the days that I feel closest to my husband are the days when I have been praying passionately and specifically for him. When I pray for my husband I am being obedient to Scripture and I am also allowing the Lord to work in my heart and how I view my husband and our marriage.

Our husbands need our prayers! They need them as men, as Christians, as fathers, as husbands, as friends, and a co-workers. They need us to pray for them to have victory overs sins we know they struggle with and also pray for their struggles that we don't know about. We need to pray for them to have the Lord's peace in their lives and for the Lord to give them a direction and vision for our family. We need to pray for them because, just by being men, they have a huge target on their backs for Satan to attack. The Evil One does not want spiritually healthy homes. He does not want our husbands to lead. We must be in battle for them because, even if they don't realize it, they are in a war zone!  

When we pray for our husbands, we are inviting the Creator of the Universe into every part of their lives. We are asking the Lord to change us as wives and our hearts towards our husbands. Let us never underestimate how important and impactful praying for our husbands is... for them and us! Praying for our husbands is a wonderful way to keep our marriage relationship first in a world where everything else is competing.