My husband, Ben, and I met in college, got engaged shortly after graduation, and married a year later. We were young, in love, and, honestly, didn’t have more than a few hundred dollars in the bank.
As Ben and I approached our wedding day, I distinctly remember my church mentor, my mom, and my future mother-in-law telling me how important it was that I pray for Ben. I kept thinking, I’ve been praying for this man since I was thirteen, but okay. What I didn’t yet realize was that these wise, Christian women knew something I did not yet know: the fact that, as a wife, I have the unique opportunity to be my husband’s number one prayer warrior, the person who prays for him when he can’t find the words. As a Godly wife, I need to fervently pray for my husband every – single – day.
Why? In Ephesians 5 the apostle Paul explained to us that marriage is a picture of the love Jesus has for His church. With this love so carefully displayed in Scripture and through Christians demonstrating the Gospel in marriage, the enemy will do all he can to destroy this picture and hinder the witness of Christ to the world.
After two years of marriage, I saw this truth become a reality when my husband went back to school full time to become a pharmacist. This transition meant moving to a new city, a new job, a new church, and, though we didn’t realize it at the time, also moving into a new, challenging life stage. After just a few months of this life transition, we’d fallen away from church because we’d become exhausted with searching for a new church home. We’d fallen out of the habit of praying together because of our conflicting work/school schedules. And, truthfully, I’d forgotten what the Godly women in my life had told me as a newlywed. I was no longer praying fervently for my husband.
Then, one night when I thought we couldn’t do it anymore—I thought we’d hit our breaking point—I called my mother-in-law. Through tears and shock in her voice, she told me to dig in and really begin to pray. I needed to pray for Ben. I needed to pray for our marriage. I needed to ask God to heal what felt like was shattering into a million pieces.
That week, my mother-in-law gifted me with The Power of a Praying® Wife by Stormie Omartian. As I read, I began to truly realize the importance of praying specifically for my husband. I was reminded that prayer could deepen my relationship with God and with Ben.
It has been over five years since that difficult time in our marriage. Truthfully, I’m thankful it happened when it did. I’m so grateful that, very early on in our marriage, I realized just how important it was to champion and pray for my husband.
This is why I want to challenge you, whether you’re a young wife like me or you’ve been married longer than I’ve been alive, to begin praying specifically for your husband each and every day.
Since I am not a marriage expert, I reached out to several of the wives on our team here at Lifeway Women to learn how they pray for their husbands. (We have so much wisdom and marriage experience on our team. I’m happy I get to share their thoughts with you!)
20 ways to pray for your husband:
- Pray for his day.
- Pray for his health.
- Pray for his work.
- Pray he will be obedient to the Lord.
- Pray Scripture over him (Prov. 3:5-6 is a great place to start!).
- Pray specifically for the current situations in your lives.
- Pray for the challenges he is facing.
- Pray for his fears.
- Pray he would have spiritual strength.
- Pray for him to lead you and your family.
- Pray for the Lord to give him daily direction.
- Pray he would be fulfilled in the work he is doing.
- Pray for his spiritual walk.
- Pray for his decision-making.
- Pray for his role as a husband, father, and leader.
- Pray for his relationships with others (family, in-laws, children, even coworkers)
- Pray for protection.
- Pray for his future.
- Pray for peace.
- Pray for the presence of Christ in your marriage.
Need a reminder to pray for your husband?
Kelly King, Manager of Magazines/Devotional Publishing and Women’s Ministry Training for Lifeway Women, shared this idea for a family prayer reminder:
“I had each one of my family members draw their hand on a piece of paper, and I asked them for five prayer requests (one for each finger): 1) How to pray for them in their spiritual walk; 2) How to pray for our relationship; 3) How to pray for their relationships with others; 4) How to pray for their future; 5) How to pray for their work. Place this physical reminder in your desk, your Bible, or somewhere else to remind you to pray.”
Kaitlin Redmond, Graphic Designer for Lifeway Women shared this fun idea:
“I set a timer with his birthday on my phone to go off everyday to remind me to pray for him. For example, his birthday is November 6, so at 11:06, a ‘pray for my husband’ timer goes off at that time every day.”
How do you pray for your husband? What creative ways do you remind yourself to pray specifically and fervently for your husband every day?
Juliana Wilson is the Social Media and Influencer Marketing Specialist for Lifeway Women. Juliana and her husband, Ben, reside in downtown Nashville where they enjoy serving in their church student ministry, spending time outdoors, and training together. (You may have seen them on last season’s American Ninja Warrior!) She is passionate about encouraging women and girls to dig into God’s Word and pursue an active relationship with Christ every day. Juliana loves Instagram-worthy ice cream, coffee dates, and traveling with her husband.
