Sunday, January 8, 2012

Praying for Your Husband

Today I am thrilled to once again join my dear friend Julie from Come Have A Peace for Marriage Mondays! As I recuperate after a loooong weekend (3 out of 6 of us are on antibiotics -ugh!), I'm going to spend my normal "blogging time" resting and praying.

Enjoy a Marriage Monday repeat....!

First, I should let you know ~ I am not a marriage expert. I am not a trained therapist or counselor. I've not written any profound marriage books.

I am just a simple girl, passionately in love with Jesus and my man, trying to figure out how to enjoy marriage and celebrate life together.


Thankfully, by God's grace, we celebrated 11 years together this August! (Can I get a "woo hoo"?!)

I wish I could tell you it's been 11 years of pure bliss ~ but I'd be lying. Big time.

I now look at marriage like a roller coaster ~ an adventure filled with its ups (and downs), twists and turns, excitement and fun, and unfortunately, sometimes, hang on tight, "why did I say yes to this thing?!" times as well.

Thankfully, John and I are enjoying a "Wow, this is really fun" season!

And do you know what's the number one thing I've learned to strengthen our marriage over the past decade of being together? The power of prayer!

Years ago, I read Stormie Omartian's book the The Power of a Praying Wife. Stormie does an awesome job of reminding us of the power and importance of lifting our husbands in prayer.

After a very difficult season of our marriage a few years ago (one that I wasn't sure we were going to make through) ~ I made a promise that I would pray for John and our marriage every single day.

Unfortunately, at first, I struggled with how to make my promise a reality. You know how it goes ~ life gets busy, right? Kids take up our time, energy, affection. Family members get sick. Life keeps going. We get sidetracked with so many other things to do.

But what I've learned is this....I must make time to pray for John and our marriage. Even if it's while I'm brushing my teeth, washing the dishes, or sick on the couch ~ I've made the predetermined decision, regardless of my circumstances, I will pray for my husband and our marriage every single day.

Like Nike says, "Just do it" :)

If you feel like it or not....

If he was loving this morning or not...

If he's praying for you or not....

JUST DO IT! :)

One thing that has really helped me make my promise a reality is my Prayer Guide (click here for my Prayer Guide recap).



Using my prayer guide, I can look at John as I pray, record my prayers, and have a list of specific things to pray for him. (See the yellow post-it notes in the pic? My little Sarah used to sit on my lap while I prayed for "Daddy" and write out her prayers too. Aren't her little notes sweet??)

(In the picture on the left is a download called 31 Days of Praying for Your Husband. You can print it off here)

Please know, I do not use my Prayer Guide everyday (I sure wish I did). There are some days that my prayer time is while I walk the dog, or sit at the bus stop waiting for the kids ~ but thankfully, I can see the FRUIT from committing to praying for our marriage and John every single day. Prayer has breathed new, fresh life into a marriage that was fading fast. Prayer works...of this I am sure!

What about for you?? What have you found has been helpful to strengthen your marriage?? I'd love to hear from you! Also, be sure to join Julie at
Marriage Mondays for more great marriage tips!!

Many blessings to you this week!! Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*!

7 comments:

Lisa said...

Thanks for the great resource-- 31 ways to pray for your husband! Was just praying this morning and felt like I needed to find more structured ways to pray for my kids and husband...you must be an answer to prayer!!!

Kim said...

Thank you! I'm going to add this to my prays. I learned from a friend...I have 5 note cards, each note card is filled with people to pray for. I take (or try) one note card each day and pray specifically for those people (husband and kids are everyday). Keeps me on track and not wandering.
Like the picture idea, too. Looking at who you're praying for. :)

Denise said...

Awesome idea.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the encouragement and reminder to pray for our spouse. I have good intentions but all to often caught up in life and put the things that matter most on the back burner. Thanks for the great resources. I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the encouragement and reminder to pray for our spouse. I have good intentions but all to often caught up in life and put the things that matter most on the back burner. Thanks for the great resources. I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the encouragement and reminder to pray for our spouse. I have good intentions but all to often caught up in life and put the things that matter most on the back burner. Thanks for the great resources. I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Unknown said...

wonderful, thankyou so much...fabulous links fabulous resources...never evenheard ofa prayer guide but so doing it! i love your blog already and ive only been following along a while but already i feel so blessed by it!thankyou for all you do. jane xxxx

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