Praying for Your Husband

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not great at remembering to pray, much less pray for my husband.

It's like the fine art I go to the museum to admire and dream and wish over. Admire because someone took the time to learn and create. Dream about what it would be like if I had dedicated that much time into painting. (Shoot! Piano for that matter. I mean, yes, I can play. And play well enough that an untrained ear loves it and the trained ear can hear the beauty. But I am no Beethoven or Brendel or up-and-coming concert pianist.) Oh and wish! Wish that I could create just as beautiful a masterpiece as what I am beholding.

My point is, when I hear of a prayer warrior, my first thoughts are, "I wish I was like that. That I really dedicated time to prayer...period."

In those moments I almost always realize this; but, I also never go any further with it: I am not them for a reason but that doesn't mean I can't learn to pray. That I shouldn't learn to pray. And that my prayers will be less effective because I am no prayer warrior. At least at this time.

Yet, as I sit here typing this post, my heart has been prodded.

For weeks.

Yes, months even.

Pray for Ben.

Love him through prayer.

Do what, Lord?! I am no prayer warrior and you want me to pray for him? (Um, I think I've failed to mention it's been a bit rough on the home front. Just the normal rough side of marriage. It's definitely been times of choosing to love rather than loving and enjoying one another easily. And make no mistake, I'm pretty sure it's been ridiculously hard to love me these past few months. I'd bet a million dollars on it. And win some extra too!) I don't even know where to begin, even if I have this wonderful Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian book in my hand. I mean, yeah she's got some great stuff to say, but I am no fan of prayers from a book. (She has prayers at the end of each chapter you can use. Obviously you don't have to but...I'm a bit stubborn sometimes all the time.)

I'm not asking you to be perfect. Simply pray for him. And if you don't want to, you don't have to use the prayers she has. Those a merely a guide.

The convos with God have been back and forth like that. Mostly me being stubborn and wondering where to start and so not starting. (I realized as I typed this that by merely talking to God about what He's been asking of me I've been praying. Yeah. I'm stubborn.) Also me knowing that in praying for my husband, I'm truly asking God to change me. How and when I'm not sure. But I do know that there have already been many times where in order to submit to my husband or for my husband to truly fulfill the calling God has placed on him, and subsequently on me, it has required much heart change. Unfortunately, many times because of my own stubborn will I just sit. You know, like a stubborn mule refusing to move simply because it. doesn't. want. to. (Is this where you will start, God?)

But really, what have I got to lose?

So I've made a plan. That through the end of November, I will be blogging about my experience of taking a chapter a week from PoPW (that's how I'm going to abbreviate it when referencing it in posts) and really focusing in on praying for my husband. This will both hold me accountable and maybe help encourage some of you to do the same. Once a week, and I'm thinking it will be Wednesdays since this one is going up on a Wednesday, because today marks May 1st, and I might as well start, I will post a reflection or thought or whatever I have to say after honing in on that one focused topic of prayer. I read the intro chapter yesterday morning. I'm sure I could read a chapter a day, but I've tried before and find it quite overwhelming; many times I find it isn't enough time for me to truly soak everything in considering I am doing a constant balancing act of raising my daughter, keeping a home, and all the other jobs I have to juggle.

And for those of you who aren't married, the journey can begin for you, too. Much of what she discusses throughout the book can be applied to the single life. It can also be prayed over a future spouse whether you are waiting, dating, or engaged. If the desire for a spouse is there, then there is no reason you can't start the habit now.

I'm actually kind of excited about this. For the first time in my life, I'm long-term committing myself to prayer. Which in turn, will hopefully bring about a healthy habit and be used not just for my husband but as a ministry to others. And even if it is only for myself and a healthy relationship with my Heavenly Father, I'm perfectly fine with that.

Here's to looking for and praying for the best in and for my husband!

Starting today, it's a week of praying for...myself. Ha! Go figure. Stormie starts off with praying for "His Wife". Looking forward to what God has in store for me this week as I begin this journey.

Will you join in? (I'm talking about praying for yourself...not me.) Join me on this journey of prayer hoping that through it all God will draw you closer to His heart and mold you more into His likeness. It's not easy, and I'm sure I'll have some confessions of difficulties along the way, but we can share this together. If you write a post about this, put it in my comments. If I get enough of a draw, I may start a link-up with each post. Either way, I'd love to hear what you have to say about prayer.