Pray for her

“The most important thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”    Rev. Theodore Hesburgh

Pray FOR Your Wife (Look for Pray WITH your wife in another article)

I am never endingly amazed at how Christian publishing loves to take something that is good and reframe it and reframe it until it loses all sense of creative value.

I know, maybe if I ever get a hit like that, maybe I will feel differently (The Gauntlet for couples, The Gauntlet for Grandparents, The Gauntlet for Pets…). However, despite my cynical attitude about this pattern, I purchased and read “The Power of a Praying Husband” by Stormie O’Martian.  All other possible evaluation aside, I will tell you that the price of the book and the time to read it was worth one real gem I found.

One of the sample prayers said, to paraphrase… “Lord, don’t let my wife hear from me; I pray that she hears from you.”

Confession time: I realized that many of my prayers had been essentially, “God, please let my wife hear from me on this topic…”

I was immediately and rightfully convicted of my arrogant vainglory. I began to change the way I was praying, and thinking.  I want to pass the opportunity for that conviction on to you too.   You’re welcome.  We are in this together.

As men, we must choose accept this truth: God knows and loves us and our wives better than we do.  So, men, begin to pray for your wives to know and hear God better… not you.  Ask God to teach her, ask Him that she hears from Him, not from you…  Repenting from “Lord, help my wife to follow my leadership and to listen to me” to “Lord help my wife follow YOUR leadership and listen to YOU,” has changed me already.

Wanna be pasted by a passage? Here is one for us all to hold near our hearts.

“This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

Yet you say, “For what reason?”

 Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.” (Mal 2:13-14, NASUpdated)

(Think maybe this is the passage that Peter had in mind?)

May God keep us considerate, faithful, and devoted husbands!

So, how about praying WITH your wife?