Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Twenty-One

Day Twenty-One: That she would be self-controlled

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. –Psalm 43:5

In this Psalm, David is talking to his soul. He is not letting his weary soul dictate his worship. He is exercising self-control. Brothers, our wives need this self-control. They must talk to their emotions instead of letting their emotions talk to them. They need to have the Spirit-driven self-control to say no to the crafty serpent. Let us pray today that our wives would exercise self-control.

Lord, I thank you for a new heart. The only way that any of us can exercise self-control is because of your work. We know that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Father, I pray today that my wife would have self-control. Make her a woman that talks to her soul, with biblical truth, rather than the other way around. Give her the grace to hear your voice and to heed it. Help her to tell her emotions “no” when they run out of their proper banks. May she be so deeply anchored in You and Your Word that she exercises self-control. In Jesus name, Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Nineteen

Day Nineteen: That her husband would romance her

You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. –Song of Solomon 4:9
Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, -Proverbs 5:18

Brothers, we are to take delight in our wives. This is not to be a secret delight. Our wives should know without a doubt that they have captivated our hearts. As the Lord spoke tenderly to His bride in the wilderness (in spite of her actions) let us always speak tenderly to our wives. Let us romance them no matter our life circumstance. If your heart isn’t there pray that the Lord would renew in you a delight in the wife of your youth. If your heart is there give it full expression; romance her.

Lord, thank you for my wife. She truly has captivated my heart. Keep my heart from growing cold, stale, and merely satisfied. Stir in my heart deep affections for my wife. Help me to study her—to know her—and to know how I can communicate to her that she has captivated my heart. In every area where my heart is wayward towards her would you strengthen it? Cause my love for her to be as deep and settled as the elderly couple that knows one another so well. But also make it such a love that would shame the shallow expressions of teenagers. Help me to sweep her off her feet. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Eighteen

Day Eighteen: That she would be hospitable

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. -1 Peter 4:9

Our wives hospitality is a great reflection of her grasp of the gospel. Hospitality is a reminder of our alien status. A wife that does not practice hospitality is likely a wife that is comfortably living the American dream. She has started thinking that she is at home and therefore has lost her sojourner impulse. Let us pray today that our wife would have a missional heartbeat. And part of this missional heartbeat would be a drive to open up her home so that the gospel might flourish.

Lord, thank you for my wife’s hospitable heart. Increase it. Help her to consistently have a sojourner impulse and not lay her roots too deeply in this world. Give my wife a missional heartbeat that constantly thinks of ways to fulfill the Great Commission. May her heart be ultimately others-focused for the sake of your glory. Thank you for making your home among us. Might we live the life of Immanuel. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Sixteen

Day Sixteen: That she would be tender-hearted

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. -1 Peter 3:8

I remember early in my walk with Christ listening to a live Keith Green album. Before one of his songs Green prayed that his heart would have “baby skin all over it”. That is what I want to pray for our wives today. I want to pray that they (and we) would be tender hearted as the Scriptures command us to be. Let us not harden up our hearts to protect ourselves from the bitter world. Our wives are probably more naturally tender than us. Let’s fan that gift into a flame, men. Brothers, we need tender-hearted wives.

Father, I pray that you cause my wife’s heart to have “baby skin all over it”. Cause her to be tender hearted. Though the world may mock a sensitive heart, help her to know that it is very pleasing to you. May her heart be tender towards her church, her friends, her spouse, her children, herself, and more than anything may her heart be tender towards you. May the tender-heart of Jesus shine through the tender heart of my wife. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Fifteen

Day Fifteen: That she would be wise

How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. –Proverbs 16:16

Our wives will make many decisions today. She needs wisdom to guide her. She will hear many messages today, many trying to subvert who she really is in Christ. She needs wisdom to guard her. Real wisdom comes from God and is found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is more valuable than any of the material possessions that our wives may be tempted to set their hearts towards today. Let us pray that as wisdom calls out that our wives would hear His voice. May she listen to the gracious words of Wisdom and not the serpentine words of a forked-tongued fool.

Lord, I pray today that my wife might be a woman that is characterized by wisdom. May she pursue it as she would pursue rubies, diamonds, gold, and silver. I know that you have already given her a great deal of wisdom. And I know that in Jesus Christ she has the storehouse of all wisdom and knowledge. May she draw from Him today. In moments of confusion help her to pause. Help her to look for you and to not lean on her own wisdom. I pray that she leans all of her weight on you and your wisdom. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Fourteen

Day Fourteen: That she would not be embarrassed of her femininity

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. –Genesis 1:27

Elisabeth Eliot wrote this 15 years ago, it is even more true today:

I find myself in the sometimes quite uncomfortable position of having to belabor the obvious, and hold up examples of femininity to women who almost feel apologetic for being feminine or being womanly. I would remind you that femininity is not a curse. It is not even a triviality. It is a gift, a divine gift, to be accepted with both hands, and to thank God for. Because remember, it was His idea… .

The world would have our wives believe their femininity is something to apologize for. It is not. Let us praise God for giving us the gift of femininity in our homes. Also let us pray that they might not be embarrassed by her femininity but “accept it with both hands” and glorify God through the gift of being female.

Lord, thank you for my wife’s femininity. Thank you for her tenderness and sensitivity. I’m glad that she is a woman—and I’m thankful for all that this means. I pray Lord that she delights in this sacred calling of bearing your image as a female. Help her to rejoice in this gift and not be embarrassed by her femininity. I must confess as a man I’m not even sure how to pray for her in this area. I simply pray that you help her be the woman that you call her to be. She is more precious than rubies—thank you for her feminine appeal. May she reflect your glory.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Thirteen

Day Thirteen: That she would sever the root of bitterness

“Let all bitterness… be put away from you…” –Ephesians 4:31

There are a myriad of consequences that can lead to our wives becoming bitter. But at its root bitterness is a mark of rebellion instead of redemption. Therefore, all bitterness must be put away. “A spirit of antagonism and hostility” comes from a hardness of heart that finds its source in unbelief. A bitter heart is one that no longer delights in God’s salvation or trusts in His goodness. Our wives (and we) are not immune to a bitterness of heart. Let’s pray today that our wives would sever the root of bitterness.

Lord, thank you for redeeming my wife. Thank you that you “work all things together for her good”, which is ultimately conformity to Christ. Lord, at times redemption is painful. Life is tough. You seem distant. And yet you are working. Rescue my wife from bitterness that springs from unbelief. You have made her a Naomi (pleasant, agreeable, sweet) through the work of Jesus. Rescue her form the temptation to live as a Mara (bitter). Cause her to rejoice today in the joy of her salvation. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Twelve

Day Twelve: That her husband would pursue her holiness

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself”–Ephesians 5:25-28

Husbands, we are to find our joy in the joy of our wives. Men, we are foolish if we think that their greatest joy will be found in us. That would be to profoundly rip them off. No, our goal must be the same goal as Jesus; namely, that their joy is as deep and lasting as Psalm 16:11. Anything else is not a lofty enough goal. The miracle of Ephesians 5:28-32 is that as we nourish and cherish our wives in such a way that they find lasting satisfaction in Jesus we also find our own joy. Men, may our goal for our wives be as big as Jesus. 

Father, stir in me a passion to pursue my wife’s holiness. Create in me a heart that is only satisfied when my wife find’s her deepest satisfaction in you. As a selfish husband I often make decisions concerning our family that benefits me. Change this. Help me to lead and love in such a way that my goal for my wife is her passion for Jesus. Thank you for providing everything we need for life and godliness through the work of Christ. May our marriage glorify You. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Eleven

Day Eleven: That she would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing she would have life in His name.

“but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” –John 20:31

Today let us dedicate ourselves to praying for our brothers that are married to an unbelieving spouse. If your wife is a believer, thank God for His rescue of your wife. If she is not a believer, plead for her today before the Lord that He would “cause the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ to shine in her heart” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Let’s beg of the Lord today to cause every man in this group to be married to a woman that believes in Jesus, is growing in Jesus, and find her life in His name.

Father, I thank you for salvation. I thank you that you have never given up on me and that you reached me in the darkest of places. There is no sin that is too powerful for your grace to overcome. Lord would you continue your work of rescuing my wife. Lord, save her to the uttermost and help to find her life in your name. Lord, I also pray for the other brothers in this group. Rescue their wives through the powerful work of Jesus. Would you call them out of darkness with your mighty hand? May this be a day of salvation. In Jesus name, Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Ten

Day Ten: That she would not be anxious or fearful

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. –Proverbs 12:25

Our wives can be weighed down by anxiety and fear. In a fallen world there are many things to fear and become anxious about. And in the long run many of the things that we fear are a reality. We will die. Those that we love will get sick. If our wives want to be consumed by fear and worry they have plenty of fuel for the flames of anxiety. Yet in the midst of a fallen world God calls us to cast all our anxieties and fear upon Him. Let’s pray that our wives would trust in the Lord and not be overwhelmed with fear and anxiety.

Father, I know that there are many things that can cause my wife to be fearful or anxious. I know that we live in a fallen world. But I also know that we live in a world where evil, death, and all things in opposition to you, have been dealt a decisive death blow by our Lord Jesus. You are making all things new. Help my wife to trust in your redemption and not the temporary truths that fear and anxiety tell her. Rescue her from fear and anxiety. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Nine

I apologize that I am posting this so much later than normal.

Day Nine: That she would passionately love the Bride of Christ

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” –John 13:34-35

Let’s face it, the church can be messy. Our wives can get caught in the crossfire of petty church fights. She’s also not immune to being directly involved in them. As such our wife can grow bitter towards the bride of Christ. Over time her passion can dwindle and her love for the Bride of Jesus will grow cold. Brothers, the love our wives have for the bride of Christ is proportional to her love for the Lord. Let us pray that the Lord would cause our wives to “love one another deeply from the heart (1 Peter 1:22)”.

Father, I thank you that you have purchased a people for yourself. I thank you that you are redeeming people from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. You are taking away hearts of sin and unbelief and replacing them with hearts of passionate worship. This is your church. And on the way to redemption we are messy. I pray that the messy of church might cause my wife’s heart to stir in deep love instead of bitterness. Sustain her with your love for her, and your love for the church. May she love your Bride the way that you love her, so that all may know your greatness. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Eight

Day Eight: That She would be blessed with a close friend(s)

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! –Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

True friendship is a great blessing. Our wives need godly friendships. They need others ladies in their life that will lift them up when they fall and will be bold enough to “wound” if necessary (Proverbs 27:6). Today let’s pray for our wives to have a close friend (or friends) and that the Lord would use these friendships for his glory. Pray that he would protect their fellowship and use any relational difficulties to strengthen our wives. Let’s pray also for the close friends that our wives do have.

Lord, thank you for the friends that you have given to my wife. I pray Lord that you might cause these relationships to deepen even more. Help her to have a “friend who sticks closer than a brother”. I pray for my wife’s friends that you would bless them and keep them and enliven their passion for Jesus. I pray also that you would help my wife to be a great friend as well. May her friendships be used to further your kingdom in the world and in her heart. Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Seven

Day Seven: That she may be sober-minded

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. –1 Peter 5:8

Men, the battle for our wives affections must include the battle for her mind. Our wives are bombarded with information every day from a myriad of voices. These voices tell her who she is as a woman, as a wife, as a mother, and as a disciple. Many of these voices come from a forked-tongue. Without a sober-mind her head will be spinning, not knowing which message to believe. With a sober-mind even her prayers will be hindered (1 Peter 4:7). Therefore, let us pray that the Lord would remove the fog and help our wives to hear and heed the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Father, I thank you that you speak to us. I also thank you that your Word and your voice is powerful. Mountains melt like wax before you, and at the same time the sheep hear your tender voice. Speak to my wife, through the fog. Help her to hear your voice and know it. Quiet all of the other messengers that cloud her brain and keep her from being sober-minded. Ground her in your truth. May she grow in her ability to hear her faithful Shepherd. It is in his name that we pray, Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Six

Day Six: That she would find joy in the mundane

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. –Ecclesiastes 6:1-2

It is a terrible evil to not be able to enjoy the good gifts that God has given to us. There are many things that our wives do every day that are tedious and mundane. Consider all of the things that your wife does today, that she also did yesterday, and she will probably do tomorrow. It is a grace for her to find joy in these things. In the middle of her everyday work she can be tempted to let her mind wander to more exciting things and her heart to become dissatisfied. The only rescue from the “meaninglessness” of life under the sun is to find our ultimate meaning in Christ.
Then, and only then, is the humdrum able to be truly enjoyed.

Gracious God, I pray today that you help my wife to find joy in the mundane. I know it is a curse for us to have many of our hearts desires but not the ability to enjoy them. Lord, I know that ability comes from you. Capture my wife’s heart with a deep delight in the simple things of life. Help her to find joy in you as she does the dishes, tends to our children, cooks supper, and all of the other routine things that she does. Help her to enjoy the gift of life and to live in the life that Jesus has purchased for her. Amen.

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Yes, it is the quiddity of redemption that we are praying for today.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Five

Day Five: That Her Husband Would Be Pure

I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. –Psalm 101:3

One of the greatest things that our wives need from us is our personal purity. If we are to faithfully love, serve, and sacrifice for our wives we must do so as men of integrity. One of the greatest robbers of personal integrity and holiness is lust and pornography. Brothers, we must pray that God would sustain us and be our delight. Let us pray that he would protect us from temptation and give us the wisdom and strength to flee ungodly passions. Our wives need our holiness.

Father, forgive me for all of the times that I have not lived in absolute integrity. I thank you that Jesus Christ redeems and makes new everything that we’ve shipwrecked. May we live in His redemption and not foolish rebellion. Lord, create in us a holy passion for purity. Keep us from flirting with sin and not fleeing from it. Cause us to be men of integrity and purity. Might we be known as men that love our wives and love our Lord in such a way that “worthless” and “unclean” things have lost their luster. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from this great evil. In the absolutely pure name of Jesus, I pray, amen.

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If you need help with your battle against lust and pornography, these resources are quite helpful.

How I Pray For Healing

I’m not the Benny Hinn type, but I do pray for healing quite often. And I do it rather simply:

“Lord, heal _______ according to your will.”

It might sound as if I’m praying that because I simply do not know the Lord’s will in a situation. From my finite perspective I have no idea if the Lord has purposed to heal a person. While that is true, that is not all that I am communicating whenever I pray that the Lord heal someone according to His will. It’s actually a prayer that is jam-packed with theology and hope.

All believers will ultimately be healed

I know that whenever I pray for healing in the life of a believer that it will always ultimately be answered. I know this from Revelation 21:4 (among other places). I know that one day, “He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”.

Therefore, when I pray that the Lord heal someone according to His will I know that He is going to eventually answer that prayer. That might mean that my prayer for healing in the present is not answered—because God is going to answer the greater prayer—ultimate healing.

God heals in the present as a preview of His ultimate healing

Yet, sometimes God does answer our prayers for healing in the present. The Lord is kind and gracious. He binds up broken hearts. He causes cancer to disappear. He clears up cloudy minds. Yes, our great God wipes away tears even in the present. And he does this as a preview of things to come.

Therefore, I am praying that if it be the Lord’s good pleasure that He would provide healing in the present. When he answers these prayers it helps us to see that God is actively involved and concerned—not only for our future but also for our present. When he does not provide present healing we know that He is still good—and He has answered our prayers for ultimate healing.

What about unbelievers?

When I am praying for an unbeliever that God would heal them according to His will, I am not only praying for temporary healing. I am praying that they would come to know Jesus Christ and that their greatest problem would be answered; namely separation from God.

I know that while they remain in rebellion that they have no promise of ultimate healing. Instead it is the opposite. This present suffering pales in comparison to the suffering that is to come. Therefore, I pray that the Lord might use this to draw them to himself. I’m praying that they would experience ultimately healing because they have been rescued by Jesus.

This is what I’m praying for whenever I ask God to heal somebody according to His will.

Let’s not be uncomfortable in praying for healing. Let’s be bold. In my mind praying for healing is the same thing as praying Maranatha! So let us approach Him with confidence and hope, knowing that our prayers for healing in the life of believers will always ultimately be answered.

Brothers, Let Our Attitudes Match Our Prayers

Last week we began our Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge. The response has been tremendous. We have over 1,400 guys praying for their wives. As I think about the impact of this many guys praying for their wives—I can’t help but also think of 1 Peter 3:7.

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
(1 Peter 3:7 ESV)

For some, the first reading of that verse might evoke a slight chaffing. After all, we live in an age when saying things like “weaker vessel” is offensive. And there might be a reason for discomfort because let’s face it, some guys really can be jerks. And such jerky guys have used verses like 1 Peter 3:7 to promote their insecure theology. Offensive as it sounds I’m convinced that there is something beautiful in seeing our wives as the “weaker vessel”. Robert Rayburn explains:

Remember weaker" is being used in a context. A ming vase is weaker than a five dollar hammer; a Rembrandt canvas is weaker than a razor blade; and Mother Teresa was weaker than Mike Tyson! Peter is not talking about comparative worth, he is speaking of the reason why men have a special responsibility, laid upon them by their Creator, to show a particular regard for women and their wives in particular. It was not so long ago, even in secular Western societies that a man's manhood was judged according to the way in which he protected and provided for the women in his life. Only a feminist ideologue surveying the wreckage of American society can really believe that the abandonment of this viewpoint has improved the lot of women and children.

Wives are a treasure that are given to husbands to nurture and care for.  The Lord love for His daughters is so mighty that He promises that husbands who do not treat them with care will be hindered in their prayer life.

I’ve known men (including myself) that have felt a darkness and a separation in our prayer life with the Lord.  I have felt my ability to pray (not to mention preach and write) hindered.  It’s like there is a big fat rock that stands between me and the Lord. 

My natural inclination to remove that rock is to get uber-spiritual. I’ll read a book on prayer, spend some time alone with the Lord, or I might even go so far as to fast. The boulder continues to stand between myself and the Lord. And it stays there because what I really need to do is stop being a bear to my wife. Instead of mourning and even praying about the separation, what I really need to do is go home and repent of my attitude and lack of nurturing my wife.

The 31 Day Challenge

While we are praying for our wives this month I think it’s important that we also remember to be tender with them. If we are praying for our wives to change and yet we are not treating them with honor, tenderness, and understanding our prayers will be hindered.  And they will be hindered until we actually begin treating them with honor, tenderness, and understanding. Might it be possible that our repentance before our wives will be the very thing that God uses to answer our prayers for them.

It’s not always the case that feelings of distance in our relationship with the Lord is because we have been blowing it as husbands.  But this is one of the few things in Scripture that the Lord promises will hinder our prayers.  And so if we feel a distance there it would do us well to analyze our level of tenderness towards our wives. 

As a side note to our married female readers: consider how much the Lord loves you that He would cause a hindrance in His relationship with your husband because your hubby is not nurturing you.  God cares for you mightily, so much that He rips up the conscience of us men until we begin treating you the way that we ought. 

May we not only pray for our wives this month but may we nurture our wives in such a way that the Lord will use us to answer those very prayers.

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Originally posted here in a slightly different format.  

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Four

I hope that you are having a blessed Lord’s day. I pray that God’s Word was faithfully preached in your church this morning, and that God’s Word is doing it’s work in your soul. Day four begins now. As always, remember to comment as a means of accountability.

Day Four: That She Would Have a Passion for God’s Word

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; ² but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. –Psalm 1:1-2

If we want our wives to be blessed we should also want them to delight in God’s Word. It is not a coincidence that we are to wash our wives in the water of the Word. When all else fails—including us as husbands—the Word of God is the one thing that remains. One of the greatest things that can come from our prayer for our wives is that they would strengthen and develop an abiding love for God’s Word. Our passion is not merely that our wives would master the Word but that they would be mastered by the Word. Therefore, let us pray that God would give them a delight in His Word.

Lord, we thank you for your Word. I know that what will cause my wife to be blessed will be that she delights in your Word. Lord, I know that this is not something that comes from her—but this delight ultimately comes from you. So, God I pray that you would incline her heart to you. Help her to have a deep and abiding passion for your Word. I pray that you help her rejoice as she meditates on You as you reveal yourself in your Word. Give her a passion for your Word like she has never known before. I pray this that Christ may glorified, Amen.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge—Day Three

Remember if you are only following the prayer challenge through the blog that you will need to comment on this post, either a prayer of your or a simple statement that says, “done”. This is so we can keep each other accountable.

Day Three: That Her Identity Would Be Found in Christ

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." -Colossians 3:3

Our wives have many things in their life that vie to shape their identities. Some will seek identity in physical appearance. Some will seek it in mothering or being a great wife. Others will seek it in Christian activity. Others will seek to find their identity in stuff. These are faulty foundations. Pray that our wives might find their identity solely in Christ. And that their identity in Christ would be the foundation for all of their other roles and passions.

Father, you are everything that we desire. You are perfect in all of your ways. I am amazed that you would so graciously hide us in Christ. Lord I pray that my wife's identity would be shaped by all that Jesus is. May her life be hidden in You. May she believe that she is who You say that she is and not what the world, the flesh, or the devil says she is. Thank you that you have purchased our identity.

Pray For Your Wife: 31 Day Challenge---Day Two

We had another 200 or so guys sign up yesterday, bringing our total to 1,250. I continue to be amazed at how the Lord is using this little challenge to further His glory and strengthen marriages.

Remember if you are only following the prayer challenge through the blog that you will need to comment on this post, either a prayer of your or a simple statement that says, “done”. This is so we can keep each other accountable.

Day Two: That she would not become weary in doing good

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. –Galatians 6:9

In preparing our 31 days of prayer, I asked several ladies to give me things that they would love for their husbands to pray for them. One common theme was “that I wouldn’t become weary”. Brothers, our wives battle weariness. The only One that can sustain their weary hearts is the God that does not grow faint or weary (Isaiah 40:28-31). It is this same God that lovingly says to our wives and us to “come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” Brothers, let’s pray that our wives come to our burden-bearing Savior and find rest.

Lord, we know that you have created us to find rest in you. And we know that our hearts are restless until they find rest in you. I pray that you help my wife to fully rest in you. Rescue her from her weariness and renew her strength. Keep her from becoming weary in doing good. Father, forgive me for any time that I have added to my wife’s weariness and burdens instead of carrying them with and for her. Thank you for the rest that we will someday enjoy. Maranatha!