Why would someone post a private prayer for their wife? Kinda weird to do so … don’t you think?
Faithful Headship in Marriage
A friend has a Christian website where people can post prayers for friends, loved ones, life challenges, tragedies, and tests. Interestingly, there were many prayer posts from women regarding their husbands or boyfriends, BUT NOT A SINGLE PRAYER was posted from a husband. We feel this is a significant sign of lack of spiritual headship in the marriage and family. Men must become the spiritual leaders and teachers in the home, not settling for the cultural and historical ideal of the man’s job being completed by “breadwinning.” The spiritual blessings provided by God’s design for marriage and family requires our faithful obedience. This prayer post can point a way forward for men who may desire in faith to be obedient, but not understand the mandate husbands have received from the Father towards the wives we profess to love.
Agape Love
Paul praised the Thessalonians for their work of faith and labor of love ( 1 Thess 1:3). As those who profess to be hearers of the word, we must become doers of the word (James 1:22-25) in His Spirit for faith to be perfected or completed (James 2:22). Agape love is an act of the will that demonstrates through self-sacrificial action His desire for what is best in the life of another (1 John 3:16). This is the imperative command of the Father for all husbands (Eph 5:25; Eph 5:28-29). In Eph 5:25, “Paul chooses the verb agapao to insist that the love of a Christian man for his wife must be a response to and an expression of the love of God in Christ extended to the church” Expositors Bible Commentary (1 John 4:10-11).
Love in Action through Prayer
Our heavenly Father,
As a God of grace you have given us perfect provision for our every need. The riches of your grace, which will be exalted for all eternity, include the gift of your Son, His Word, and the life that we are called into. We are exceedingly grateful.
Father, today, I especially pray for peace, protection, health, and spiritual blessings upon the bride you have given me. She is your perfect grace provision for my life (Prov 19:14; 31:10). Father, I pray that you will teach me to love her with a soft hand, heart, and words. I pray that you will protect her from my old man. Help me to quickly discern which life is being lived through my heart so that I can love her with the love of Christ. Teach and empower me to love her as Christ commands … to love as He loved the church in a self-sacrificial way. Teach me to set my self- oriented interests aside so that she experiences daily His light, life, and love.
Teach me the importance of expressing kind, righteous and loving words that speak to her soul, and let her know the extent of my gratitude for sharing her life with me. Teach me to love her with words and acts that express my commitment to her safety, well-being, and our love.
Thank you for her persistence in staying with me through tough and troubling times. I pray that the presence and life of Jesus Christ will enter into our marriage, bringing us both into a closer walk with Him. Help me to be strong for her, and encourage her as a wife and woman in a world that values neither.
Father, I pray that you will teach me how to become a godly husband who loves his wife, so that there will be joy, and not shame, upon entering into the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In Christ’s Name I pray,
A Christian Husband who Loves His Wife and is Willing to Pray for Her Daily
