The Power of a Praying Wife Devotional (34 page)

L
ORD
, I ask that You would help my husband and me to find two good, godly, faith-filled prayer partners and friends for each of us. I pray they would be people with whom we feel comfortable going to for prayer when we need to. Lead us to men and women who live by Your Word and believe in the power of prayer in Your name. I also pray You would bring one or more married couples into our lives with whom we can find unity in regard to our beliefs and faith. May they be people with whom we can establish deep and lasting friendships that are edifying and uplifting.

Where there are friends in either of our lives who are not good influences or who lead us away from Your will or Your ways, take them out of our lives in order to make room for those with whom You would have us to spend our time. I pray You will be the center of all our friendships, and that prayer will be the glue that cements these relationships together. Your Word says, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20). I pray neither of us will be destroyed because we failed to seek out people with godly wisdom with whom we can pray.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

64

The contentions of a wife
are a continual dripping.

P
ROVERBS
19:13

W
HEN A WIFE SEES
something wrong with what her husband does or says, she wants to help him fix it. This works well only if he can see it too and
wants
her to help him fix it. However, if he cannot see the problem, or doesn’t think what he is doing is that big of an issue, then he believes she is being unfairly critical. If his ego is such that he is resistant to doing anything his wife wants him to (certain men are that way, you know), then a wife has to be very careful that even polite suggestions don’t become perceived as nagging.

Nagging is so easy to do. You see the problem, you have the solution, and you frequently remind your husband of it. But if you don’t want to become a “continual dripping”—in other words, a constant irritation—you must not be relentless in contending for something, no matter how passionate you are about it. It is far better to speak your concerns to God
before
you speak to your husband about them. That way God can give you a more pleasant approach and a sense of timing, and at the same time prepare your husband’s heart to receive what you have to say.

If you have already voiced your concerns about a specific issue to your husband many times and it is bordering on nagging, then take those concerns to God, release them into His hands, and ask Him to speak to your husband about it. You will be amazed at how much more is accomplished by doing that and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you as to what, if anything, to say or not say. There can be no happiness without peace in your home and marriage. And your prayers are crucial to preserving that peace.

My Prayer to God

L
ORD
, I bring to You the concerns I have that I want my husband to hear. Show me what I should or should not say. Help me to not be rash with my words. If I need to say something, give me the words to speak. Fill my heart with Your love and kindness, and help me to choose my words carefully. Prepare his heart to receive what I have to say. I pray that whatever changes need to be made in him or in me would be accomplished by the power of Your Spirit working in us both. If I need to back off and let this go, show me that and take away this burden of concern from my mind.

If my attitude is not right before You or my husband, give me a new perspective and a change of heart. If I am supposed to be completely silent about this and pray only, help me to know that too. Take away any critical spirit I have and enable me to hold back my words to him and pray to You instead. I don’t want to become a nag or cause a continual dripping of irritation to rain down upon my husband. I want to bring peace into our relationship and our home. I invite You, the Spirit of peace, to reign in my heart and in our marriage.

In Jesus’ name I pray.

65

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands for us;
yes, establish the work of our hands.

P
SALM
90:17

E
VERY MAN NEEDS
God’s blessing upon his work. Whatever stage your husband is in with regard to his work—whether he is looking for a temporary job that will lead to a better one, or he is setting up his own business, or somewhere in between—he needs the favor of God upon him and what he does. He also must have a special quality that attracts people and causes them to trust him and feel comfortable around him. When the favor of the Lord is upon him, people will seek him out and be confident doing business with him. Having the hand of God establishing his work means that it will become consistent, stable, enduring, successful, and fruitful.

Your husband’s success in his work affects you greatly. If things are not going well, you can both not only suffer financially but relationally as well. A man who is out of work, or whose work situation is not going well, can be very difficult to be around. If your husband has reason to be concerned about his work, pray for the specific details of what he is experiencing. If everything is going smoothly, pray that it will continue to do so.

Ask God to open doors of opportunity for your husband so that he always has good work and is not continually struggling to find it. Pray that God will establish his work perfectly, and that he will always have the favor of God as his greatest advantage.

My Prayer to God