Encouragement ~ Praying for Your Future Spouse

“Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart.  And this I pray, that your love may about yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”  - Philippians 1:2-7a,9-11

Even though I very much look forward to when the Lord brings the special man He has created me to be a helpmeet to into my life, I sometimes struggle with discouragement as to when and how the Lord will bring him.  Sometimes it's hard for me to pray for him, partially because I don't know who he is or what he needs.  This, I know, sadly stems from a lack of faith.  The Lord is so good and gracious though.  I know that I should pray for my future husband.  I should do him good all the days of my life.  So even though I don't know him yet, I can still be helping him by being a prayer warrior for him.  The Lord has given me many reminders lately about faith and patience, and about being the woman He wants me to be so that I can truly best serve Him with my life.  That will help me someday to be a better wife.  (Marriage is not a goal in life, but rather a means by which the Lord chooses for His children to serve and glorify Himself.)

A few days ago I asked some family friends if they would be willing to share Scripture passages or other spiritual thoughts that are encouragements to be faithful in praying for one's future spouse.  One friend shared part of the above passage, which I was very blessed by.  It was very much an encouragement to me as to how I can pray for my future husband.  I decided to start compiling Scripture passages that I can turn into prayers for my future husband.  This was the first to go in that document.  Also, I put a small part of this passage in a picture, kind of as a substitute of that special man, as a reminder to be faithful in praying, and in patiently waiting and keeping my heart.

 I know this may seem somewhat silly to think, or worry about, or even share.  But I wanted to share it, because I know I'm not the only young person in the world dealing with these things.  I am hopeful that it will be a blessing and encouragement to others of you.  May the Lord help us all to press on to know and love Him more, and to serve Him with our whole hearts.  And may He also help us to be faithful in praying for our future spouses, as they need His grace and strength right now, and it will help us all to serve Him better in the future.

~Brittany

Praying for Your Husband - Present or Future :-)

I was encouraged by this article as I read it this evening.  Even though I'm not married yet, I do seek to be faithful to pray for my future husband.  That is something Mom has always really encouraged we girls to do.  It's part of doing him good all the days of our lives as Proverbs 31 women.  Sometimes it's a hard thing to do when you can't see the results of your prayers, but we know that the Lord does hear and use our prayers, and tells us to pray, so we must just be faithful.  It is amazing looking around at our world today.  Having a dad and brother, I know there are so many terrible things surrounding our men as they go out into the world.  They so need our prayers!  I thought this article presented some excellent ways to pray for our men - whether it's our dad, brother, husband, or future husband!  I hope some of you are encouraged by it as well.
~Brittany

 

Almost from the beginning of our marriage I prayed that my husband would become interested in being healthy. I wanted him around a long time. Well, I prayed for almost 9 years before he decided to try running. He fell in love with it, lost a lot of weight, strengthened his heart and was all around a much healthier and happier man.  Prayer works!

I am thankful for the number of good blogs, books, and conferences that are encouraging wives to serve their husbands according the Scripture with their unique gifts and callings and to pray for them regularly.  But this is not always easy work. In fact, some of the things we must pray for our husbands are hard in and of themselves.

Your husband doesn’t only need you to pray that he has a good day, is successful, and walks with Jesus. These are not bad requests, but are rather generic prayers that have too little specific direction behind them. What our husbands need from us are specific prayers, hard prayers, for their growth in godliness. I love my husband and I want what is best for him. And the best thing for him is to be a man who who lives for the glory of God.

Here are five hard prayers I pray for my husband, and would encourage you to pray for yours.

1. Conviction of Sin

I pray that the Holy Spirit would never allow my husband to become numb to the sin in his life, but that he would convict him of his sin and remind him of his need for ongoing repentance and spiritual reformation. A convicted man will never be a proud man. A convicted man who finds God’s grace in Jesus will remain a thankful man. Pray that God continues to press in on the heart of your husband so that he remains sensitive to sin and the Spirit and continues in the way of godliness.

2. Humility of Heart

A proud man thinks too highly of himself, too little of everyone else, and has lost sight of God. A proud husband will not be open to necessary rebuke or correction, and will put himself first before others. But a humble man is teachable who, regardless of his temperament, will submit himself to the word of God. I pray that my husband will only continue to grow in humility as he follows Jesus, and that this would be one of the dominant marks of Christ in him.

3. Patience in Life

My husband wouldn’t mind me telling you that he is not naturally a patient man. But the lack of patience in a man is the marring of the image of God in him. God is patient with us in all our weakness and obstinacy, and we should all live lives that reflect this attribute of our Maker and Redeemer. And this is important because an impatient man is quick to complain, quick to become angry, and is therefore more likely to blame others, and even God, for what disturbs them. While my husband doesn’t get to that place, one of his greatest needs is to learn patience in life. Not just because God commands it, but because the kids (and I) need him to be patient. A patient husband is a man who knows he has received much more than he deserves, has been the recipient of God’s patience throughout his life, and who finds great joy in suffering well both the big things and the little things in life.

4. Love for God

I want my husband to love God more than he loves me or our children. Why? Because if he loved us more than God we would serve as his idols, and would eventually let him down. We are not good gods. But a husband who loves God above all other people in his life will treasure God and his good gifts. A man like that knows that outside of Jesus Christ his greatest earthly treasures are found in his home, in the life of his youth and the children given to him by the Lord. I pray that my husband would love me less than he loves the Lord, and that his love for God would be intense and endless. I know if he loves God first, he will love me better than I can imagine.

5. Discipline from God

Do you ever feel like your husband is not walking on the right path? And I don’t mean you have to keep reminding him to pick his clothes up off the bathroom floor (Annoying, but not a crisis.). But there will be times when husbands, just like their wives, begin to drift in their affection, focus, and carefulness in their Christian walk. There will be times when we need God to intervene and discipline our husbands to get their attention, show them the danger of their sin, and rescue from the potential danger ahead of them.

When our husbands are doing well we should praise God but we should also pray that God would do whatever is necessary in order to keep the heart of our men focused on himself.

There is so much more than can be said of how we should be praying for our husbands, but let’s begin by committing ourselves to pray hard prayers for them. I hope my husband prays hard prayers for me as well.

Jen Thorn 

- See more at: http://timewarpwife.com/?p=2583#sthash.Sxk6jltU.dpuf

A future wife's meditions

Young Men:

They are:

Strong-Pro_20:29  The glory of young men is their strength:

Sober minded-Tit_2:6  Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. 

Overcoming evil- I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.

Strong,Word abides in them, overcoming evil-I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 

They are to:

Cleanse their way by heading the Word- Psa_119:9  BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 

Seek wisdom and instruction because it will give him knowledge and discretion- Pro_1:4  To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

Put away evil and the things of childhood and youth that are vanity and bring destruction- (Ecc 11:9-10) Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. 

Passages with lists of what godly men should be:

If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. 

(Tit 1:6-9)

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

(1Ti 3:1-13)

Pray for my future husband to be:

-Strong

-sober-minded

-overcoming evil and the evil one

-abiding in the Word and the Word abiding in him

 -cleansing evil from his life 

-avoiding evil by seeking the Word and obeying it 

-giving heed to instruction and seeking wisdom

-seeking wisdom to have knowledge and discretion

-putting away the foolish things of  childhood and youth that bring destruction

-blameless

-preparing to be a good and faithful husband to me

-preparing to be faithful in raising faithful and godly children

-not self-willed, but submissive and honoring to authority

-teachable

-not soon angry, but slow speak and slow to anger and patient

-self-controlled

-peaceable

-wise and controlled in his speech

-a lover of hospitality

-loving godly company and loving the brethren

-just

-holy

-temperate

-holding fast to the Word and sound in it

-vigilant

-upright in conduct, character and behavior, having a good reputation

-content, not covetous

-humble

-truthful and honest

-faithful in all things

-boldness in Christ and His ways

-able to instruct, lead and guide his family in the ways of righteousness and godliness

-kept as the apple of the Lord's eye and covered under His wings

-upheld in the arms of the Lord as God fulfills His purposes concerning him