By Amber | Leave A Comment
I love my husband, regularly, from head to toe.
And I’m not talking about what you think I’m talking about.
I’m talking about praying for him. (Non-married readers don’t bail on me now!)
Years ago, God opened my eyes to these truths:
~ It’s easy to focus on somebody’s faults.
~ Love forgives those faults.
~ Godly love cares more about a person’s spiritual well-being than about offenses that have been made.
~ I need to be praying for my husband regularly.
Being human, I can get caught up in offenses. I’ll let my feelings get in the way. Or I’ll forget to pray for my husband completely.
I visualize my husband and I pray for him – HEAD to TOE.
It’ll go something like this:
Heavenly Father, I lift James up to you now. I pray that you would guard his mind today. Protect him from evil thoughts. Let him dwell on your truth and your goodness.
Father, protect his eyes from sin. Let James see YOU everywhere he goes today.
God, I pray for his ears – that they would not be tickled by false truths. Whisper in His ear all day long, that he would not be able to deny your presence.
You get the idea.
I’ll pray for his heart, arms, back, hands and all the way down to his feet – with even more detail than what I used above.
Try it!
Pray for your spouse – or any other person in your life- in this way and you’ll see how easy it is to engage in fervent, lengthy, intimate prayer for that person. Does my husband do all those things? No! But I pray them for him anyway!
Once you begin to earnestly pray for someone – it is easy to see them through God’s eyes and hard to harbor negative thoughts toward them. My desires are no longer for my needs but for his.
Loving someone, anyone, above yourself is what Christ meant when he said, “love one another as I have loved you.” Desiring to love others as Jesus has loved us, is what makes your heart:
A Heart for His Glory.
This is part of an on-going devotional series called, “A Heart For His Glory.” Follow along as we strive to be women after God’s own Heart.
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Amber balances her quest for biblical womanhood, her “old-fashioned” ideals and high-tech housewifery at her new blog A Classic Housewife in a Modern World. Stop by for a visit to meet Amber, her husband of ten years, James, and their three children: Princess, Drama Queen and Little Prince.
Image by Amber Oliver
ABOUT Amber
Amber balances her quest for biblical womanhood, her "old-fashioned" ideals and high-tech housewifer{read more}
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Such an inspiring post!
Today’s life can be so rushed and busy but there are so many ‘down times’ (morning shower, daily commute, running errands) that one can’t avoid and doing something like this makes that time so productive! Also spending that time in prayer can completely turn around your day because it’s a reminder of who’s really in charge of it all. Thank you so much for this suggestion!
Thank you for this article. I have never thought to do this, but I will now—what an intimate way to pray and love our spouses. Here’s to loving him head to toe!
What a great reminder (and on a writerly note – great first sentence)!
Thanks, V! Your sentence: “spending that time in prayer can completely turn around your day because it’s a reminder of who’s really in charge of it all” – Yes! Exactly!
Rebekah – I love the way you said that, like a chant, or a motto. Here’s to loving him head to toe!!
Amber – LOL. Thanks. To tell the truth, I half-expected my editor to tell me it was TOO suggestive, even though I clarified on the second line. (Thanks, Robin, for not shutting me down! *MWAH!*)
What a fantastic idea…thanks for showing me that there are SO MANY more things that I can pray for when I pray for my husband. I’m gonna give this a try!
Much Love,
Melissa in Mel’s World
Amber, I love this! I always pray for my husband, and thank God for having him in my life, but never thought of how much more effective my prayers could be.
Thank you for sharing this.
Eve