How to Intentionally Pray for Your Husband

If I can confess, I’ve never been great at intentionally praying or fasting for one thing for an extended period of time. When my girls were little, I decided I would fast for thirty days from cheese. On day three, I found myself eating macaroni straight out of the pot. Before I gave any to my kids!

That day standing over the stove was one of my lower points in life. I only tell that story because I know many of us struggle with prayer. And fasting? It seems so mythical, we don’t even go there.

After I ate the macaroni from the pot, I realized I needed a plan.  If I was really going to go an entire 30 days of prayer and fasting, I needed some intention behind my prayers. I needed something to pray for.

My husband was in a very busy season at work during that time. He was gone a lot, which made life more difficult for me since I was home all day with our young daughters. When he came home in the evenings, he was truly exhausted. The business was only for a season, but it was hard and exhausting while we were in it.

The next day, I decided to pray for Tim for the next thirty days. I prayed for his endurance, his vision, clarity on making hard decisions on a project he was working on, and more. He needed those prayers during those 30 days. But one thing surprised me. I needed them too.

It changed my heart praying for him everyday. Any seeds of bitterness or discontentment that were creeping in slowly dwindled. Gratitude and humility became overwhelming daily emotions. God began showing me the big picture of His plan for our family. He not only grew my heart more for my husband, but also for Him. My heart changed forever during those thirty days.   

Once a year I take four weeks and fast and pray for my husband. I’ve fasted from things ranging from cheese (a huge sacrifice), social media, and coffee. My husband loves it when I do this.

Our husbands often bear the weight of our family in a way we cannot understand.

When we sacrificially pray for our husbands, it honors and encourages them. They need to know we trust their leadership and direction. They also need to know we are their greatest supporter. They need to know we will follow them wherever God leads them. That partnership and trust often comes through prayer.

Wife Step: Be intentional to pray for your husband everyday for thirty days.

Kristin lives in Huntsville, Al (or Rocket City as the Huntsvillian’s call it) with her husband Tim and two daughters. Kristin and her husband helped start Epic Church in San Francisco, Ca., and are now the lead planters of Essential Church in Huntsville, Al.  

While living and working in San Francisco, Kristin and her husband felt God calling them to Huntsville to start a church for people in the South who no longer believed church was for them.  She’s been married to her best friend and biggest fan, Tim, for ten years. Together they have three beautiful girls.

Before motherhood, Kristin was a Mary Kay director and an aspiring business woman. After years of hard work launching and maintaining a successful career, it all fell apart upon moving across the country. For years after losing her career, Kristin struggled with understanding her value and self-worth. She sought value in other titles, such as being a pastor’s wife, and then eventually a mom.

Kristin now understands our value doesn’t come from the titles or careers we have. Kristin is a stay-at-home mom who seeks to give her children an ordinary, happy childhood. She seeks to find her value in Jesus each day and teaches her kids to do the same by teaching them scripture and letting them see how God fills our shortcomings. She has found her family’s gifts come to the surface when there is space for simplicity. She loves running, reading, writing, being outdoors, and hiking with her family.