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By Michelle Barringer

Do you have an eager and ardent interest in praying for your husband? You can learn to pray with zeal for your husband. 

Praying with Zeal for Your Husband

Do you intentionally pursue Jesus on behalf of your man? The Bible says we are to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Yet, the truth is sometimes we don’t even pray.

The Bible also says, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” Romans 12:11 (ESV). Since we are to be zealous in serving the Lord, have you considered one way to serve is to pray zealously for your husband?

How do we pray with zeal? I’ve learned it takes consistent intentionality and God’s word. To become zealous in prayer for our spouse, we need to choose to pray God’s word over him daily.

We all have blind spots in our lives. We don’t know what we don’t know. It’s likely your husband is not praying for himself the way you could pray for him.

In the same way, we may not know what to pray for our husbands either. If you find yourself either not praying for him or just praying the same thing repeatedly, it’s time to shake things up and get zealous with your prayers.

Three Prayers That Aren’t Zealous

Like many Christian wives, I prayed the usual prayers for my husband, “Bless him. Keep him safe. Change him.”

Truth is, the most consistent prayer for my husband was “Change him.” And I’m sure there has been at least one time in your life you have prayed these three prayers too. Not that they are bad. They’re just not zealous.

The Power of a Praying Wife

When my marriage entered the misery stage, I grew weary. Living in misery felt like death. A miserable marriage drains the life out of both partners. It’s exhausting and scary. And the misery appeared unending.

Then one day in a Bible study, the woman who became my spiritual mentor prayed for me and my family with power and zeal. I longed to pray with zeal like she prayed.

Jesus used my miserable marriage to push me fervently forward in my prayers. I asked Jesus to show me how to pray with zeal for my husband. That’s when the Lord brought Stormie Omartian’s prayer books into my life.

Using Omartian’s book, The Power of a Praying Wife, I prayed every prayer. Her book changed my prayer life. I never thought to pray for some of the things she encouraged wives to pray for their husbands. The first was to pray for his wife.

I soon learned she was right. Instead of asking God to change my husband, I began to pray that Jesus would change me. Part of this change included praying with zeal for my husband using the prayers in Omartian’s book.

My Favorite Zealous Prayers for My Husband

We wives need to commit to praying with zeal for our husbands as long as we are alive. Here are a few of my favorite prayer topics I zealously pray for my husband:

• His mind (Mark 12:30)
• His emotions (Isaiah 61:3)
• His faith (Luke 17:5)
• His obedience (Jeremiah 7:23)
• His future (Jeremiah 29:11)

I discovered thirty prayers to pray for my husband in Omartian’s book. For twenty years, I’ve prayed these prayers numerous times. 

And, I continue to zealously pray for my husband’s wife (that’s me!). After all, she directly impacts him in ways no one else can. She needs the power of Jesus living in and through her to be able to pray with zeal for her husband. So do you.

Jesus answers prayer. James 5:16 NIV says,  “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” So, don’t give up. Get zealous with your prayers for your husband. Pray God’s word for your husband. Wait for Jesus to answer because his word never returns empty.

Wife Step: Pick one topic listed above and zealously pray the Scripture listed for your husband. If possible, buy Omartian’s book, The Power of a Praying Wife, and pray every prayer.

Grab our free marriage resources here!