A common struggle for us gals who truly want to see our guys flourishing in Christ is to know the line between gracious encouragement and obsessive nagging. These tips are for those wives of hubbys who already love the Lord but who are wanting to encourage him towards a deeper prayer life.
1. Pray for him.
Pray that his prayer life would flourish, that he would find his own way to have meaningful conversation with the Lord. This is the perfect thing to write down in the “My Loves” section of your prayer journal.
2. Recognize that your husband’s prayer style may not be the same as yours.
Don’t be tempted to look down on him if he doesn’t find the same joy in organization as you do! Val Marie Paper is not the end-all be-all for prayer. Spoiler alert… Jesus actually didn’t own a prayer journal at all. Shocking, I know. 😉 We do have men who love our structured format, but it really depends on their personality. If your guy is more type-A, our Men’s Prayer Journal might totally be his thing. If he needs a little more freedom, he might enjoy something more like our Prayer Memoirs. BUT your guy might not be journaler at all, and in that case, let him be who God made him to be (and refer back to #1).
3. Encourage prayer by praying together.
Pick a certain time of day that fits naturally into your schedules. This won’t be your main prayer time with your journal (that will be on your own), but simply an opportunity to come before the Lord together. Keep this fairly short so it’s not overwhelming and neither of you will begin to dread it–and be okay if it just doesn’t happen some days. You might both pray a short prayer or take turns from night to night on who prays.
4. Watch these videos!
Phylicia Masonheimer recently recorded an awesome 2-part video series on IG Live about leading your husband closer to God. Click here to watch PART 1 and PART 2. Even though she’s specifically talking about reading the Bible, this still applies so much to prayer!
5. Go through our prayer course together.
This is great for all personality types because it’s more about encouraging growth in prayer in general and not just praying in a specific format like the prayer journals. For an extra fun time, grab some friends and make it a weekly group date night activity!
6. Strengthen your own prayer life.
Don’t lose focus on your own relationship with the Lord because you think it’s your job to fix your hubby. Click here to read why it’s not. We’re able to approach this issue (and any others) much better when our heart’s aligned with His. (James 1:5)
God created us with a huge capacity for influence. Your words and actions can have a powerful effect on your family and because you’re reading this blog post, you obviously desire to use that influence for good! Praying that you would be encouraged and have wisdom in how to move forward with these tips and the wisdom God gives as you seek Him.
What experience or advice do you have to offer in encouraging your husband? Or, what prayers do you most often pray over him?
Post written by Val Marie Paper’s Social Manager, Kara Bryant.
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