Praying for our Husbands - His Responsibilities

Thank you for joining me today for Marriage Monday. I'd love for you to grab a nice warm cup of coffee and sit in the Calm of God's Presence. 

During the month of January we have been focusing on Praying for our Husbands. You can catch up here, here and here. I hope the Lord has taught you as much as he has taught me. My eyes have been opened to the different areas my husband needs my prayers. God has used this series to strengthen our marriage in many ways. I pray your marriage has also been strengthened. 

Before we begin this weeks subject I have a special treat for you. Next week my husband Jeff will guest post. I have asked him to share a little bit about what it means to a husband to know his wife is praying for him. I can't wait to hear what he has to say. :)

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?' He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.' And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'" Genesis 3:8-11

The Sunday School class of which my husband and I are members has been going through a 6 week study by Kay Arthur, and David & BJ Lawson titled Building a Marriage That Really Works. The last few weeks we have been camped out in Genesis Chapter 3. I say camped out because our class can have lively in-depth discussions. It may take us 6 weeks to get through 1 week in the book. A week or so ago we studied the verses above. As we were talking I noticed something in this passage I have never noticed before.

To take you back a little bit, the serpent deceived Eve and convinced her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. After Eve ate the fruit she convinced Adam to also eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As Adam and Eve were walking through the garden they heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden. They became afraid and hid from God. This is where my eyes were opened. When God looked for them he called to the man, "Where are you?". When Adam answered God responded "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

God went first to Adam. God knew what happened. He knew the serpent deceived Eve. He knew Eve was the first to eat the fruit. And he knew Eve was the one that encouraged Adam to eat the fruit. But, he went to Adam first. He held Adam accountable for Adam and Eve's disobedience. When you read further on you see where the serpent, Eve & Adam were all disciplined for their actions. But what really struck me was that Adam was the first one God held responsible for their actions.

As I thought more about that I realized that my husband is very much like Adam. He is the Spiritual head of our house. Our actions reflect on him as a husband, father and spiritual leader. Not only does he have responsibilities at home but he also has responsibilities at church, work, to his friends and with his extended family. Often times there is stress involved. Sometimes its not just in one area of his life but in several or all aspects of his life. 

After looking at these verses from a different viewpoint God has shown me another area of my husbands life I can pray for him. How about you? Does your husband have areas of responsibilities you need to pray about? I would love to hear how you are praying for him. I would also love to pray for you if there is a certain area you need prayer.

Here are a few verses I have found useful to pray for my husband.

"Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands." Psalm 90:17

"As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 5:19

"My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10.

Don't forget to come back next week to read what Jeff has to say about the power of a praying wife.

In His Calm,

Mary