Jason grabbed a cup of coffee on the way out the door. It was summer and that meant working like crazy before the college season hit. Jason started the engine and then realized he hadn’t spent any time praying or reading God’s Word.
He sat in the car for a few minutes, opened up his daily devotional app on his cell phone and read the verse of the day. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
Jason closed his eyes and asked God to give him the strength to guard his mind and live a pure life.
He put the car in drive and headed down the street to work. After a few minutes of driving Jason noticed a new billboard on the street with a provocatively dressed girl posted on it for advertisement. He was annoyed at the new sign and quickly averted his eyes remembering his verse from that morning.
The work day was filled with long hours of landscaping alongside his coworkers whose jokes were anything but pure. He kept his mind focused on his morning verse and tried to be a witness for Christ to the guys around him.
When he got home from work he was totally exhausted and ready for some relaxation.
A bunch of friends from his church college group had been raving about a movie, so he grabbed his remote, propped up his feet, and started the show. After multiple curse words, crude joking and a barely clothed girl, he decided to shut the movie off.
Sleep sounded pretty good at this point.
He hopped into his bed completely oblivious to the fact that nearly 3,000 miles away, a girl that he had never met was currently praying for him, the man she would one day marry.
You can be that girl.
That story makes me sigh every time I read the last line. How sweet it is to know that any and every girl who is praying for her future husband, has her very own story like the one above. You can be the girl in that story who is praying for the man you will one day marry.
Have you ever thought about the fact that your future husband is alive and breathing today?
Although you have no idea who your future husband is going to be, he is a living, breathing man somewhere in the world. He could be living on a ranch in Texas, or sitting in Starbucks drinking a mocha, or in class listening to his professor. What a crazy thought!
Disclaimer: God does call a small number of women to remain single. That is not His plan for the majority though. Most girls do end up getting married and I am writing to them.
Your future husband needs your prayers.
In that story we got a glimpse of a few of the temptations and challenges that Jason had to face. Those were really pretty mild challenges compared to what the average guy has to deal with on a daily basis. The point of the story was to make you aware of the fact that your future husband will be facing his own challenges.
Think about it, Satan would like nothing better than to see your future husband fall and fall hard. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). Sadly the world around us isn’t helping out much either. If a guy (or girl) is going to succeed, they are going to need a power source greater than themselves.
Christian guys have that power source.
Your future husband has full access to God’s source of power which is stronger than Satan’s. Nonetheless, your future husband is in a battle and he needs your prayers. He is fighting right and wrong, good and evil every single day. Temptations, challenges and hard decisions are things he needs regular prayer for.
You have access to your future husband’s greatest power source.
You can pray and cry out to God on his behalf. You may not know your future husband, which means you can’t pray by name, but God knows. You can start being a blessing and a help to your future husband even now. You can start building that prayer warrior mindset for him today!
My story.
I started thinking about this topic when I was thirteen years old. I read a book that challenged me to start praying for my future husband. What a cool idea. I opened up my journal and wrote down my five biggest prayers and heart cries for the man I will one day marry. Let me share them with you.
My list of prayers for my future husband:
1. That he would not have a love for the world.
2. That he would think of others above himself.
3. That he would guard his mind.
4. That he would be committed to spiritual growth.
5. That he would have a 1st Corinthians 13 love.
I wrote these prayers down years ago and have been praying them ever since. As you might have noticed the prayers aren’t about the physical. “God, I pray he would have massive muscles.” “God, I pray he would sing like Michael Bublé.” No. My prayers are focused on the heart and on his spiritual life.
I desire a man who loves God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. That is what will make a lasting marriage. Muscles are great, but they can only do so much.
Will you pray for your future husband?
I want to challenge you to start praying for your future husband. Make up a list of a few things that you can start praying for. On this list try to focus on the spiritual. Feel free to borrow mine if you want.
After you finish making up your list I have one more challenge for you.
I want you to take the list and reflect it back on your own life. If you desire certain character qualities in your future husband, it only makes sense that you would have them as well.
For example, if I want my future husband to “not have a love for the world,” then I need to make sure that I don’t have a love for the world either. If I want him to “guard his mind,” I need to make sure I’m guarding my mind as well. You get the idea…
Your day is coming.
One day you will walk down the aisle to spend the rest of your days with your husband. Don’t wait until you married to become his prayer warrior. Start now. You truly can be a blessing to him before you even know his name.
Making it personal…
- Do you currently pray for you future husband? If so, what do you pray for?
- Did you reflect your list back on your own life? What areas do you need to work on?
P.S. I recorded a video on this exact topic a few years ago. You can check it out here.
Photo credit: www.flickr.com | seanmcgrath
