Thanksgiving is a holiday Cindy and I (Steve) have always taken seriously as a time to pause in prayer and reflect on ALL we have to thank God for —especially in our marriage. Sure, we enjoy the three “F’s” of the holiday: Food, Fellowship and Football. But at the forefront of our thoughts is a heart of gratitude to our Lord.
Last week the Marriage Insight talked about the importance of telling your spouse “thank you.” We told you a few things that Cindy and I shared with each other that we were thankful for. We encouraged you to do the same. Many of you told us this was a positive experience for you.
Prayers for You
We want to take it to the next level and give you a few prayers of thanksgiving you can pray into your marriage. If you do this it can take your marriage to new levels of intimacy. It’s amazing how when we thank God (out loud) for our spouse and pray a blessing over them you will feel closer to them than ever before.
3 Prayers:
Here are three prayers. There’s one for a husband to pray over his wife. There’s one for the wife to pray over her husband. And then there’s one for both of you to pray together for your marriage. We encourage you to sit next to, or across from each other and hold hands as you pray. You can pray them word-for-word or use them as a template/idea starter for your own prayers. Feel free to elaborate and expand on them. They’re intended to inspire you to do this regularly. Please don’t feel uncomfortable praying words someone else wrote. If these prayers truly reflect what’s in your heart then God will bless them.
We found the following prayer, written by James, at the web site: Thoughtsprayersandsongs.com. You may consider using it to pray for your wife:
Prayer of Husband for Wife:
“God, Thank you so much for my wife, for the ways in which she challenges and supports me as I pursue you, for the way she attends to and cares for our children and for the way she has a heart for those who are vulnerable, excluded and marginalized. Thank you that she is such a good wife and mother. Thank you for her dedication to You. I am so grateful that you gave her to me as a partner and friend —someone I can trust with my whole heart.
With a grateful heart:
“Thank you that she calls me out on the ways where I am insensitive and shows me how to be more loving and caring with those around me. Thank you for her patience and her steady love. Bless her in the next year. May she lay hold of all the good things you have in store for the coming year. I pray Lord that she will grow in confidence of your care and goodness and give her a greater measure of your peace. I pray that she will continue to grow in grace, love, faith and that you would give her more of your peace, Amen.”
We found a version of the following prayer on Pinterest. In digging further, we found it is written by Rachel Wojo, and can be found at Rachelwojo.com. It is one you may use in praying for your wife:
Prayer of Wife for Husband:
“Dear Father, While you created human beings with the need for relationship, I never realized how wonderfully you would fulfill my need. Thank you for my husband. Thank you for his strengths and for his incredible talents. (I sometimes overlook and take them for granted… and for that, I am sorry.) I pray that I will always be thankful for him, and will try to show my thanks to him. May our marriage continue to press on in the worst of the worst, and in the best of the best. May I give thanks for my love to You… and to my husband. Amen.”
PRAY TOGETHER:
“O God, we both come with grateful hearts for each other and ask you help us to be a couple that ALWAYS Reveals and Reflects the Heart of Christ in our marriage. Jesus, we ask that you help us to persevere and act in ways that are mature; to strive for reconciliation when we are in dispute and to be of “one mind” living in peace so that you would receive the glory through our marriage. In Jesus name, we thank you. Amen.”
Thank You!!!
Cindy and I also want to give thanks to God for you. It has been our privilege to serve you these past 16 years through our weekly e-mails. You are in our hearts and prayers continually.
“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)
“May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!” (Psalm 20:4)
United, and with one heart we pray:
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:3-6)
Steve and Cindy Wright
Please Note:
We would be eternally grateful if you could help us reach even more couples when you do any shopping by using Amazon.com (no matter what it is). You can go through the Amazon window (or linked resources) we provide on our web site to do your shopping and they will give this ministry a portion of their profits. This way you still get the same discount in shopping, plus bless Marriage Missions financially at the same time, with no added expense on your part. We greatly appreciate your consideration on this.
Filed under: Marriage Insights
Thank you so much.