Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (Colossians 4:6)Focus today on how you represent your husband in your home, your church, and your community.
In this challenge to pray and encourage, ask yourself this: "If all my family and friends knew about my husband came from a filter of what I've said about him, what would they think of my husband?"
Do you need to change your filter?
Do you talk positively about your husband to others... or do you complain and criticize?
Your speech should reflect 1 Corinthians 13... love.
Your words should be kind, and should never "rejoice in iniquity" (verse 6). Refrain from listing your husband's faults to others. Satan likes to trick us in this area. Be wary of sharing barbed "prayer requests" that are actually filling others with all the faults of your mate. Remember, "charity [love] shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).
Present your husband before others today in a strong, positive manner. Slip in a "good word" for your spouse. Resist the urge to correct or belittle him in front of others. Some of what you say may come back to him, and you want your words to be sweet, building him up and never tearing him down.
Don't forget: you are always criticizing, or encouraging, before an audience. God hears your conversations when you are alone with your husband in your own home. May your speech be always seasoned with grace.
While you are considering how your speech can reflect the grace of the Lord in your husband's life, don't forget that your words can also encourage others. When you share what God is doing in your life through this 30 Day Challenge, others can be blessed too. Perhaps other wives will be moved to take up this challenge when they see the difference in your own marriage.
While praying for your husband today, ask that the words of his mouth and the feelings of his heart be acceptable in the Lord's sight. Pray that your husband will practice forgiveness in your relationship and with others. Pray that he will recognize any roots of bitterness, and yield any resentment and unforgiving attitudes to the Lord.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
(Psalm 19:14)
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
(Ephesians 4:32)
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.
(Hebrews 12:15)
Whether your husband already has a strong root in doing these things, or is an unsaved sinner running from God, prayers seeking these things with selfless humility will uplift and encourage him to become or continue to be a spiritual leader and guardian of the home as God has designed him to be!
Just a reminder about this 30 Days of Covering Our Husbands in Prayer:
Each day for 30 consecutive days, I will be posting a husband related topic, devotion, motivator, and/or encouragement here on my blog. Please feel free to access this prayer challenge any time you feel ready to start, or even to re-do the challenge to enforce the strength of the Lord in your marriage. You can click here for a printable calendar to view each day when going to prayer for your husband. Each day provides specific biblical prayer topics with bible verse references that seek God to touch the lives of our husbands.
In addition to specific prayer each day, there is a daily two-part challenge for you that will build up your husband through your own spoken (and unspoken) words:
Feel free to join me at any time in this prayer venture over your husband. You can always refer to my blog archives (the beginning post is May 24, 2012) if you're starting day one while my posts are further ahead in the challenge. If you have a blog, you're welcome to take the "30 Days of Covering Our Husbands in Prayer" graphic above and link it back to this topic's starting post (here), to encourage others to meet the Lord in prayer over their husbands too. If you decide to make this a goal for the next month in your life, whether you have a blog of your own or not, please comment or send me a message, I would be honored to pray for you by name as you seek God through the journey... regardless of when you begin it!
See you tomorrow for Day Twenty-Three!
May your marriage be blessed!
Prayer studies are adapted from ©Revive Our Hearts and ©Diving Deeper Ministries.
Used with permission.
