Tag: A Wife's Greatest Influence

‘But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!’ Galatians 5:22-23(NLT)

To pray for your husband on your own, without even letting him know what it is about – to ask God to shape his heart, character and to keep him from temptation – this is a most powerful type of praying. Instead of nagging, ask God to do the very thing that He wants—to transform your husband more and more to be like Jesus in his character and conduct. Because this is exactly the will of God for your husband; when you pray like this, you know you are right in heaven’s bulls-eye. 

Read Galatians 5:22-23 and ask God to develop the each of the fruits of the Spirit in your husband’s personal life: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (nkjv).

Find the one character quality you know your husband wishes was true of him, and make that your primary prayer focus. Do you see how dramatically different this way of thinking and praying really is? Instead of praying for the one quality you wish your husband had, turn your focus to your husband; he’s the one you are called to help. And he undoubtedly wants help in an area that probably isn’t your number one! Put his wishes first and God will take notice of your unselfish request, and take care of you as well.

One of the most freeing things that can happen in your life as a wife can occur when you learn to release your husband into the hands of Jesus and then ask Him directly to take care of him and change him. Let go of the internal push to “make” your husband better and instead appeal to the only One who can transform anyone. Such amazing peace, power and influence you will have, and do have, as a wife. Use it. You will be blessed as you do. 

from A Wife’s Greatest Influence

‘And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.’ 1 John 5:14-15(NLT)

Maybe you sense your husband struggles with pornography. Maybe the new young secretary seems to have some extra affection for your husband. Maybe he gets so discouraged that he has been stopping at the grocery store on the way home to pick up something to drown his distress in too many drinks, or too much food.

Maybe he’s starting to lose his hair and his previously perfectly toned body now sags and he’s feeling like a has-been and overdoses every night on football, baseball, or basketball TV marathons. Maybe he’s facing real problems with one of your children and can’t seem to find the answer. 

All these problems are prevalent in our society today, aren’t they? 

No matter who your husband is, he faces many of these temptations, like every other man. Appeal to God to protect your husband from the temptations he’s most vulnerable to and ask God to fill him with extra comfort. 

Focus not on attacking him but on protecting him. Comfort him so that his inner strength will increase and he will have the courage to say no when tempted. 

Can you think of three challenging problems that you know your husband is currently struggling with? Pray about these things. You don’t have to tell him, “I want to pray for you about this.” Just be one with your husband and care enough to find out either in conversation or through your discernment what challenges he is dealing with. 

from A Wife’s Greatest Influence

‘So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’ Genesis 1:27(NLT)

Whenever a wife awakens to the will of God as revealed in His Word regarding her role as the helper to her husband, she begins asking very different questions than before. Instead of “Why isn’t he…,” she now muses, “How can I maximize my positive impact on my husband so that God will be pleased by my assistance?” 

Keep in mind that the Bible is clear that the primary difference between the husband and wife is found in their distinctive roles. Man and woman, husband and wife—God created both equally in His own image as seen in Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (nkjv). 

Second, God gave the identical responsibilities to the man as husband and woman as wife in Genesis 1:28: “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (nkjv). 

What is critical to remember, then, is husband and wife are equally made in the image and likeness of God and were equally delegated the dominion over the earth. The distinctive roles are God’s sovereign decision—the wife is to help the husband in fulfilling God’s dreams for himself and also God’s dreams for her. When pursued jointly whether through a mutual encouragement, prayer or support – goals are achieved more efficiently. 

Never underestimate the power of prayer in achieving your goals as a couple. Make an effort to spend personal time with the Lord praying for your spouse. But also seek to set aside time as a couple to pray for each other’s goals, discuss steps in obtaining them, and look to the Lord’s direction. As you begin to work together as a team, you will discover a powerful kinship develop that goes deeper than love. It is rooted in joint-ownership of each other’s most treasured hopes and desires. 

from A Wife’s Greatest Influence

‘Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. ‘ 1 Timothy 6:12(NLT)

‘But you, O Lord , are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.’ Psalms 3:3(NLT)

‘For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. ‘ 1 John 5:4(NLT)

‘I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”’ John 16:33(NLT)

As a wife, you have been uniquely positioned to influence not only your marriage, your family, your home but also the legacies your family members leave behind. It is easy to get distracted from this overarching purpose, especially when the issues of daily life present themselves. After all, life comes packaged with struggles, failures, sins, betrayals, hurts, wounds, disappointments, and crushing defeats. 

Yet your marriage provides the opportunity to discover the grace of endurance but also to model that grace to all of those around you, leading your home into a season of joy. 

If you think you’ll be able to avoid experiencing difficulties in your marriage, you are naive and your life will be filled with disappointment, discouragement, and despair. Why? Because your expectations are not realistic in this fallen world. All of us struggle with our selfish sin-nature that must be brought into submission to the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and our spouse. 

Our response to the challenges life brings is always more important than the actual event. As Jesus and others in the Bible said so many times , the point of life is to “overcome” that which is difficult and painful. 

Each of those difficult moments or seasons is simply an obstacle that God permitted in your life so you can learn the deeper secrets of how to overcome and enjoy surpassing victories. They are actually gifts that feel like disasters but are heaven’s hidden stepping-stones to becoming more like Christ, who overcame everything thrown against Him. Indeed, said He, “I have [even] overcome the world” (John 16:33 nkjv). 

When you model the grace of overcoming, you demonstrate that hope to all those around you. You leave a lasting imprint on the lives within your circle of impact. As a wife, you are empowered to lift the hearts and minds of all those with whom you come into contact. And the starting point is always prayer. 

from A Wife’s Greatest Influence