The Power of Prayer

One of the best books I have ever read was The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian.

This book was recommended to me by my mentor when my husband and I were having some marital problems. We had been married almost fifteen years and had hit rock bottom.

How do I know we hit rock bottom? We had a HUGE argument in front of our young son and he took it upon himself to stop us by reminding us that we were a family. 

Sigh.

I don't ever want to go through that dark time again. Ever.

Praying for Your Husband

So, when I started reading this book, my heart was full of resentment. I truly did NOT want to pray for my husband. I was angry at him and I knew he wasn't praying for me. 

But I also didn't want to divorce, so I sat on a picnic bench during my lunch hour and started reading. In the pages, Omartian seemed to be speaking to me. She wrote about how easy it is to pray for your children, but a husband is different. He can hurt your feelings, be inconsiderate, uncaring, or negligent. 

Amen, sister! I thought. And I put the book down and didn't go any further. 

Later, I heard her on the radio talking about her book. In the interview, she said, "Imagine a friend calling you to pray for her son. How many of you would say no? Now imagine God Himself asking you to pray for his child—your husband—and you refuse!"

Boy, when I heard her say that, my heart broke. 

At that time in our marriage, my husband probably had no one praying for him. Neither of his parents were saved and now his own wife was refusing to pray for him. Can you imagine walking through this life with no one praying for you? I saw my husband for the first time as a child of God alone in the world trying to do the best that he could. 

I cried and asked God to forgive me. Then, I picked up the book and started reading.

The POWER of Prayer

I prayed like I had never prayed before. I was specific in my prayers. 

Omartian goes through a list for wives to cover:

His Finances

His Work

His Sexuality

His Health

His Affection

His Temptations

His Fears

His Choices

His Mind

His Health

His Spiritual walk

I prayed every morning for my husband. I poured out all my concerns to the Lord. You see, we had been foolish with our money and had many financial problems. At fifteen years of marriage we had to sell our house, pay off debt, and live in an apartment. I never pictured myself in that position after fifteen years. 

I blamed my husband, of course. But as I began to pray, my heart began to heal. My heart began to go from stone to flesh again. 

Omartian uses scripture throughout and teaches a wife how to pray scripture over her husband. 

I learned that nothing brings a wife more comfort than praying God's word over her husband and her children.

Healed

And now, nine years later, my husband and I are happier and have more joy and peace than ever before. I truly believe it is because we both pray for each other regularly and the Lord honors our prayers. 

Now, I love looking back at those times in our marriage even though they were bad years. I enjoy looking back because I can see how God worked in our lives. He had to take some things away from us to get us to stop and really look at each other. Then, He began to give back to us tenfold.

Not only did I see my husband transform into the man I dreamed about, but I saw him become the father our son needs. My son is so blessed to have such a wonderful father. 

Most importantly, I saw the Lord change me into the woman, wife, and mother I am supposed to be.

It was a painful transformation, but well worth it.

I cannot tell you enough how much this book has helped this wife pray for her husband. I recommend it for any wife who longs for change in her man....and in herself!

Get ready! You will see change!

Blessings,

Ruth