Teaching our Boys to Pray for Their Future Wife via The MOB Society
A few weeks into dating my husband, he let me in on the secret that he had been praying for me every day of the summer before we met. That blew me away. I mean, he didn’t know me–we had never met, but he knew I was out there and that God would lead us together at just the right time. So there, on the big white board in the little room he used as the youth pastor of a small church, Dave wrote the words “PRAY FOR HER.”
The summer before we met was a pretty huge time for me spiritually. God was getting my attention–pulling me back to him and away from a lot sin in my life. I believe that my future husband’s prayers were powerful that summer.
Shortly after he told me about the secret of the whiteboard prayer, Dave confessed that this wasn’t his original idea…nor were these the first prayers he had prayed for me. In fact, he had been praying for me since he was five years old! It was all thanks to his mom. Dave’s mom taught him from a young age that the girl he would marry was out there…somewhere…and that God had a plan. She taught him to think of me and to pray for me every day.
Hearing that news pretty much blew my mind. I felt so loved.
I believe that as Dave prayed for me, he began to prepare for me. He considered me in the decisions he made–from dating, to jobs, to ministry. He knew that he would share this life with another person. I became someone very real and very important to include in his life plans.
Fast forward eighteen years. Dave and I are now married with four boys of our own, and you better believe I am following in my mother-in-law’s footsteps.
I have begun teaching my own boys to pray for their wives. Unless God calls them to remain single, we can be sure that there is a girl out there that they will one day marry…and she needs prayer. Not only does she need prayer, but our boys need what they will gain from this awesome habit of praying for their future wives.
By praying for their future wives, our sons’ hearts are prepared for her role in their life.
My husband and I talk to our boys about the men that they are becoming, and how important it is to cultivate the character qualities that will make them excellent husbands and fathers such as learning to appreciate and understand women, looking forward to a partnership that will require dedication and hard work, but will be worth it all.
Some Topics We Teach Our Boys to Pray About
1. That their future wives would come to know the Lord at a young age and that God would guide and lead her every day.
2. That our boys themselves would stay close to the Lord and follow Him in all of their ways. This includes keeping themselves pure and honoring their future wives in all that they do.
3. That our boys would meet the right girl at just the right time and that the two of them would build a relationship with the Lord at the center.
It is never too soon to start talking, dreaming, and praying with your boys about their future wives. Keep it light when they are young, but making it a very open and comfortable topic will pay off in the years to come. And trust me when I say that their wives will one day thank you!
Yes, this is so important! Great post!
[…] I am sharing that fun little story over at the MOB (Mother of Boys) Society Blog. I also list three of the topics we teach our boys to pray about. I hope you’ll take a […]
I have always found this to be a strange concept – when we pray for something over which we have no control or responsibility. Can someone demonstrate where this is biblical concept? I can see praying for our son to CHOOSE the right kind of life partner, and I love points 2 and 3. But what i don’t see the point in praying for someone that is only a theory. What if they choose not to marry? I’m just raising questions that I had myself when I was encouraged to pray for a husband while still in middle school.
This is such an important message! We absolutely need to pray for the spouse of our children and teach them to do the same. God will lead them to the spouse He has for them and the child’s heart will be honed in the process. Beautiful words of wisdom that I shared on Twitter and am now following you on social media. It’s a blessing to connect with other like mind-bloggers!
I wholeheartedly agree with this message! I myself heard this important piece of godly wisdom from the wife of my previous Pastor. My daughter was a young girl then and I began to pray those specific prayers for her and the boy she would one day marry at God’s appointed time. They did meet at the wedding of mutual friends – sang a song together for the wedding, dated, and have been married now for 2 years this May 11th. They are expecting their first child and my first grandchild on March 13.
I have prayed these prayers for my son since I found out he was coming into this world 14 years ago. Although he is on the autism spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, I pray these prayers for him by faith knowing that God has a good plan for his life too that may or may not include marriage. I also pray for the girl that God may have in mind for my son.
Philippians 4:6-7 says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace
of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus”