I know it seems oh-so-far away, but someday that little boy will walk down the aisle with a new bride on his arm.

Do you pray for her?

Growing up, I remember hearing my mom pray for my future husband and thinking that was such a wise thing to do. Turns out, Mom was right.

I have four sons, and let’s just say, I’ve been excited for some time to start adding some girls to the family if God leads them to marry. So far, we’ve added one and she’s a real keeper. I can’t imagine a better match for my firstborn than my daughter-in-law, Kristen.

And now there’s another wedding on the horizon—and what a blessing it is! My son who faced a speeding car head on in January and has since battled a wheelchair, a walker, and graduated to a brace and a cane is now back to teaching his high school math classes. It has not been an easy road, but the Lord and a special young lady have been by his side through all the ups and downs. (I wrote more about this experience in He is There; He is Good and my son posted about God’s faithfulness five months after the accident.

It’s been clear to us that Tiffany has been part of God’s provision for Andrew, as is he for her. And their desire to serve the Lord together warms this mama’s heart.

I still have two boys’ spouses to pray for, and I’m sure you have a list, too.

So how do we go about it?

I’d love for the Lord to protect her from any harm or ill; I’d like for Him to keep her from unhappiness and hard times.

But most importantly, I pray:

  • That the Lord will draw her to Him.
  • That she will desire God above all that beckons to her.
  • That she will find her self-worth in Him, not in what the world says.

It may be that she doesn’t know the Lord yet, but I can sure pray that nothing will fulfill her heart until she turns to Him.

I pray, too, that the Lord will give her the life experiences He wants her to have — things that will prepare her for their life and ministry together.

I can look at my four-year-old OR my eighteen-year-old son and orchestrate all of this in my head, hoping for the scenario of my dreams. In fact, that’s what I’m inclined to do.

But God’s word tells me to stop, to rest, to trust in Him and His timetable.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” — Isaiah 55:8-11

So, the best prayer for my sons and their future wives?

Achieve Your purpose, Lord, for my son and the wife You have for him. Do it Your way, Father, in Your time.

It’s the hardest thing ever for a mom, but we must lift them up—with an open hand.

(This article continues to be a reader favorite and was originally published in November 2012.)