Sunday, June 27, 2010

Completing Him Challenge Week 4

Well, this week's challenge is to ask your husband how you can pray for him each day for the whole week!

This will be challenging for me because I rarely bring up what I am thinking or praying about with my husband...

Providing that what he requests is not of a personal nature and at the end of the week with his permission, I will post a list of topics prayed for and look back at how the week went.
the-power-of-a-praying-wife


On the topic of praying for your husband, I thought I would take this opportunity to review the book that has had the most impact on my prayer life to date - fittingly titled "The Power of a Praying Wife" By Stormie Omartin.

I have read this book twice through now, after tripping across it in the Christian bookstore last year. At the time, I was full of criticism for my new husband, and was constantly trying to nag him and change him into what I thought he should 'be' as a husband (to no avail and my utter frustration).

On the very first page I was challenged by Stormie to look at the way I pray...

I won't spoil it for you, but just one tiny change in the way I think about prayer has forever changed the way I pray about and for my husband and for everyone around me too...

The book consists of short chapters (3-4 pages) which each focus on a different area of your husband's life. At the end of each chapter there is a sample prayer showing the way that Stormie encourages us to pray for others... by praying for ourselves (intriguing? You gotta read it!). There are just over 30 chapters - thats just one month of praying for your husband each day.  So simple, and yet the effect was absolutely profound...

A year on from my first read through of this book and I am still seeing God's answers to each prayer as I grow even more in love with my husband each day. Our conversation, our "fight style", our cooperation and service has changed completely, and while we still have many things that we need to work on, both individually and in our marriage, we are in a much better place, and growing every day thanks to God's grace. Through this book I have been able to watch that grace unfold in specific ways for both of us.  The first time round I was too scared (!) to tell Mr. Lord that I was praying for him, but on my second read through he would always give me a smile when he saw me with the book!

Stormie uses honest, personal examples and an easy-to-read writing style that make this book very accessible and a wonderful way to honour your God and your husband.

Challenge yourself. Read a chapter a day for a month and pray the sample prayer each day, and tell me that your marriage hasn't changed in some way by the end of the month.

There are many other books in this series by Stormie.  I have yet to read them, but if they are half as good as this, then they are worth it!

Note: This is not a paid or solicited review


Linked up For the Completing Him Challenge at Women Living Well

Come Link Up to the Summer Marriage Challenge.  Click on the button to find the list of topics.

4 comments:

  1. For some reason my comment didn't get published...
    I have a book by Stormie Omartian called "prayers and promises for my little boy". It's a wonderful scaffold and inspiration for praying for Alex, young as he is!

    I am keen to read the book you reviewed, sounds good.
    x Mim

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  2. Oh Mim - we must get together and do a book swap!!! We have so many similar interests!!! hmmm....I will email you this week :)

    G

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  3. Amen - Stormie's book is a must have!!! What a blessing you are to your husband to have already prayed through it twice for him! Keep it up!
    Courtney

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  4. Courtney - I couldn't help but laugh when I went to your site and you had linked the same book - God is definitely stacking the odds out there!!

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