For the Newlywed Husband

I've written this letter for newlywed husbands as an encouragement to them. If you know someone getting married, please feel free to share a link to this post with them!

Dear New Husband,

The most important thing you can do for the strength of your marriage is to pray every day for your wife. Below is a “head to toe” prayer with scripture references that you can use as a model. I will be praying for you both, that God will receive much honor from your marriage and family and that your child will grow to know, love and serve the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. Nothing else you do in this life matters as much as knowing and loving God and teaching your children to do the same. Keep your eyes on Him in every circumstance, set aside time daily to pray, learn to forgive quickly, and laugh together every day. Then you will have a marriage without regrets and worth repeating by your children. May the Lord continue to bless you both as you journey through this life.

Oh, one more thing – marriage is for holy ever after… there may be days you don’t “feel” happy or that expectations aren’t met. Remember that only God can meet every need of your heart and that becoming one is a covenant with God, which supersedes the way you “feel” with a deep, abiding commitment to choose to love - no matter what! Love your wife as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her, and since love is a verb, look for ways to demonstrate that love every day.

If at all possible (especially after kids are born), set aside time each week for a “date”… sacred time that is set apart only for the two of you. Don’t stop courting her just because you are married. Remember also that you are the spiritual head of the home and it is your God-given responsibility to lead your wife and children toward a relationship with God and daily fellowship with Him. This can only be done by setting the example. I will pray that you develop a deeper faith and a hunger for God’s word and that God will continue to richly bless you and your family!

Take care & I pray you have many, many years of marital bliss!

Here’s a “head to toe” prayer example for you:

“Pray for her mind: Colossians 2:2-3 ‘that she will have the rich experience of knowing Christ with real certainty and clear understanding’

Pray for her thoughts: 2 Corinthians 10:5 ‘that she will take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ’

Pray for her eyes: 2 Kings 6:17,1 Corinthians 16:13 ‘that she may see life from God’s perspective and be on the alert for spiritual danger’

Pray for her nose: 2 Corinthians 2:15 ‘that her life will be refreshing to others, and a life-giving perfume’

Pray for her mouth: Acts 4:29 ‘that she will have great boldness in witnessing for God and that the words of her mouth and the meditation of her heart will be acceptable to God’

Pray for her bones: Isaiah 58:11 ‘that she will be healthy like a watered garden’ (I would add Proverbs 3:7-8: “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”)

Pray for her heart: James 4:8, Proverbs 3:5 ‘that she will be filled with God alone and that God will create in her a clean heart filled with pure thoughts and right desires; that she will trust God will all her heart and not lean on her own understanding’

Pray for her hands: 1 Timothy 2:8 ‘that she will pray with holy hands lifted to God, free from sin, anger, and resentment’

Pray for her legs: 2 Corinthians 5:7 ‘that she will walk by faith and not by sight’

Pray for her feet: Psalm 40:2 ‘that God will keep her from discouragement and set her feet on a firm path'"

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16b