I was twenty-one when my first husband died. Mostly likely, I would marry again. Since I had a infant son, I knew that my choice of when and who to marry was very important. I began to pray for God to protect me from the wrong mate until the right mate came along. He did exactly that. I have a wonderful husband and family for which I’m extremely thankful for. This experience opened my eyes to how important marrying the right mate is. So, I began praying for my children’s mate too. Here’s my list. I hope you’ll make it yours and add to it along the way.
1. Help my child’s spouse to remain a virgin. Guard him/her from “outer-course” (petting experiences); abuse; harassment; and pornographic content in music, photographs, and movies (Col. 3:5).
2. Make my daughter’s spouse a man after God’s own heart, a maturing Christian who can take a spiritual leadership role that encourages my daughter toward deeper spiritual growth (Eph. 5:25-28).
3. Develop in my child’s mate a desire to seek and ask forgiveness when wrong from both God and man (1 Jn. 1:8-9).
4. Show my daughter’s spouse do what you want him to do with his life. Help him to seek your purpose for his creation (1 Tim. 4:12).
5. Teach my child’s spouse the basics of spiritual warfare, how to flee temptation, how to take thoughts captive, and how to stand firm against the devil’s schemes (1 Pet. 5:8-9, 2 Cor. 10:3-5, Jas. 4:7-8).
6. Help my child’s spouse to become a master of good, uplifting communication. Protect him/her from foul language and angry response (Col. 3:8).
7. Give my child’s spouse deep, satisfying personal relationships that will prepare him/her for marriage without compromising his purity (1 Thess. 4:3-8).
8. Teach my child’s spouse to be a good parent. Give his/her parents good parenting skills, and, if not, provide him with a godly role model. Be the Father to the fatherless if he has no father (Ps. 68:5-6).
9. Give my child’s spouse a hunger for God through prayer and Bible study (Mt. 13:23).
10. Help my child’s spouse to make a commitment to the truth, to choose honesty in every situation, even when tempted to lie to lessen punishment or consequences (Eph. 4:25).
11. Give my child’s spouse a proper attitude toward money in giving, receiving, and working. Help him/her learn how to budget, save, and tithe (1 Tim. 6:6-11).
12. Make my child’s spouse considerate and sensitive, a giving, loving Christian who can place others needs before his/her own without losing his/her personal identity (1 Jn. 3:16-18).
Donna says
Micca,
This is a wonderful list! Thanks for sharing with us today. My children are 15 and 12 and I have been praying over them since day one. I will take your list and use it in my prayers for my children.
Blessings to you and your family!
Zoe says
Thanks for this sweet friend, We pray these things for our future daughter-in-law. The Lord blessed us with one godly daughter-in-law and I'm confident he will do it again for our youngest son.
Wendy Blight says
Micca,
These are wonderful prayers for our children. Thank you, thank you!! I have always prayed for Lauren and Bo's spouses but never so specifically.
Love you and can't wait to see you at She Speaks!
Wendy
Cheri Bunch says
Hi Micca,
Stopping by today after enjoying and being ministered to by your P31 devotion. I appreciate your openness and honesty. You spoke to my heart.
I love this post about praying for our child's future spouses. It is so important for them.
I have been praying for years about this very thing, but your prayer directives will make my prayers for them more specific. Thank you so much.
My daughter happened to marry a man who was not saved. It seemed like my prayers had not been heard. But he has the most tender of hearts and has watched our family love the Lord and he is so hungry. I think he was the one that the Lord had in mind for my daughter. Prayerfully his whole family will be saved as a result of their union. I was sure she had made a wrong choice but was later humbled when his sweet hungry for Jesus heart was revealed to me. I think that it is only a matter of time and he will know the Lord as his personal savior.
The Lord does all things well. I still desire the things that you have posted for my other children (I have five) and will pray these specific things for them. It is so much easier if these things are already in place when they say "I do".
Didn't mean to ramble.
Enjoyed your devotion and your blog. You have deposited inspiration into my heart today.
Thank you!
Many blessings,
Cheri