Praying for my future spouse was one of the keys to my decision to stay pure as a teen. Ultimately, years later we discovered that my decision to dedicate myself to these prayers coincided with the date of the spontaneous conversion of my Husband-To-Be. A few years ago during a speaking engagement, a woman asked how I pray for my husband now [Insert awkward bumbling shuffle here]. It’s great how sometimes the Holy Spirit communicates by calling me out in front of a room full of people.
So thankfully I got back in the saddle along with my Bible and prayer journal. I developed a fail-proof, practical plan for praying Scripture over my husband. Once again, found that my heart would also be set afire! Here are some of the verses from my own journal that may benefit you and your (future or current) spouse:
General Petitions
(Taken from over 200 Scripture suggestions in Provide the Armor By Katie Hartfiel)
1. Purity - Colossians 3:5- Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.
Prayer prompt: Ask that your spouse will be pure for all the right reasons- love, knowledge and affection for Christ. Pray that he/she will know that sin isn’t breaking a rule, but breaking a heart.
2. Healing- Psalm 147:3- He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.
Prayer Prompt: We all have wounds, but God can bring a greater good out of every evil.
3. Mutual Forgiveness- 1 Peter 4:8- Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Prayer Prompt: Ask that love will be the source of all you do, when things are good and when they are hard.
4. Protection- Psalm 91:14-15- Because he clings to me I will deliver him; because he knows my name I will set him on high. He will call upon me and I will answer; I will be with him in distress; I will deliver him and give him honor.
Prayer Prompt: Invite the Holy Spirit to be a shield and guard over every aspect of your spouse’s life!
5. Thanksgiving- Phil 1:3-6- I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Prayer Prompt: Offer God gratitude for the vocation He has or will provide. Ask that you will be a vessel as God continues the good work He has begun in your spouse.
6. Trust in the Lord- Phil 4:6-7- Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Prayer Prompt: Stress isn’t from God. Ask for the peace of Christ to envelop your spouse.
7. Godly Marriage- Tobit 8:7- Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age. Bless us with children.
Prayer Prompt: ‘Nuff said. This is the desire we all have for our spouse and marriage!
Covering Him/Her From Head to Toe
8. Mind- Romans 12:2- Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Prayer Prompt: The battle begins on the inside! Pray for purity of mind for your spouse!
9. Eyes- Matthew 6:22-23- The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.
Prayer Prompt: Ask for protection and triumph over pornography and images that have entered your spouse through his/her eyes.
10. Mouth- Luke 6:45- A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
Prayer Prompt: That your spouse’s words will be proof that their heart is filled with the Lord.
11. Ears - John 10:27- My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Prayer Prompt: There are many voices in the world competing for your husband/wife’s attention- ask that the Lord will make His voice known.
12. Heart- Psalm 73:6- Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever.
Prayer Prompt: Invite the Lord to give you both His heart to love one another.
13. Arms- Genesis 2:24- That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.
Prayer Prompt: As you cling to one another now or in the future, ask that your embrace will always draw you closer to the Lord.
14. Feet- Psalm 37:31- God’s teaching is in his heart; his steps do not falter
Prayer Prompt: Invite the Lord to guide the discernment of your spouse in every aspect of his/her life.
15. Ring Finger- Mark 10:9- Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.
Prayer Prompt: Pray for faithfulness in a faithless world. God wants to write your love story from now until death.
Surrender your (current or future spouse) along with your fears and pray that neither of you will ever forget that there are three members to your marriage!
Check out my NEW book with more than 200 Scripture passages for your (Future or Present) Spouse: