Kathi Lipp - Praying Gods Word for Your Husband

A Husbands Perspective

by Roger Lipp

I dont know if I could pass a test to determine when my wife is praying for me and when she isnt. But I can say that it makes a huge difference knowing that she is praying. It changes my relationship with her. It changes how I see the world. It changes my relationship with God.

Without the prayer support from my wife, a bad day as an engineer at a high-tech company might look something like this:

8:00 a.m.: Start going through email at work. The computer servers in India arent happy. People in India arent happy because the servers arent happy. Start trying to put the right solutions in place to make the servers happy again. But in the back of my mind, Im feeling a little put-upon. This isnt how my day is supposed to start.

8:30 a.m.: Programs are crashing because of defects we introduced yesterday. More unhappy people. More solutions that need to be put in place. Still havent finished with the servers. This isnt good timing. People are watching my project. Having these kinds of problems show up now will cost me. This isnt good. Im a bit scared of what will happen.

9:00 a.m.: Unexpected meetings are scheduled to discuss problems that other unhappy people are having. My mood takes a turn for the worse. I have way too much going on to be sitting around in meetings discussing other peoples problems. I know they arent happy, but if I dont get out of here and start working on the other problems that have already come up in the day, I wont get anything done, and that would not reflect well on me. And in todays economy and job market, thats not a good thing. There seems to be a lot of unhappiness going around.

All this before I get my cup of coffee. Not a good day. But it happens. Its what Im paid for. I can deal with it. But eventually I become, well, unhappy.

Now lets replay that day, this time going into it knowing that my wife is preparing my path with prayer.

8:00 a.m.: Unhappy servers.

8:30 a.m.: Crashing programs.

9:00 a.m.: Unexpected meetings. Unhappy people everywhere, just as before. But this time, Im different.

I start to feel put-upon by the unexpected server problems in India. But instead of turning that into a woe-is-me moment, hold on... well, lets face it: Im not really different, and it still becomes a woe-is-me moment. But after that, when Im at home telling my wife about my day, she tells me that shes been praying for me. That gives me pause. I reflect on the various events of the day and see them now in retrospect, in a different light. Each presents an opportunity. Unhappy people need to be met with grace. A grace that I can give only out of a reservoir refilled by my Savior and the prayers of my loving wife.

Knowing that my day is covered in prayerwhether Im having a good day or a bad daychanges how I can approach the next bad day. And there will be another one just around the corner.

In the midst of all that, there is a subtle change in my relationship with my wife. Through her specific prayers for me and my world, we are joined together in more intimate ways. She isnt a passive bystander in my life. She actively comes alongside in all things, even areas where she isnt directly involved. She becomes a loving partner in my struggles and a support in my weaknesses. I need that.