Congratulations! You did it! We have finished the book. Even though we are coming to the end of this journey I encourage you to continue to pray for your husband. Go back over the book and pick out some of the chapters that pertain to your husband , the struggles he is experiencing now and pray those specific verses for him and your marriage. For this week we are focusing on teamwork, that your husband will see you as his partner in living life together. The prayer is based upon Ecclesiastes 4:9-10.
Dear Lord, I pray for (husband's name) to realize that he and I can enjoy greater harmony and accomplish so much more when we work together as a team. May (husband's name) trust me and know in his heart that if he falls, I will be right there to lift him up, and together we two will be better than one. 

Remember the words of wisdom, "The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands" Proverbs 14:1. Let us be wise women who build our homes with the Word of God.

This week we are praying for our husbands to be the servant-leader of our homes. This is an important role that God has given to men. Jesus is the perfect role model for them. He loved His bride, the church, so much that he laid down His life for her. He serves His bride and leads His bride, and this is the responsibility of husbands. Elizabeth encourages us to pray Ephesians 5:23, "Dear Lord, I pray that You will strengthen and enable (Husband's name) to own his role as the head of our marriage as Jesus owned His role as head of the church. Guide (husband's name) and give him Your wisdom. Strengthen his faith and trust in You as he leads us as a couple and a family with love and purpose."

This week we are praying that our husbands exhibit the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Elizabeth gives us  a variety of prayers in this chapter and if you have the time then by all means pray all of them. However if you don't I would suggest praying Galatians 5:16 & 22-23.  As always it is a good idea to ask God that the fruit of the Spirit would be evident in your own life! 
"Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" Galatians 5:16 

This week pray for your husband to act with courage.   "Lord Jesus, thank You that You are beside my precious (husband's name) right now and at all times. Help (husband's name) to sense Your powerful presence when he needs to be courageous and live boldly as a Christian. Encourage (husband's name) to speak up when it's the right thing to do and stand up in difficult situations. Amen." This prayer is based on Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

I don't know about you but this week's topic hits close to home! I need to control my tongue every minute of every day. I am praying Ephesians 4:29 for myself and my husband. I have to ask myself does my speech build up or tear down? Do I constantly criticize or do I "find the gold" in people? This verse tells us "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers".  So we pray that our words would be encouraging, edifying, and comforting. That they would bless, not curse others. This chapter contains many verses about speech that I would encourage you to read, reread, memorize and put into practice. If you don't have the book here are a few of them: James 3:5-8, Matthew 15:18-20, Luke 6:45, Proverbs 10:19, 15:1, 16:21, 16:24, Psalm 19:14 and Colossians 4:6. 

We are praying for our husband's purity this week. This is an area that the enemy uses to attack our marriages and ministries. Men are visual creatures and they are bombarded with sexual images in commercials, billboards, and on their computers/phones. They cannot escape them living in our culture. So we pray that they would guard their eyes and their hearts. On pages 148 &149 Elizabeth writes out sample prayers from Job 31:1, Psalm 101:3 & I Timothy 6:9-11. The Bible tells us that temptation comes from three sources:  lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride. We may be focusing on the first two this week but I believe the underlying cause of all sin is pride. We know it all, we deserve it all, we have it all under control. No, we don't! If we don't guard what we watch, listen to, and think about - we will fall and so will our husbands. 

 God give us the desire to be holy like you are holy.

We are praying for our husband's use of his time this week. Elizabeth suggests praying Ephesians 5:15-17 on page 132. We are all given 24 hours a day and we need to use that time to glorify God. The most important thing we can do is every morning give the day to God and ask Him to direct our steps. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to the important work He has prepared for you to do today. Pray this for your husband also. As followers of Jesus we don't want to waste the time He has given us on anything but what will bring Him glory! 
 "Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don't be fools; be wise : making the most of every opportunity you have for doing good. Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to find out and do whatever the Lord wants you to" Ephesians 5:15-17 TLB

 Most of us do the grocery shopping and plan the meals for the family. We can feed our families junk like soda and chips or we can plan healthy meals with plenty of fruits and veggies. So as we pray for our husband's health, let's look at some practical ways we can help him be healthy. Most of you know that Brian and I enjoy hiking and we try to go every Monday. In the beginning of our marriage Brian did not enjoy it as much as I did and with three little kids it was difficult to do on a regular basis. He liked to play racquetball so we joined a gym and I tried to not get hit with the ball! My point is we were active and participating in an activity that was great for our health. May I suggest instead of nagging your husband to lose weight or workout that you find an activity that he enjoys and do it with him.  Take a walk, play tennis or golf, join a soccer or basketball league. Fill your refrigerator and cupboards with healthy snacks. Instead of fast food prepare homecooked meals that are full of nutrients not sugar. Don't forget to pray! Elizabeth suggests to pray 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

                                          Father, I pray that (your husband's name) will understand that his body is Your temple
                                          and that the Holy Spirit now lives within him. Help (your husband's name) realize what 
                                          a great price was paid for this personal relationship with You. Work in (your husband's
                                          name) heart and life. Cause him to desire to make every effort to honor You with his body.

Congratulations! You have made it to the half way point. So far we have prayed for our husband's spiritual growth, wisdom, his view of money, his role as a father and his job. This week we pray that our husbands will make good decisions. James reminds us that if we lack wisdom we should ask God for it and He will give it to us. Your husband needs to make many decisions as he leads your family. Some are small, others big such as buying a house or your children's education. Our job is to encourage them to seek God's will for every decision, seek advice from godly people, and to pray. Elizabeth suggests praying James 1:5 or Ephesians 1:15-17. 
We need to pray for wisdom for ourselves as well. "You will need wisdom to give your input in a gracious way. Or wisdom to ask questions in a nonthreatening way and with the respect God wants you to exhibit at all times. Or wisdom to ask questions about the issue at hand. Or patience to watch and pray as your man grapples with a solution" (pg. 107). This relationship called marriage can be a tricky thing! The bottom line is that we need to trust God and obey His Word. This includes allowing your husband to lead and asking God to direct his steps. This doesn't mean that your input, your ideas, your knowledge are not important. As wives we need to be led by the Spirit to know when to speak and when to be quiet. So ask God to lead your husband, to give wisdom generously and be confident that He is able to do it!

We are praying for our husband's view of money this week. Disagreements over finances is the number one reason for divorce so this is an important area to be on the same page with your spouse. Read Philippians 4:11-13 & 1 Timothy 6:10 and pray these verses for your husband and yourself.  Over the 30 years that I have been married the only fights Brian and I have had have been over money. It is vital to learn to be content with what God has blessed you with. Many times in my life I have had the "if only we had more money" attitude or the "once we have enough money to buy..... I will be happy". These are lies that feed discontentment and encourage the sin of covetousness. It can also put undo pressure on your husband to pursue money so he can buy things to satisfy you. Money or material possessions will NEVER satisfy. We need to learn to be content in all circumstances, trust God for our needs, and be thankful for the blessings we have. "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and we take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" I Timothy 6:6-8. I'm guessing that all of us that are reading this have enough to eat and are wearing clothes! We need to see money as a tool that can be used for good or for evil. Don't worship it, don't serve it, don't pursue it, but use it for God's glory.