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!