"What does it look like to lead my wife?"
This is probably a question that every Christ following man has asked himself and God when he got married. I know that I did (and still do). I also realize that success and victory in this area is not something that happens over night. It is very easy to look at a Christ centered man who is has been married for many years and say, “I want to be like that…..RIGHT NOW!” I really don’t see that happening for any of us who have been married only a few years. It takes time and effort.
There have been several catalysts in my life as of late that have made me want to pursue leading my wife as I know that Christ would have me do. The Sacred Marriage study that my wife and I are working through, the men’s retreat, and conversations with my wife have all pointed me to the fact that I need to learn and put into action leading her spiritually.
I have been praying about this and meditating on it and the Lord has shown me several ways that I can be faithful to lead my wife. Since this is something that every Christ following man should be doing out of obedience to God and for the benefit of our marriages and wives, I wanted to share briefly what those things are. Some of these things may seem basic but that is where I am starting, with the basics.
- Communicating things that are going on spiritually with me – My wife communicates these things with me all the time but it is my tendency to hold back. In all honesty, I didn’t even see the need for this until she pointed it out to me.
- Wash her with the water of the Word – Ephesians 5:26 speaks about how Christ is cleansing his bride by the washing of the word. I was trying to figure out how this translated into my marriage and the Lord asked, “Why don’t you start by speaking the word to her?” Great idea! I try to read the word out loud to her every day. This will also soon take the form of scripture memorization together.
- Pray over her and for her – I am trying to make a habit of praying over my wife every morning before I go to work. We also are trying to form a habit of asking for prayer about specific things during our day and being faithful to stop what we are doing and praying for the other.
These are the few things the Lord has laid on my heart to spiritually lead my wife. I hope these will encourage you. What are some of the things that you do (if you are a husband) to lead your wife, or what are some of the things your husband does (if you are a wife) to lead you? Please share your ideas!
Brian
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One thing Scott & I try to do each night (we probably succeed 3-4 nights of the week) is ask each other, as we’re going to sleep, what the highlight of our day was. Then one or the other of us (whoever is more awake) prays over our day, our sleep and the morning to come. We just started this when we moved to Austin, and it’s been a great way to re-connect at the end of each day.