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5 Struggles Men Face and What a Wife Can Do about it

We need men who walk with God. We need men of integrity and heart who love God greatly and are world changers. But how can we support them? How can we raise them? How can we pray? Start right here.

Two days ago we celebrated Father’s Day.

While many ate cake and laughed around the table, others wept for fathers lost or never known. Some ached with disappointment and others were bitter with contempt.

But whether the day was happy or discouraging, there is no other day that reminds me how important it is to be praying for the men in our lives.

Kids need their daddies.

Wives need their husbands.

We all need the men who are grandpas and uncles and brothers and friends to be the men that God has called them to be, to be men who live with courage and faith and humility and grace. Men who love patiently and with kindness. Men whose love is long-suffering and rejoices with the truth. We need men who walk with God

That’s a tall order, isn’t it? One that no one can fulfill on their own. So how do we help? How do we support our men without appearing critical and encourage without nagging? Women, we need to be praying for the men in our lives.

God wants these men to fulfill the purpose for which He has created them! God is for them, and He is calling them to step up to that calling. He will give these men everything they need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), as they yield themselves to Him. We need to be praying!

Every singe day, our husbands are facing a host of challenges. High on the list, they face:

Daily Stress

We know what it’s like, don’t we? To juggle commitments and responsibilities and all the people competing for our time. Our husbands, too, carry a weight of responsibility every day. Some of their stressors we will understand, but others, we might never be aware of.  Instead of comparing our struggles, let’s carry each other’s by praying!

Temptation

How to spend their time, what to eat and not eat, what to watch and not watch, giving in or avoiding addictions, vices, and habits — temptation is abundant and it is diverse. The temptations our men are facing might seem uncommon, unique to him alone, but God’s Word tells us that “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Praying on our husband’s behalf is one of the best ways to help our husbands escape temptation, to not be caught in its grip or crushed by its weight.

Fear

Our men might appear strong or stoic but that doesn’t mean they have no fear. Just like anyone, our men wrestle with insecurities, uncertainties, and self-doubt too. Gone unchecked, the fears our husbands face will hold them back from the full life God has for them. Enslaved by fear, they will be timid and controlled by worry, struggling to live with great faith and in victory. Women, our prayers can help strengthen feeble knees and fearful hearts!

Relationship with Wives 

It’s hard to admit, but many times, we are the biggest battle a man faces. The struggle might start innocently enough – spending time apart, no longer doing things the other enjoys, but when it declines into disrespect, unforgiveness, criticism, self-sufficiency, and isolation, the problems (and distance) begin to multiply. We are created to be a helper to our husband but often we become enemies rather than allies. Yes, your husband has weaknesses, but how can your strengths fill in those gaps? Where can you help your husband today? Maybe as we begin to pray for our husbands, the focus of our prayers needs to start with ourselves, asking God for a change of our own hearts.

Relationship with Children

God is our Father. For better or worse, many of us understand who God is in light of who our fathers are. If that doesn’t put a gigantic target on the back of our men, I don’t know what else does! The devil does not want your husband to be the man God created him to be, and he will do what he can to distract, deter, or defeat him. What an opportunity we have, women! We can come against these forces of evil through prayer! We can go to battle on behalf of our husbands through prayer!

God is calling the man in your life to something great. Will you help him get there?

Praying with you,

Erika Dawson, ErikaDawson.com

Resources for You:

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4 Comments

  1. One more, perhaps…for some men the call to asceticism and the abnegation of the flesh will lead them away, rather than toward God. These are typically the guys who went for a seven-mile run every day last week, so let’s bump it to ten this week, and a protein bar’s more than enough for lunch, even if it does taste a bit like an uncured brick.

    In other words…me. (Well, when I was well enough to run,but in illness I have found other ways to flog myself.)

  2. Thanks for the wonderful work you are doing. I especially appreciate this article titled 5 Struggles Men face and what a wife can do about it. It is clear, simple and down to earth. The bless you with greater insight and wisdom to reveal more truth to the body of Christ world-wide
    Joshua, Nigeria

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