Praying for Military Spouses & Families

If you know someone who is serving or has served in the military, here is a prayer tool for you to use to pray on their behalf. And if you don’t know any military families, pray for some of those mentioned in this newsletter, or military personnel who are serving on the front lines and here on the home front.

Pray for peace and against anxiety.
Philippians 4:6,7
When a spouse is deployed or away for training, the family may struggle with every goodbye. Pray that military spouses can fight insecurity and fear with the truth of God’s presence.

Here’s what one military wife says: “I know that being away does not make my husband any less safe than if he were home, because God is just as sovereign in Iraq as at home, but it’s still a battle to fight the lies with truth.” 

Pray for endurance in “holding down the fort” alone.
Isaiah 40:11
This is especially true for parents—pray for endurance in patience, kindness, gentleness, self control, and consistency in discipline. Pray for a community of support to serve and encourage those who are parenting alone during deployments.

Pray for smooth transitions.
Ephesians 4:2
Constantly transitioning from being solo to doing life together can be sticky. Spouses have to be independent but unified, strong but flexible, confident but humble, and very gracious. Pray for those who are in transition, especially pray for their kids who also experience the coming and going of their parent. Pray that spouses will rely on God to fill in the gaps and also make room for the returning spouse in terms of emotional connection.

Pray for unity in marriages.
Colossians 3:14
Many spouses struggle with the feeling that their active duty spouse’s career is all-encompassing and completely eclipses their own dreams and ambitions. Pray that military couples will be on the same team, pulling for one another towards shared goals and dreams rather than seeing themselves as competing with one another.