May 21, 2021
How Prayer Can Change a Man’s Heart
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results (James 5:16 NLT).
Friend to Friend
Allan was a tough man. Raised by a single mom with five siblings, he learned how to scrap his way through life and climb to the top of humanity’s heap through sheer determination and grit.
He married at nineteen, had his first son at twenty, then a baby girl at twenty-five. Over the next two decades he advanced from driving a delivery truck at a lumberyard to becoming part owner of a building supply company.
Allan drank heavily, fought with his wife verbally and physically, and terrorized his children emotionally. He gambled, dabbled in pornography, and had questionable relationships laced with a host of unsavory vices.
But when his teenage daughter gave her life to Jesus and began praying for her family, God grabbed the chisel of grace and began chipping away at Allan’s proud heart of stone. One day he told her, “I’ll go to church with you from time to time, but I could never become a Christian. I’ve done too many horrible things in my life. God could never forgive me. I could never be good enough.”
His daughter explained that no one could ever be good enough. If we could, then Jesus wouldn’t have had to die on the cross to pay for our sins. But Allan couldn’t wrap his mind around that kind of grace.
When Allan was forty-six years old, his life took several hairpin troublesome turns. Because of a business deal gone terribly wrong, he was sued for breach of contract and breaking a no compete clause with a former employer.
Allan teetered on the brink of a nervous breakdown. From man’s perspective, it appeared he was on the verge of losing it all. From God’s perspective, Allan was right where he needed to be.
It was that year that Allan met a Christian man, a pastor, who had done everything he had done, and yet knew the forgiveness of Jesus. Through this man, Allan gave his life to Christ. The way Allan later explained what happened that day was this: “That man had done everything I had done. I knew that if God could forgive him and he could be a pastor, then God could forgive me too.”
Allan was my dad.
From my earliest years as a Christian, I experienced the power of prayer to change a man’s life—to strengthen a man’s resolve, to protect a man’s heart, and to mature a man’s faith. My firsthand encounter with God’s faithfulness to hear our pleas for the men in our lives began with my father and continues with my husband and son.
James tells us, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16 NLT). The Amplified Version says it this way: The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
As a praying woman, you have the power to open the floodgates of heaven through prayer on behalf of your husband, your son, your daughter, and your friends.
If you are married, whether your husband has a lukewarm fledgling faith, or lives a fiery firm faith, there is no one more qualified to pray for his relationship with Christ than you. No matter where your husband is on the continuum of faithlessness to faithfulness, I encourage you to pray with “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NASB).
Let’s Pray
Today, we’re going to do our prayer a little different. Use this guide from my book, Praying from Your Husband from Head to Toe to pray for someone special in your life.
Dear Lord, I pray for ________________.
Shoulders – No matter what goes through today, assure him that nothing is too hard for You. Empower him to cut the cords of worry with the saber of praise and to place his burdens on Your able shoulders. Genesis 18:14; Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 9:10.
Heart – Place a hedge of protection around heart to keep corruption out and purity in. Proverbs 4:23; Proverbs 17:20; Proverbs 17:22.
Back – Protect in the physical and spiritual realms. Keep him from the devil’s schemes that would attempt to trap him or trip him up. Thank you that no weapon formed against him will stand. John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:10-18.
Arms – Help be strong and courageous in Your mighty power. Bolster his courage when he is afraid and reassure him when he doubts. Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 30:15.
Hands – Bless the work of hands. Reward his efforts and bring him success. Deuteronomy 33;11; Deuteronomy 28:12-13.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
What is your most pressing prayer for your marriage or the man in your life?
Leave a comment with your prayer request and then pray for the woman’s name above yours. You don’t need to share a lot of details. God’s got them all!
More From the Girlfriends
In Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe, Sharon Jaynes maps out sixteen landmarks to help you consistently and effectively cover your husband in prayer - from his mind and the thoughts he thinks, to his eyes and the images he sees, all the way down to his feet and the path he takes, Sharon teaches you how to pray for your husband in ways that are powerful, practical and life-changing.
© 2021 by Sharon Jaynes. All rights reserved.
Originally published Friday, 21 May 2021.
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